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Late interception gives Arizona State a 36-31 win against Duke in the Sun Bowl

Arizona State quarterback Taylor Kelly was hoisted by teammates after scoring during the first quarter of the Sun Bowl NCAA college football game against Duke, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Victor Calzada)
Arizona State quarterback Taylor Kelly was hoisted by teammates after scoring during the first quarter of the Sun Bowl NCAA college football game against Duke, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Victor Calzada)

For the third consecutive season, Duke failed to earn the bowl win that has eluded the program for the past 53 years.

A late Kweishi Brown interception on quarterback Anthony Boone ended Duke’s hope of a late win as the Blue Devils fell to Arizona State 36-31 in the Sun Bowl.

Prior to that interception, Boone had led his team back from a 30-17 deficit in the fourth quarter and the Blue Devils briefly had taken a 31-30 lead with 5:03 remaining.

However, on the kickoff, Arizona State’s Kalen Ballage ran the ball back 96 yards to set up Demario Richard, who scored the game-winning touchdown off an option pass by quarterback Taylor Kelly.

It was Richard’s fourth touchdown of the day, which tied a Sun Bowl record.

Early, Arizona State looked like it was going to run away with the game taking a 20-3 lead midway through the second quarter. But a touchdown pass from Boone to Shaquille Powell and a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jamison Crowder cut the Sun Devils’ lead to just three at halftime.

However, the third quarter was all Arizona State and Duke, once again, looked to be out of the game. But Boone rallied his team and got it to the Arizona State 14-yard line before throwing the pick with 45 seconds remaining.

This is the second straight year Duke has lost a bowl game on an interception. Last year, Texas A&M’s Toney Hurd picked off Boone and ran it back 55 yards for the game-winning score.

Arizona State, which was close to playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff before a late-season slide pushed the Sun Devils out of contention, notched its second consecutive 10-win season. It’s the first time the Sun Devils have had back-to-back 10-win seasons since the early 1970s.

For more Arizona State news, visit ASUDevils.com.

For more Duke news, visit DevilsIllustrated.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!

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