The last time Arizona State faced Washington on the road, it entered the game as the 14th-ranked team in the country while the Huskies were unranked.

Facing 4th and 25 with 1:07 left in regulation and ASU leading 17-10, Washington quarterback Troy Williams — who eventually transferred to Utah and ironically just defeated ASU as the Utes signal caller— dropped back to pass. He threw to his right but was intercepted by then-true freshman defensive back Armand Perry.

Perry returned the interception 61 yards for a touchdown to seal a 24-10 victory.

“We were just playing a conservative coverage. I just lined up, did my job seeing the quarterback throw the ball, picked it off and ran it back.

“I always believe in myself, I know what I can do, so I just did my assignment.”

That was two years ago.

Now, unranked ASU travels to play playoff-contending No. 6 Washington on Saturday, needing to win one of its final two games to become bowl eligible.

“They got probably the best receiving corps in the Pac-12,” Perry said. “John Ross, obviously everybody knows about him. Very talented, explosive receiver, and we’re just going to look to shut him down.”

Perry said the secondary’s focus will be on playing sound vertically so it doesn’t give up any deep touchdowns.

It will also need to contain Washington quarterback Jake Browning, who has thrown for 2,532 yards and 35 touchdowns through 10 games. Perry also noted the Heisman candidate’s efficiency as he has 64.8 percent completion percentage.

He called Washington a “game plan-oriented team,” meaning the Huskies provide different looks to each opponent.

“It’s just a big challenge,” Perry said. “Great opponent. I thrive off games like this where I can go out there and showcase my talent against a top-10 team in the country.”

The overall challenge perhaps became even tougher when the Huskies lost at home to No. 13 USC last weekend, their first loss of the season.

ASU is in a unique spot, though.

“We don’t have anything to lose, so it should be a good game,” Perry said.

ASU’s secondary has not performed well this season. The group is dead last in the country with 3,874 passing yards and 30 touchdowns allowed.

The unit’s play has seemed to draw criticism from many angles, fans included.

Perry tweeted this on Nov. 11, defending defensive coordinator Keith Patterson.

“I just love Coach Patterson,” he said. “I really don’t care what anybody thinks is going on there. That’s why the media is the outside source. Nobody really knows what’s going on except for us. I’m just riding for my coach, I stand by my coach. Stuff like that pisses me off when people who don’t even know what they’re talking about want to sit here and try to bash someone I really care about.”

The group has dealt with injuries to Perry, redshirt senior Laiu Moeakiola and sophomore boundary corner Kareem Orr, which Perry admitted has been difficult.

He said the players are still believing in themselves through a rough season.

“Everybody counts us out, but I don’t care about that,” Perry said. “I just show up every day, work every day, watch more film than anybody. I can just control what I can control. Hopefully, it just rubs off on the group and the young guys look up and we just start balling out, because I know what we can do, but it’s been tough.”

ASU has a lot to play for in its two games left as Perry noted a bowl game is a “minimum expectation” for the program and is also big for recruiting.

Perry said he is “praying” the secondary finally taps into the potential its members know it has in time for the final two games of the regular season.

“What happens on Saturdays is what happens on Saturdays,” he said. “I never lost faith in my guys. I believe in everybody.”