ASU football moved the ball well on Saturday, but it let Colorado do the same. How did each unit grade?
Valedictorian Junior running back D.J. Foster
Junior running back D.J. Foster carries the ball on a run against Weber State on Aug. 28. (Photo by Andrew Ybanez)For the second straight week, Foster was ASU's best player. The tailback gained 147 yards rushing and 59 yards receiving to lead the way for the Sun Devils. Foster also scored twice, once on the ground and once through the air. His 24 touches were the most on the team by a wide margin, showing just how important the back is to ASU's offense.
Report card
Offense: A-minus
Before redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly left with a right foot injury, the offense was nearly unstoppable. In the three quarters that Kelly was in the game, ASU totaled 400 yards and 38 points. After Kelly left, the Sun Devils scored no points and gained just 26 yards of offense. ASU held a 21 point lead when its star player was taken out, so the offense did not have the same sense of urgency to move the ball, to be fair. Once again, it was the Kelly, Foster and redshirt junior Jaelen Strong show as the trio combined for all five of ASU's touchdowns in one way or another.
Defense: B
For the second straight week, the second quarter hurt the ASU defense. Colorado scored 14 points in that period but in the rest of the game, the Sun Devil defense played pretty well. ASU was able to force three turnovers in the game, including an incredible interception by redshirt junior Jordan Simone, that led to 14 points and proved to be the difference in the game. In that fateful second quarter, though, Colorado's sophomore quarterback Sefo Liufau threw two touchdown passes to cut ASU's lead from 17-0 to 17-14, putting ASU on its heels a bit.
Special teams: B
The special teams unit put up its best game of the young season Saturday, but there were still some issues. Sophomore punter Matt Haack had his best game of his career, punting seven times, including a 57-yarder. Sophomore kicker Zane Gonzalez made all six of his kicks: five extra points and a 31-yard field goal. Kick coverage was not great for ASU, allowing a 46-yard return.
Overall grade: B+
2014 season in photos
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Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
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