Sun Devils Run Wild Ground Game Carries Asu To Sun Bowl Victory

With its starting quarterback gone and the only alternative a career backup, No. 16 Arizona State turned to running back Mike Martin and its defense to lead the way in Wednesday’s Sun Bowl.

Both came through as the Sun Devils defeated Iowa 17-7.

“It was my last game so I wanted to make sure I did it right,” said Martin, who was voted the game’s most valuable player. “I had never played in a bowl game, so I wanted to go out with a bang. I believe I did.”

Martin rushed for a personal-best 169 yards on 27 carries and scored on a 1-yard run to allow ASU to control the tempo of the game and take pressure off quarterback Steve Campbell, who was starting his first game.

Campbell responded by making the most of a modest passing game, completing 5 of 11 passes for 109 yards and a 35-yard touchdown.

“We didn’t want to throw it a lot and the way our defense was playing, we didn’t have to,” said ASU coach Bruce Snyder.

The Sun Devils defense kept the nation’s ninth-ranked scoring offense out of the end zone until the final minute and limited the Hawkeyes (7-5) to 209 total yards.

Iowa came into the game averaging 424 yards and 37 points per game. ASU (9-3) finished with 377 total yards.

“I kind of figured they’d run the ball quite a bit with a new quarterback and stuff. They did what they had to do to win. My hat goes off to them. They played a great game,” said Iowa linebacker Matt Hughes.

“We weren’t crisp and sharp as we should have been,” Hughes added. “We have nobody to blame but ourselves.”

The Hawkeyes could manage only one score, a 26-yard touchdown pass from Randy Reiners to Richard Carter with 49 seconds remaining.

The Sun Devils also stopped the Hawkeyes on fourth-down attempts on three consecutive series in the second half.

“Is that big?” asked Snyder. “That’s like getting three turnovers.” With just over 2 minutes remaining in the third period, ASU stuffed Iowa’s Tavian Banks on a fourth-and1 at Iowa’s 42.

ASU kept the ball on the ground as it drove 58 yards and took a commanding 17-0 lead as Martin ran in untouched from 1 yard out.

Arizona State took a 10-0 lead at the half, in large part because of Campbell, who threw for 109 yards over the first two quarters and hooked up with Lenzie Jackson from 35 yards out.

Jackson pulled down Campbell’s pass, spun away from one defender, then slipped past the outstretched fingers of another to put Arizona State up 7-0 with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

The Sun Devils extended their lead to 10-0 as Robert Nycz connected on a 21-yard field goal 1 minute after Arizona State recovered Iowa quarterback Matt Sherman’s fumble at the Hawkeyes’ 28.

As Campbell made his mark, Iowa struggled with its quarterbacks. The Hawkeyes alternated Sherman and Reiners, but neither could move the ball and Iowa managed only 30 yards in the first half to ASU’s 236.

Sherman finished 8 of 22 for 120 yards. Reiners was 4 of 5 for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Snyder said that despite the focus placed on Campbell’s inexperience prior to the game, the team felt confident with the backup taking the helm.

“I think myself, my staff and my team rallied around him,” Snyder said. “He did a great job today.”

Arizona St. 17, Iowa 7

Arizona St. 0 10 7 0 - 17

Iowa 0 0 0 7 - 7

Second quarter

ASU-Jackson 35 pass from Campbell (Nycz kick), 9:41.

ASU-FG Nycz 20, 0:00. Third quarter

ASU-Martin 1 run (Nycz kick), :31. Fourth quarter

Iowa-Carter 26 pass from Reiners (Bromert kick), :49.

A-49,104.

ASU Iowa First downs 18 10 Rushes-yards 61-268 30-19 Passing 109 190 Comp-Att-Int 5-11-0 12-27-0 Return Yards 26 16 Punts-Avg. 9-36 8-49 Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-1 Penalties-Yards 11-90 7-44 Time of Possession 35:29 24:31

Individual statistics

RUSHING-Arizona St., Martin 27-169, Redman 13-50, Farlow 8-30, Paulk 5-20, Simmons 2-7, Boyer 1-(minus 1), Campbell 5-(minus 7). Iowa, Banks 14-52, Thein 3-5, Burger 1-1, Reiners 5-0, Sherman 7-(minus 39).

PASSING-Arizona St., Campbell 5-11-0-109. Iowa, Sherman 8-22-0-120, Reiners 4-5-0-70.

RECEIVING-Arizona St., Jackson 2-44, Mitchell 1-41, Redman 1-14, Paulk 1-10. Iowa, Gibson 3-79, Dwight 3-51, Banks 2-12, Carter 1-26, Collins 1-12, Willock 1-6, Knipper 1-4.