No. 11 Arizona State started fast and finished faster, leaving No. 8 Notre Dame gasping for air in the desert and national championship race.
The Arizona State Sun Devils wanted to make a statement Saturday when No. 8 Notre Dame visited Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
Mission accomplished.
The No. 11 Sun Devils (8-1) ran off 34 unanswered points first half to take a 34-10 halftime lead, then closed the game with three touchdowns in less than four minutes to put away the Fighting Irish (7-2), 55-31.
The loss leaves Notre Dame very much on the periphery of the College Football Playoff picture, while the win may get the Sun Devils some attention from the voters—who had them at No. 10 last week.
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Arizona State ran back two interceptions for touchdowns—a 59-yard return by Damarius Randall in the second quarter than put the Sun Devils up 24-3 and a 58-yard pick six from Lloyd Carrington late in the fourth quarter that iced the game after the Irish had climbed back to within three midway through the final period.
The Irish were forced to rely on the arm of senior quarterback Everett Golson, who was intercepted four times, because the Sun Devils held Notre Dame to just 41 rushing yards.
D.J. Foster rushed for 120 yards and Taylor Kelly threw three touchdown passes.
Golson hit Amir Carlisle with a 25-yard touchdown pass with 6:37 to go in regulation as the Fighting Irish closed the gap to 34-31 after trailing 34-3 late in the first half.
Arizona State answered with a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 4-yard pass from Taylor Kelly to Demario Richard with 4:29 to go.
On Notre Dame’s next possession, Carrington picked off Golson and took it to the house to ice the game. Arizona State added a 2-yard touchdown by Kelly with 52 seconds left after Notre Dame went for it on fourth-and-10 from its own 30 and Golson was sacked for a 22-yard loss by Viliami Latu.
Golson was 22-for-41 for 446 yards and two touchdowns, but had the four picks.
Notre Dame returns home to host Northwestern (3-6) next Saturday, while the Sun Devils visit Oregon State (4-4).
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