Inside the gutsy 4th down call and the unlikely hero who made the play

While ASU coach Todd Graham seemingly remained calm during Arizona State’s 4th-and-3 play late in Saturday’s game against Washington, wide receivers coach Rob Likens admitted he was quite the opposite.

”There might have been a few words said that you guys can’t print when the ball was in the air, like ‘Oh, you know what,’” he told reporters, hinting at what could be used to fill in the blank.

For now, let’s just use, “Oh, no.” Or even “Oh, crap.” Same difference.

But given the situation, who could blame him?

The game was on the line. ASU could have punted and pinned Washington back deep in its own territory. It could’ve tried a 55-yard field goal with true freshman kicker Brandon Ruiz, which, if good, would have put the icing on the cake.

The Sun Devils tried neither, instead opting to go for it. While they won because of their stingy defense, that fourth-down play officially sealed an upset victory over then-No. 5 Washington.

“I envisioned just winning the football game,” junior quarterback Manny Wilkins said of the play. “Those are the moments you live for as a college football player, those are the moments you dream for. If I would see that situation as a little kid, it’s a game-winning moment and (Ceejhay French-Love) made a hell of a play and I’ll remember it forever.”

So, the play. ASU was faced with 4th-and-3 from Washington’s 37-yard line and Wilkins had trips to his right.

Sophomore Kyle Williams, the receiver closest to Wilkins, ran what looked to be a stick route to the middle of the field. Junior Jalen Harvey, the middleman of the trio, seemingly ran the same route, but towards the sideline. Junior tight end Ceejhay French-Love, the one on the outside, had his own pattern.

When Wilkins threw the ball, it initially looked to be intended for Harvey or senior running back Kalen Ballage, who Graham said on Monday ran the wrong route. Ballage was supposed to run to the flat, but accidentally got caught up with Harvey.

Wilkins’ pass sailed over Ballage’s head and past Harvey and a few Washington defenders before somehow finding French-Love, who caught a pass Wilkins said was low.

“That play, I was trying to run through the DB,” French-Love said Tuesday. “I knew (Manny) was throwing it to Kalen, so I was going to block so he can get around the edge. But as I was blocking, I look back and I saw the ball go over Kalen, so I was like, ‘Oh, damn.’ I stuck my hands out there and caught it.”

Good thing.

But what about Harvey? He told reporters the play was designed for him, perhaps a bit jokingly. After all, he’s been a reliable option on third downs.

Ballage, on the other hand, is a physical specimen, fast and powerful. It seems he’d be an easy pick to get the ball when the team needed 3 yards in the game’s most critical spot.

So who was Wilkins throwing to?

“I was throwing it to Ceejhay,” Wilkins said with a laugh.

Forget the trips to the right for now. ASU had N’keal Harry, its best receiver, isolated on the left side of the field.

“We had a 1-on-1 individual route to N’Keal Harry, so I’m thinking possibly we’re throwing it over there, so my eyes were on N’Keal,” Likens said. “Then I could see that he didn’t get the ball instantly and I scanned back (to the other side of the field) and I saw the ball and three guys go up (for the ball).”

Like Ballage, Harry has a rare combination of speed and power, seemingly a sure bet to gain three yards in man coverage.

Instead, Wilkins threw to the right side of the field.

“I didn’t ask and I’m not going to (ask) who he was trying to throw the ball to,” Likens said.

What Likens does know: ASU won the game.

After French-Love’s catch and run, the Sun Devils went into the victory formation, running the final minute and a half off the clock. They had completed the upset.

Again, ASU won Saturday’s game because its defense gave up just seven points to a team that averaged 43 entering the contest. The win was no fluke, according to Graham.

But had French-Love not made that heads-up play, the outcome could have been different.

“That was so good for something good like that to happen to (French-Love),” Likens said. “What great concentration. I watched it back in slow-motion. He turned his eyes back and the ball was right there. What a huge catch for his program.”

Huge indeed. Not only for ASU but for French-Love, a late addition to this year’s team. He joined the team early in Fall Camp and was not able to participate in summer workouts.

Out of high school, French-Love attended Colorado Mesa, a Division II school.

“I felt like I could be bigger than that and go D-1,” French-Love said.

So he went from Colorado Mesa to East Los Angeles College, a junior-college. After a year there, he joined ASU.

During Camp Tontozona, French-Love tweaked his hamstring. Not only did he have an entirely new playbook to learn, he had to do so while rehabbing an injury.

It seems like a lot to handle, and French-Love admitted the transition was difficult at first. Then he adjusted and put things into perspective.

“If you look at the bigger picture, it’s really not that big,” he said. “Just come in here, be ready to play and do your job. Nobody’s feeling sorry for you.”

French-Love’s on-field experience is unique. He blocked more at Colorado Mesa, but only started four of the team’s 10 games as a freshman. At East Los Angeles, he lined up outside more in a system he said was similar to the one he ran in high school at Long Beach Poly.

It seems the coaching staff likes the versatility French-Love offers.

“He could be aggressive at the line of scrimmage, he’s going to be able to hold his own against defensive ends,” Likens said. “But then again, he’s athletic enough to go out there and run decent routes, and then he’s got really good hands.”

So far, French-Love has just two career receptions with the Sun Devils. Both have been big, though.

His first was a touchdown he caught from Harry out of the Sparky formation against Stanford. The next came Saturday, helping the Sun Devils win their first game over a top-5 opponent since beating No. 1 Nebraska in 1996.

Most fans perhaps didn’t know of French-Love or his potential, but he kept believing in himself throughout the adjustment period.

“I thought something big was going to happen,” he said when asked if he ever envisioned making a play as big as the one he did against Washington.

And he may just be getting started.

“I’m telling you — this guy is going to be really, really good,” Likens said.

French-Love’s catch on a play that Likens said “obviously wasn’t designed for him” could do wonders for ASU’s season. At 2-3 during the bye week, it looked as if the Sun Devils could have gone in a downward spiral, especially because tough Pac-12 opponents were ahead on the schedule.

Instead, the Sun Devils’ upset of Washington capped a wild weekend for underdogs around the country, and they’re .500 heading into this weekend’s road contest at Utah.

The gutsiest of calls helped them do it.

“If you’re going to beat a great team, you can’t be afraid to lose,” Likens said. “You got to come after them somewhere, take chances.”

That’s what ASU did. The 4th-and-3 risk could have been costly, but at the end of the day, it worked out.

“The football gods were on our side,” Wilkins said.