Decade of Frustration Ends for Arizona State

Eric Guliford caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt 68 yards for another score to help Arizona State end a decade of frustration with a 37-14 victory over Arizona Saturday night.

The Sun Devils, 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the Pacific 10, also intercepted three passes, registered three sacks and outgained the Wildcats 336 yards to 155.

Arizona State led 20-0 at halftime and 37-0 before Arizona (4-7, 3-5) scored twice in the final 4:46.

The Wildcats took advantage of a 49-yard kickoff return by freshman Chuck Levy, who started at quarterback, to score on a one-yard keeper by George Malauulu. Then, after an apparent 86-yard scoring pass from Arizona State’s Bobby Valdez to Jean Boy was nullified by a penalty, Corey Pittman recovered a blocked punt in the end zone.

Earlier, Arizona State’s Bret Powers threw scoring passes of 24 yards to Guliford and two yards to Bob Brasher, Kelvin Fisher scored on a four-yard run, and Mike Richey kicked field goals of 30, 28 and 25 yards.

The one-sided victory put Coach Larry Marmie on the plus side with a 22-21-1 record in four years. Speculation was intense before the game that Athletic Director Charles Harris had decided not to renew Marmie’s contract, which expires June 30.

Harris and Marmie have declined to comment, but the beleaguered coach registered the first victory over Arizona since a Darryl Rogers-coached team won, 24-13, in 1981. The Wildcats were 8-0-1 since then.

The predominantly pro-Arizona State crowd of 73,427 flooded the field after the game, tearing down the goal posts on both ends and passing them up the tiers of Sun Devil Stadium.