A frustrating Arizona State Sun Devils football season came to what can be considered a fitting end on Saturday night/Sunday morning.
The Devils finished the season with a 6-7 record after falling 43-42 to West Virginia (8-5) in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl that didn't end until after 12:30 a.m local time.
Here are three big takeaways from the Devils' defeat.
1. Questionable decisions by Todd Graham
Right or wrong, ASU coach Todd Graham will be second-guessed over and over for how he handled this game, especially the second half.
Along with taking a timeout before a kickoff -- yes, a kickoff -- and waiting too long to take another timeout late in the game, Graham inexplicably had ASU kick an extra point instead of going for two after the Sun Devils grabbed a five-point lead with less than five minutes to play.
ASU's Gary Chambers with a 58yd TD reception to make it 42-36 over WVU, 4:56 4Q #CactusBowl pic.twitter.com/6jd5mvGvTD
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 3, 2016
The result was the one-point margin of victory for West Virginia after the Mountaineers scored a game-winning TD with just over two minutes remaining.
"It's my fault. We have a chart in the box that we go by. We were supposed to go for two, and we didn't." -Todd Graham
— ABC15 Sports (@abc15sports) January 3, 2016
Granted, there's no guarantee that a two-point conversion would have succeeded -- but there's no reason not to go for two in that situation. It was just one of several baffling moves by Graham on the night.
2. ASU's secondary is not good
Despite not being terribly accurate and throwing two interceptions, West Virginia QB Skyler Howard did this on Saturday/Sunday.
It's a record-breaking night! @WVUfootball has 532 passing yards, breaking a 24-year old #CactusBowl record.
— Cactus Bowl (@Cactus_Bowl) January 3, 2016
That stat is a stinging indictment on ASU's pass defense, which allowed a Pac-12-worst 321 yards per game through the air coming in to the Cactus Bowl.
For the game, Howard threw for 532 yards, which was easily his all-time collegiate best. He especially enjoyed picking on ASU Kweishi Brown, who was burned downfield more than a few times. Suffice it to say the Sun Devil secondary is an area the team desperately needs to improve upon next season.
3. Here's the good news...
Despite dropping a late pass that could have helped get the Sun Devils in field-goal range, ASU wide receiver Tim White put on an impressive display on offense and special teams against West Virginia.
He just broke a record set in the 1951 Salad Bowl @tim_white6 has 282 all-purpose yards, an ASU bowl record pic.twitter.com/o7jnJ0RWln
— Sun Devil Football (@FootballASU) January 3, 2016
The best news of all is White is only a junior, so unless he decides to forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL draft, the Sun Devils will have an elite wideout returning to school next season.
