For one half, ASU couldn’t seem to get much going – at all.

In the second, they managed to do it all.

The Sun Devils topped Cal Saturday night, 51-41 before 49,295 anxious onlookers, many of whom, after the aforementioned first half, thought perhaps ASU was destined to lose its fourth straight conference opener.

In the first half, the Sun Devils allowed Cal senior quarterback Davis Webb to pass for 234 yards and three touchdowns, and it wasn’t all on the defense, either.

In those first 30 minutes, the Golden Bears amassed 368 yards while ASU’s offense managed only 138.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins at the postgame press conference held his hand in front of redshirt sophomore receiver Jalen Harvey as if to say ‘I’ve got this,’ when Harvey was presented a question about the Sun Devils’ first half struggles throughout the year.

“That’s on me,” Wilkins said while patting his hand on his chest. “I got to make sure things get going. (Harvey) played a hell of a game. I put the ball in his hands – he made plays. First half, that’s on me.”

But the defense struggled just as much as the offense did and that’s something Wilkins can’t take the fall for.

Cal junior receiver Chad Hansen successfully seared ASU’s secondary in the first half, catching eight passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.

It was mostly sophomore cornerback Kareem Orr covering Hansen. Orr felt he did a good job against Hansen save for a pair of plays that he felt Hansen got away with.

“The first half really was those two fades,” Orr said. “One he pushed off, I felt like and the other I thought he was out of bounds…he was a good receiver. He did what he had to do. My game plan in the second half coming out against him, I executed it, so that’s what happened.”

And it didn’t just seem to be Orr whose second half strategy played out favorably. The offense, led by Wilkins, came to life and gained 316 second-half yards (454 for the game).

Wilkins finished the night 21-of-30 passing for 290 yards and a touchdown along with a team-high 72 rushing yards on 23 carries and three rushing scores.

And the defense, which had been thoroughly picked apart to that point, stepped up when it was needed most.

After Wilkins found sophomore tight end Jay Jay Wilson on a 30-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 34, redshirt senior linebacker Salamo Fiso picked off Webb on Cal’s next possession, setting up a 23-yard field goal from junior kicker Zane Gonzalez to give ASU its first lead of the night.

Fiso had seen the play before in the game, multiple times, and he wasn’t going to let it bite them again.

“They ran that play twice on us in the first half and after the third time I’d seen it,” Fiso said. “They dropped that running back to the flat, trying to push him away and I read it and I was lucky he threw it…”

Then it continued. On Webb’s next pass attempt, redshirt senior Spur linebacker Laiu Moeakiola intercepted Webb’s pass and returned it 28 yards to pay dirt, giving the Sun Devils a 44-34 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“Every week we just stress the importance of getting takeaways,” Moeakiola said. “It hasn’t stopped and we’re just going to continue to try and do that.”

A pattern seems to be emerging: sluggish starts leading to second half surges culminating in wins.

“One thing I think we’ve been preaching since we began is no matter what the outcome, no matter what the issue is at the time we just got to keep working, keep grinding,” Wilkins said. “This team is built of warriors.”

Wilkins had a simple answer when asked about the Sun Devils beginning to take the form of a second-half team and developing an identity.

“4-0,” Wilkins replied.

Can’t argue with that.