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With Khalil Tate injured, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats fell to rival ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State 42-30 Saturday afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ led 24-14 at halftime, but Tate, their star quarterback, suffered an apparent left shoulder injury. 

With Tate in and out of the lineup – and clearly impaired when he briefly played – the Sun Devils outscored the Wildcats 21-0 in the third quarter. Tate completed 11 of 13 passes for 132 yards in his final regular-season game of the season. He also rushed eight times for 128 yards and a touchdown. 

ASU avenged last year’s loss to improve to 7-5, 6-3 in the Pac-12. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ lost for the third time in its past four games to fall to 7-5, 5-4. The Sun Devils finish in second place in the Pac-12 South.

Todd Graham, whose job reportedly was on the line today, improved to 4-2 against counterpart Rich Rodriguez. The Sun Devils were outgained by the UA, 439 yards to 390, but made up for it by forcing a pair of turnovers and sacking the quarterback three times. The teams ran a combined 138 plays, a surprisingly sluggish pace for the up-tempo teams. 

After the calamitous third quarter, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ got back in the game on Brandon Dawkins’ 50-yard touchdown run. Dawkins, playing in place of Tate, faked an end-around and raced through the ASU defense.

With the score 35-30, Rodriguez dialed up a two-point play. But the Sun Devils defended it well, and Dawkins’ pass into the end zone fell incomplete.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ appeared to take the lead on a punt return by Shun Brown, but the touchdown was wiped out by a questionable block-in-the-back call on Shawn Poindexter.

The Wildcats couldn’t advance the ball and had to punt from their own end zone. The Sun Devils took over at the UA 33-yard line. On third-and-goal from the 9, Manny Wilkins connected with N’Keal Harry for a touchdown to make it 42-30 with 4:51 remaining. Wilkins completed 11 of 17 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns and was intercepted once. Demario Richard led all rushers with 165 yards and two touchdowns. Harry finished with four catches for 43 yards and a pair of scores.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ drove to the ASU 1-yard line but couldn’t score, effectively ending the game.

THIRD-QUARTER UPDATE

TEMPE – The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats appeared to be in complete control of the Territorial Cup at the end of the first half. But at the very end of the half, star quarterback Khalil Tate took a hard hit on a Hail Mary attempt. Then everything changed.

With Tate in and out of the lineup because of a possible injury, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has fallen behind ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State 35-24 entering the fourth quarter of their game Saturday afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium.

Tate did not start the second half. Brandon Dawkins replaced him, and the Wildcats went three-and-out on their first possession.

Then disaster struck. Punter Jake Glatting couldn’t handle a low snap. ASU’s Curtis Hodges blocked the kick, sending the ball out of bounds at the UA 5-yard line. Two plays later, Demario Richard scored from the 1 to make it 24-21.

On the next possession, on third-and-8, Dawkins threw an interception. ASU took over at the UA 30. The Sun Devils scored on Manny Wilkins’ 5-yard pass to N’Keal Harry.

Tate then came back into the game. He appeared to be favoring his left (non-throwing) shoulder. The Wildcats couldn’t advance the ball and had to punt.

ASU got the ball back and went 75 yards in eight plays. Richard capped the drive with a 6-yard TD run.

The Sun Devils outscored the Wildcats 21-0 in the quarter.

HALFTIME UPDATE:

TEMPE – Behind an efficient offense and a resilient defense, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats lead ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State 24-14 at halftime of the Territorial Cup game at Sun Devil Stadium.

Khalil Tate has completed 10 of 11 passes for 127 yards. He also has rushed for a touchdown. Zach Green and J.J. Taylor also have run for scores.

Colin Schooler has eight tackles, including two for losses. Schooler, Tony Fields II and Parker Zellers have sacks for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.

The UA scored on each of its first four possessions. Leading 14-7 after the first quarter, the Wildcats bumped the advantage to 10 points on Josh Pollack’s 24-yard field goal.

ASU struck back on the next possession. Three straight completions by Manny Wilkins advanced the ball to the UA 1. Kalen Ballage dove over the goal line to make it 17-14.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ responded with a quick, five-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Tate hit Tyrell Johnson for 42 yards to set up Taylor’s 15-yard TD run.

The Wildcats got the ball back with 2:05 left in the half at their 29. But three runs plays netted just 4 yards, forcing the UA to punt.

On the ensuing possession, Lorenzo Burns intercepted Wilkins. It was just the fifth pick thrown by Wilkins this season. It was also Burns’ fifth interception.

A penalty set up the Wildcats at their 45-yard line with a minute left in the half and two timeouts. But Rich Rodriguez elected to play it safe, and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ was unable to expand the lead. Tate’s only incomplete pass came on a half-ending Hail Mary attempt.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has outgained ASU 251-167. The Wildcats have converted 6 of 8 third downs.

FIRST-QUARTER UPDATE:

TEMPE – The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats lead ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State 14-7 entering the second quarter of their annual rivalry game Saturday afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ scored on each of its first two possessions, marching 73 and 50 yards. Zach Green capped the first drive with a 1-yard TD run. The key plays: Khalil Tate’s 11-yard pass to Tony Ellison on third-and-3 and Shun Brown’s 23-yard catch-and-run to the ASU 3-yard line.

The UA defense forced three-and-outs on each of ASU’s first two possessions. Tony Fields II ended the second drive with a sack.

Tate’s 1-yard run gave the Wildcats a 14-0 lead with 4:38 left in the quarter.

The Sun Devils finally got a spark when Manny Wilkins hit Frank Darby for a 48-yard pass. Then, on third-and-11 from the 18, Wilkins found Kyle Williams alone in the end zone to trim ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s lead in half.

Tate is 6 of 6 for 62 yards.