No. 24 Arizona leads ASU 6-0 at the end of the first quarter

In the 86th meeting of the in-state rivals, No. 24 Arizona (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) took an early 6-0 first quarter lead against Arizona State (6-5, 4-4) in the annual Duel in the Desert at a sold-out Arizona Stadium.

Offense wasn’t exactly at the premium in the opening quarter as quarterback Matt Scott went 5-for-10 for 53 yards and running back Ka’Deem Carey had 46 yards on 11 attempts. But the Wildcat defense continued to shut down the Sun Devils, allowing Arizona to take the early advantage.

The Wildcats shot right out of the gate as Carey scampered 15-yards down the left sideline on the night’s opening play, putting him just three yards away from the Arizona all-time single season rushing record of 1,602 set in 1999 by Trung Canidate. But the strong Sun Devil’s pass rush quickly disrupted the Wildcats at midfield and forced an early Arizona punt.

After a quick three-and-out by Arizona State, the Wildcats went back to work. Several defensive pass interference calls helped keep the drive alive before a short four-yard run by Carey gave the sophomore the more than a decade-old rushing record. Carey wasn’t finished, though, as he capped off the drive by leaping over a Sun Devil defender for the game’s opening touchdown.

The Arizona lead remained just six after kicker John Bonano failed to hit the extra point. The miss broke the senior’s school-record of 73 consecutive PAT conversions and brought back painful memories for Wildcat fans of Alex Zendejas’ back-to-back extra point misses two seasons ago.

Arizona State was held to just 20 yards on its first two possessions against the Wildcat’s 114th ranked defense. Things finally started working for the Sun Devils on their third drive, picking up three first downs on the running of D.J. Foster but Arizona State was held at mid-field and punted for the third time in the quarter.

Kelly started the game just 1-for-3 for 10 yards while Foster had 31 yards on six carries.