Arizona State mounts comeback behind running game

It was the fourth quarter. Arizona State trailed by 10 points with an offense that had struggled to find a rhythm all game.

So what did it do?

It became the team it expected to be all season. The one that could impose its will on opposing defenses with a strong running game.

The Sun Devils rushed for 191 yards in that fourth quarter, one more yard than they had in the first three. ASU’s (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12) 381 total rushing yards were its most in a conference game since 1997 and pushed it to a 40-31 victory over Colorado at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday.

“In that second half and especially the fourth quarter, we just simply ran the ball with a different attitude,” junior quarterback Manny Wilkins said. “That was a statement for us.”

This wasn’t typical ASU. The Sun Devils were so good on the ground that they didn’t need Wilkins to air the ball out to erase the deficit, or sophomore receiver N’Keal Harry to make any miracle plays.

Instead, they rode senior running back Demario Richard, who led the team with 25 carries for 189 yards and a touchdown, his best performance of the season. His lone touchdown run came from 5 yards out and tied the game at 27-27 in the fourth quarter.

After the Sun Devils took their first lead of the game minutes later, the defense got a stop. Richard and the offense were back out on the field with a chance to stamp a victory.

On the first play, Richard ran for 5 yards. The next play, he went for 63, igniting the crowd along the way and pumping it up when he got up after being tackled.

“(I was) just thinking, ‘It’s my time, I got to seal the deal,’” Richard said.

Richard after the game said he was playing on a busted ankle. Had he been healthy, he said, he would’ve gone to the house.

He showed up when it counted.

“In the fourth quarter, I already know what time it is when the game is close,” Richard said. “I know my teammates depend on me in the fourth quarter, that’s why I’ve been working my tail off at practice.”

It wasn’t just him, though. Wilkins carried 14 times for 95 yards and a touchdown. Senior back Kalen Ballage had nine carries for 46 yards. And an unlikely face made his introduction with ASU trailing by a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Meet Eno Benjamin, a freshman running back. He sits behind Richard and Ballage, but it’s not for lack of talent.

After one practice at Camp Tontozona, Graham told reporters Benjamin wouldn’t redshirt this season. Following another, the coach said Benjamin had impressed him as much as any freshman ever has.

On Saturday, Benjamin showed everyone why. He hit a hole, then spun and drove his way to the end zone for his first career touchdown, a 19-yard score to give the Sun Devils their first lead of the night with 5:33 remaining in the game.

“He ain’t got no choice but to watch two — well I think two — of the greatest running backs to ever come through here,” Richard said, referencing he and Ballage. “So, I mean, it’s like, he’s got big shoes to fill when we leave.”

Consider it a promising start. Graham called Benjamin “unique,” saying he offers something different than Richard and Ballage.

After reaching the ball over the goal line, Benjamin jumped around and embraced a couple of his teammates before bouncing his way off the field.

“I think for him, this is huge because this is a big confidence-booster for him,” Wilkins said. “Just to have that feeling of getting in the end zone, Sun Devil Stadium, everybody cheering for you. It’s a great feeling. I was very proud of him to get that moment.”

For full disclosure, Colorado entered the game as the Pac-12’s eighth-ranked rush defense, giving up 179 yards per game. But through a half, the Buffaloes frustrated ASU.

It seemed the Sun Devils couldn’t get anything going and though they scored a pair of touchdowns, they left points on the field with two missed field goals from freshman kicker Brandon Ruiz.

Graham said he knew his team would need to score more than 30 points to win the game, but through a half, he thought it didn’t look likely. The running game picked a perfect time to break out its best performance of the season, and it all started up front.

“I think we wore them down and I’m really proud of our offensive line,” Graham said. “I think our offensive line dominated and really took a big step forward.”

After Richard’s electrifying 63-yard run, he rushed for 3 more yards the next play.

Timeout Colorado, 1:57 remaining, ASU up four points.

On the first play out of the timeout, Benjamin rushed for 11 yards.

Timeout ASU, 1:49 remaining.

After that timeout, Richard rushed for 2 yards and no gain with a timeout in between.

On 3rd-and-goal from Colorado’s 1-yard line, Wilkins kept the ball, raced Colorado defenders to the corner of the end zone and snuck the ball in over the pylon.

It was a fitting finish to a comeback led by a newfound running game. After a strong start to the game, Colorado’s defense looked tired and defeated after Wilkins’ touchdown, the result of a relentless ASU running game in the second half.

That ground game saved the Sun Devils from a second consecutive loss.

“We told ourselves earlier that adversity was going to strike and when it strikes, we have to stay poised in those situations,” Wilkins said.

All week, Graham and his players preached the importance of November. ASU is now a win away from bowl eligibility with seemingly winnable road games at UCLA and Oregon State the next two weekends.

If the Sun Devils want to reach the Pac-12 title game, they’ll most likely need to win out.

“Champions are made in November,” Richard said.

If ASU can run the ball like it did on Saturday, that goal seems attainable.