Early Saturday afternoon, during the first batch of college football games, ASU football coach Todd Graham sat watching his friend and Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn coach his team to an overtime victory over FCS foe Jacksonville State. With a "cupcake" game of his own later that night, he began to worry.
"I thought, 'Man, that looks like something I don't want to do,'" Graham said.
That worry became a reality hours later, as his team was tied deep into the fourth quarter with their own challenge from the division below. The Sun Devils (1-1) were able to escape with a 35-21 win over the Cal Poly Mustangs.
Like last week's loss to Texas A&M, however, the score did not tell the full story.
ASU jumped out to a quick lead, as redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici hit senior wide receiver DJ Foster for a 14-yard touchdown. About 10 minutes later, the Sun Devils struck again, this time on a touchdown run by sophomore running back Demario Richard to give the home team a 14-point edge.
After the teams traded touchdowns in the middle of the quarter, ASU looked like it was on its way in for a score that could put the game on ice by halftime. But, much to the chagrin of the Sun Devils, redshirt junior tight end Kody Kohl fumbled, giving Cal Poly possession on ASU's side of the field, shifting momentum to the visitors.
The coaching staff has preached possession and Bercovici said that the play is one the Sun Devils can learn from in the future.
"Our identity is to own the football and that's something we didn't do at that time," Bercovici said.
Cal Poly ripped momentum completely their way when redshirt senior Chris Brown ran for a touchdown to end the first half, then started the second half with one of his four completions in the game falling into the arms of redshirt sophomore Reagan Enger for a 21-yard touchdown that tied the game.
The game played to a stalemate for the next quarter, as neither team could get on the board despite plenty of chances. Two of ASU's three possession in the third quarter found the Sun Devils inside the 10-yard line, but they could not put points on the board, as Bercovici threw an interception and junior kicker Zane Gonzalez missed a 28-yard attempt, something he's been automatic at in his career.
The Sun Devil offense finally was able to break through in the fourth quarter, as Kohl made up for his error in the first half by grabbing the go-ahead touchdown from Bercovici with 7:36 remaining in the game.
Despite struggling all-around, Graham said he was proud of his players, especially responding to adversity.
"Games like that, obviously, are catastrophic if they go the other way," Graham said. "But when you go and win them, obviously they make you better."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.
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