The Arizona State Sun Devils were victorious in the inaugural Union Jack Classic, defeating the Kansas Jayhawks 24-17 in London at Wembley Stadium.
Neither offense was efficient on the night, with ASU’s defense and special teams playing the largest role in their victory.
Despite the Sun Devils opening the scoring through a Carson Smith field goal, their offensive struggles were clear.
Kansas were not exactly having much success with the ball either, as the Jayhawks managed to make progress down the field but struggled to finish drives.
They had a failed fourth-down attempt on their second possession and then a fumble on their third, with both series ending inside ASU’s 40-yard line.
However, the Jayhawks capitalised on their strong defensive play. A three-and-out, which came partly because of an ASU holding penalty on what looked to be a third-down conversion, saw the Sun Devils’ second straight punt.
Tate Nagy took full advantage, racing down the right sideline for a 72-yard punt return touchdown.
The game then saw six straight punts between both teams. It wasn’t exactly a (Union Jack) classic for the London crowd just yet.
But special teams are still important, as evidenced by the two punters’ performances.
Nik McLarty pinned Kansas on their own two-yard line with under 40 seconds of the first half remaining.
A three-and-out from the Jayhawks then resulted in Matthew Gill’s 17-yard punt, giving ASU the ball just 25 yards from the end zone.
Quarterback Cutter Boley capitalised, finding Reed Harris for a touchdown on the first play following the punt.
ASU ended the half with that touchdown and started the second half with another. Jaren Hamilton took the ball 100 yards to the house on the second-half opening kickoff.
All of a sudden, the Sun Devils led 17-7.
ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said: “Despite losing the stats, we won the situations that win games.”
It wasn’t just the special teams play that won the game for Dillingham’s team, though.
ASU won the turnover battle three to zero, which included a 77-yard fumble return by Hyrum Vaeono, setting up a one-yard touchdown sneak by Boley.
On having fewer total yards, rushing yards, passing yards and first downs, Dillingham said: “Last week we won the stats and lost the game. Give me losing the stats and winning the game 100 times out of 100. I was glad that we found a way to win.
“We created three takeaways and those were the difference in the game. The last two games we’ve played, there’s only one stat that’s mattered. It’s the takeaways. This week we won 3-0, last week we lost. It’s funny how simple football really is.”
Kansas’ situational football was a disaster all night. The two drives preceding their second fumble of the game saw a second failure on fourth down and then a missed field goal, with both drives again making it into ASU territory.
The Jayhawks’ possession that followed Boley’s one-yard touchdown ended in a fourth-down interception.
While Kansas’ offense struggled, their defense would not roll over. Linebacker Trey Lathan was positive about his unit’s performance.
He said: “We performed really well. We held them down. They’re one of the top teams in the league and we went out there and we executed. That’s pretty much all you can ask for.”
Back-to-back forced punts by Lathan and the defense gave Kansas hope.
They finally put together a scoring drive as quarterback Isaiah Marshall found Nagy with a 38-yard touchdown pass over the middle. Following the second straight punt by ASU, Kansas mustered a 46-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 24-17 with less than four minutes remaining.
No timeouts for the Jayhawks meant a first down was all Boley’s offense needed. On third down and five, ASU’s quarterback delivered on a night where he had struggled.
As Dillingham said, the Sun Devils won the situations that win games, including the most crucial down of the night, as Boley’s keeper and first-down run won ASU the game.
On a night where the Kansas offense struggled until the fourth quarter, Marshall said: “We didn’t execute. That starts with me. My personal performance wasn’t good because we only scored once.”
Kansas outgained ASU 235 to 95 through the air, 179 to 133 on the ground, and 414 to 228 in total yards. The Jayhawks also had 22 first downs to ASU’s 13, with three fewer penalties for 25 fewer yards.
But ASU’s situational football on defense and special teams won them the game. Kansas were zero for three on fourth down and had two fumbles to go with Marshall’s fourth-down interception.
Those key plays were the difference and the reason ASU were crowned the first-ever Union Jack Classic champions.
All images courtesy of Tom Henigan
Join the discussion