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Kelly shines as Arizona State routs Washington State

Nov 1, 2013 - 7:34 AM Pullman, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Taylor Kelly threw for five touchdowns and rushed for two more in No. 25 Arizona State's 55-21 thumping of Washington State at Martin Stadium.

Kelly completed 22-of-31 passes for 275 yards and an interception while picking up 66 yards on 13 carries.

D.J. Foster caught seven passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns for the Sun Devils (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12), who have won their last three games by an average of 34.7 points. Richard Smith caught three passes for 79 yards and a score, while Jaelen Strong and Chris Coyle finished with one touchdown reception apiece.

"I'm really proud of our guys, we beat a really good football team. I'm proud of how we came up here and responded. We were very mature and professional. I thought we came out and had our best performance," said ASU head coach Todd Graham.

Marion Grice rushed for 94 yards on 18 totes to lead an Arizona State team that racked up 282 yards on the ground.

Connor Halliday completed 29-of-54 passes for 300 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the Cougars (4-5, 2-4), losers in three straight and four of their last five games overall.

"We tried to make too much happen," Washington State head coach Mike Leach said. "We focused too much on our opponent rather than on doing our job. We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds."

The Cougars, who entered the contest averaging an FBS-worst 58.4 rushing yards per game, were held to just two yards on the ground.

Arizona jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

Kelly ran it in from seven yards out to cap a 10-play, 67-yard drive on the Sun Devils' first touch. On 3rd-and-1, Kelly faked a handoff and scooted around the left side of the line before lunging across the goal line for the score.

Kelly used his legs once again, this time from six yards out, to make it 14-0 with 5:34 to play in the opening stanza. On 3rd-and-2, ASU used the same play to score with Kelly faking the hand off and running around the left tackle. This time however, Kelly spun away from a Washington State defender before scooting into the end zone.

Kelly's 11-yard TD strike to Strong made it a three-score game. Kelly faked the hand off, but this time as he scrambled to the left, he delivered a laser to Strong on a slant route for the score.

The Cougars finally got on the board nine seconds into the second quarter. Halliday connected with Gabe Marks on a slant on the right side and the receiver broke a tackle before turning it up field. Marks raced a pair of Sun Devil defenders to the pylon and was able to stretch the ball across the goal line before going out of bounds.

Arizona State, though, scored the next 21 points to make it 42-7 with 1:40 left in the first half.

On 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Kelly completed a screen pass to Foster, who sprinted to the end zone. Foster was met by a gang of Washington State defenders at the goal line, but was able to keep his balance and fall into the end zone with 7:49 remaining in the half.

The Sun Devils scored on the first play of their next possession as Kelly found Smith along the right sideline for a 51-yard score. Kelly's pass was underthrown and the ball was batted around twice by Smith and a Washington State defender before Smith came down with it and ran into the end zone.

Kelly's 8-yard TD completion to Coyle made it 42-7.

Halliday connected on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Rickey Galvin with 20 seconds left to cut the Cougars' deficit to 42-14 at the break.

Jeremiah Laufasa ran it in from four yards out on Washington State's first drive of the second half to make it 42-21, but Kelly connected with Foster for a 23-yard touchdown to make it a 28-point game near the midway point of the third.

Zane Gonzalez hit a pair of fourth quarter field goals from 37 and 36 yards, respectively, to make it 55-21.

Game Notes

Grice was held without a touchdown for the first time this season ... Kelly has thrown five touchdowns twice this season ... The Sun Devils, who are back in the rankings after a five-week hiatus, will visit Utah on Nov. 9 ... The Cougars will have the next week off before traveling to Arizona to take on the Wildcats on Nov. 16.