West Virginia takes down Sun Devils in Cactus Bowl shootout

PHOENIX -- Arizona State's point-after conversion chart called for the Sun Devils to go for 2 after scoring a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Instead, they inexplicably kicked the extra point to take a six-point lead, making it easier for West Virginia to pull out a wild 43-42 victory in the Cactus Bowl early Sunday.

"We were supposed to go for 2 and we didn't," Arizona State coach Todd Graham said. "Mismanagement there and that is my responsibility."

The Cactus Bowl made up for its late start with an assault on the record books.

The teams combined for 1,196 yards of offense and the 950 yards passing were the most in the Cactus Bowl's 27-year history as the game crept well past midnight.

West Virginia (8-5) is typically a run-oriented team, but went to the air against the Sun Devils.

Skyler Howard shredded Arizona State's shoddy defensive backfield, throwing for a Cactus Bowl-record 532 yards and five touchdowns, including a 15-yarder to David Sills with 2:19 left.

The junior broke the Cactus Bowl record of 476 yards set by Washington State's Drew Bledsoe against Utah in 1992, and blew past the school bowl record of 429 yards set by Marc Bulger against Missouri in Tucson in 1998.

"He is gritty, he doesn't ever give up, he continues to go. It doesn't matter what people think and people say," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "He just keeps going to work every day and keeps getting better and better. I am really proud of this kid."

Tim White and Mike Bercovici did their best to keep Arizona State (6-7) in it.

White broke the school record for all-purpose yards with 289, scoring two touchdowns and even a blocked PAT return.

Bercovici threw for 418 yards and hit Gary Chambers on a 58-yard pass for his fourth touchdown of the game to put Arizona State ahead by five with about 5 minutes left.

The decision to kick the extra point to make it 42-36 instead of going for 2 ended up costing Arizona State.

West Virginia went ahead by one on Howard's pass to Sills and the extra point, and Arizona State turned the ball over on downs on its last possession to end its chances.

"It was my fault; should have made sure it happened," Graham said of the 2-point conversion gaffe.

It didn't help that the Sun Devils couldn't stop the Mountaineers' suddenly prolific passing game.

West Virginia came in 14th nationally in rushing offense, thanks in large part to Wendell Smallwood. The Mountaineers clearly saw something they liked in Arizona State's porous pass defense, particularly cornerback Kweishi Brown.

"We saw what we had over there and just took advantage of it," Howard said.

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West Virginia went at Brown early and picked on the rest of Arizona State's secondary throughout the first quarter, gaining 191 yards on eight receptions. Trouble was, the Mountaineers couldn't capitalize, settling for three field goals.

The Mountaineers kept going at Brown, though, and Shelton Gibson blew past him for a 59-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The Sun Devils took Brown out for a few plays, but West Virginia went right at him when he returned, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Howard to Daikiel Shorts.

Howard, whose career high was 359 yards, had 334 on 15-of-26 passing by halftime.

"They kept throwing over the top and scoring touchdowns," Graham said. "We blew a couple coverages and they ran by."

Arizona State's high-octane offense needed a tuneup early before it finally found a gear that worked in the second quarter, scoring on a tackle-breaking, 19-yard reception by Devin Lucien. But then it failed on three tries from inside West Virginia's 5-yard line and settled for another field goal later.

A strange turn of events kept the Sun Devils within 22-18 at halftime.

Arizona State blocked the extra point after Shorts' TD and White returned it 98 yards for the first 2-point conversion return in school history. West Virginia squibbed the ensuing kickoff and Arizona State recovered, taking advantage of the short field to set up Zane Gonzalez's 35-yard field goal with a second left.

The third quarter turned into a series of offensive counterpunches.

The Sun Devils moved quickly for a 2-yard TD pass from Bercovici to White. White scored again late in the third quarter by breaking three tackles and tight-roping his way down the sideline on a 33-yard reception.

The Mountaineers went back at Brown, scoring on a 64-yard pass from Howard to Gary Jennings, though it appeared Brown was expecting help from the safeties. Brown was alone when Gibson later caught a 37-yard completion and Shorts scored on a 17-yard pass the next play to put West Virginia up 36-32 heading into the fourth quarter.

Chambers scored the go-ahead touchdown with just under 5 minutes left when West Virginia safety Dravon Askew-Henry slipped, but the failure to go for 2 came back to haunt the Sun Devils.

Howard quickly led the Mountaineers down the field for the winning touchdown, and West Virginia's defense held to cap a sometimes-difficult season with a win.