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Arizona State survives scare, pulls away from Cal Poly late

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Arizona State pulls away late for first victory (1:10)

Arizona State scores 14 unanswered points to defeat Cal Poly 35-21. (1:10)

Well, that was interesting. The Sun Devils survived a scare from visiting Cal Poly and were able to pick up their first win of 2015, holding off the Mustangs 35-21.

But it certainly wasn't the resounding victory Todd Graham and Co. were hoping for. They were continually baffled by Cal Poly's triple-option, which the Mustangs ran to the tune of 284 yards on the ground. To be fair, they did have 72 rushing attempts to just eight pass attempts. And ASU's mistake-plagued offense didn't help.

It wasn't until midway through the fourth quarter that ASU was able to pull away and hold on to the win.

What the win means for Arizona State: First, they can wipe that sweat from their brow because they worked a lot harder for this one than they were probably expecting to. Presumably, they'll be heavy favorites again next week against New Mexico. That's a good thing because there is a lot for the Sun Devils to shore up before opening conference play against USC. Where to start? Take your pick from the failed red zone trips, drops and turnovers. Actually, those were all connected.

What the loss means for Cal Poly: Good for the Mustangs for not being intimidated by their opponent or their surroundings. They'll get a little time on SportsCenter and can be proud of the effort. There might also be that little ringing in the back of their head that they had a heavyweight on the ropes and couldn't close the deal. Still, a lot of positives to build off of.

How the game was won: With 7:36 left in the game, quarterback Mike Bercovici connected with Kody Kohl on a 10-yard strike. Kohl, who was actually draped in pretty good coverage, made an excellent catch to give the Sun Devils a 28-21 lead. From there, the defense forced a punt and Bercovici connected with Tim White for a late score.

Player of the game: Despite some of the mental mishaps and errors on offense, Demario Richard still had a pretty good night running the football. The ASU running back carried 25 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns.