Following last week's breakout performance by sophomore wide-out Moey Mutz, senior Sun Devil wide receiver Skyler Fulton decided it was time for him to take back the role of "Big Time" receiver for No. 16 ASU.
Fulton finished the 26-16 win over Utah State with eight catches and 172 yards, new career marks for the senior from Olympia, Wash. He set his career high for yards before halftime, thanks to a 98-yard first quarter.
For the second-straight game, Fulton led the team in receptions and is poised to take over the hole left by former All-American Shaun McDonald, a fourth-round pick of the St. Louis Rams who left the team as a junior after the 2002 season.
Fulton benefited from the return of junior wide-out Daryl Lightfoot, who missed last week's game against NAU with a sore back. The added deep threat expanded the field and left more openings for Fulton and the other ASU receivers.
Lightfoot finished the game with five catches for 59 yards with a long of 25.
On ASU's first drive, a three-play, 65-yard march down the field that took just over a minute, Fulton was the target of both passes from quarterback Andrew Walter. The drive started with a 20-yard strike to Fulton and ended with a 44-yard touchdown deep down the middle of the field.
"I don't know if it was a blown coverage or what, I just ran straight up the seam," Fulton said. "I was expected to catch it and get hit or something, but there was nobody out there so I kept running."
The play was specifically designed against the Aggies' "cover three" defense, and Fulton's route split the safeties. After the easy touchdown, Utah State gave up on its cover three for the rest of the game.
"We've been working that particular play for their base coverage," head coach Dirk Koetter said. "We thought we could get up the hash and we got them."
Fulton's final touchdown, a 15-yard fade to the corner of the end zone, capped off ASU's scoring and ended Fulton's personal record-setting day. The pass wasn't Walter's finest, but it was good enough for the late touchdown.
"Andrew threw it a little behind so I had to catch it between the two dudes," Fulton said.
Despite the gaudy numbers, Fulton was nowhere near any of ASU's single-game receiving records. In 1989, Ron Fair caught 19 balls for 277 yards against Washington State, a record that appears to be safe.
Reach the reporter at jeffrey.hoodzow@asu.edu.
