Extra Point: Duke football vs. Arizona State

The final minutes of bowl games continue to be cruel to the Blue Devils.

Less than 30 seconds after taking its first lead of the game on a trick play, Duke found itself trailing once again, and an Anthony Boone interception in the end zone with less than a minute to play dropped the curtain on Duke's Sun Bowl dreams, falling 36-31 to No. 15 Arizona State. After clawing their way back from an early 20-3 hole, the Blue Devils came up just short of the first back-to-back 10-win campaigns in program history.

Senior wide receiver Jamison Crowder hauled in seven passes for 102 yards and helped Duke score two unconventional touchdowns in the loss. The Blue Devils head into the offseason needing to replace several key contributors to the program's turnaround, including Boone, Crowder, wide receiver Issac Blakeney and left guard Laken Tomlinson.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Get Boone and the passing game going: It was a slow start for the Weddington, N.C., native, as Boone opened 3-of-8 for 15 yards in a first quarter that saw the Sun Devils sprint out to a 10-0 lead. Duke's signal-caller missed some open targets throughout the game, including a few deep balls to favorite target Jamison Crowder, finishing the game 15-of-31 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. The Blue Devils put together a few sustained scoring drives—needing some fourth-down conversions and trick plays to do so—but were bottled up by the Arizona State defense for much of the game.
• Strong red zone play: For the Duke offense, the problem wasn't converting in the red zone Saturday afternoon—it was getting there. Both of Boone's touchdown tosses came on 14-yard strikes, finding Shaquille Powell on a screen and wide receiver Johnell Barnes as he scrambled on a broken play. The Blue Devils took their only lead of the game on Crowder's 12-yard toss to Issac Blakeney. On the other side of the ball, Demario Richard scored all four of his touchdowns—three rushing, the final one receiving—inside the 20-yard line. Arizona State scored on all six red zone possessions Saturday, adding a pair of Zane Gonzalez field goals.
• Composure when it gets close: Unlike its last two bowl appearances, Duke found itself making a late comeback rather than attempting to stave off the comeback bid. The Blue Devils never panicked, pulling out all the stops to keep its go-ahead drive alive. But the kick coverage on the ensuing kickoff provided Arizona State's Kalen Ballage with a seam, one he rode for 95 yards to set up the game-winning score. Even after the Sun Devils surged back in front, Boone led his team downfield with veteran poise, but his fade intended for Crowder was underthrown and intercepted with 45 seconds left—the third consecutive bowl game in which a late turnover sealed Duke's fate.

Three key plays:

• Facing a daunting third-and-14 late in the third quarter, Boone fires a strike to Blakeney to the Arizona State seven-yard-line for 21 yards, but Blakeney is stripped as the senior fought for extra yardage. The Sun Devils recovered the ball and returned it 29 yards, stopping Duke's first drive of the second half and one of the Blue Devils' best scoring opportunities of the afternoon. The costly turnover would only grow more so down the stretch.
• Will Monday delivered one of the game's most important plays with his arm, not his leg. The Duke punter threw an arcing ball to sophomore wide receiver Johnell Barnes on fourth-and-11 to keep the offense marching downfield, trailing 30-24. The 30-yard gain set the stage for Crowder's 12-yard toss to Blakeney four plays later to give the Blue Devils a one-point lead.
• That slim Duke advantage lasted only 18 seconds, thanks to the 95-yard kickoff return by Ballage. The freshman made a sharp cut and darted up the right sideline. Only a shove from redshirt freshman Terrance Alls prevented Ballage from finding paydirt, but the damage had been done. Taylor Kelly's shovel pass to Richard completed a one-play drive and gave the Sun Devils the 36-31 lead, one they would hold onto after Boone's late interception.

Three key stats:

Entering Saturday's contest, the freshman had recorded just four touchdowns, the understudy to proven tailback D.J. Foster. Although Foster racked up a team-high 79 yards on the ground and added 42 receiving yards, Richard was Arizona State's finisher all afternoon. The 5-foot-10 ball-carrier matched his season total with four scores against the Blue Devils—two receiving, two rushing—and made his case to become the feature back in head coach Todd Graham's offense if Foster opts to enter the NFL Draft. Richard was named MVP of the bowl game.

Cornerback Kweishi Brown gets honorable mention honors for forcing the Blakeney fumble in the red zone and picking off Boone's pass to seal the win for the Sun Devils.