Distracted Arizona State Loses in Snyder’s Send-Off

Arizona State’s football team spent the last few days in Hawaii, but the school’s coaching shuffle took some fun out of the trip. And so did Monday’s 31-17 loss to Boston College in the Aloha Bowl at Honolulu.

“It was a real distraction having to be loyal to this coaching staff knowing another coaching staff was coming in,” Arizona State center Scott Peters said.

The game marked the end of Bruce Snyder’s stay at Arizona State. He was fired late in the season and will be replaced by former Boise State coach Dirk Koetter.

“I just got through speaking to the players,” Snyder said. “This is really an important team to me, a real special team. It’s not one of those teams that wins every game.

“They’re really loyal and together, and I wish them well for their future.”

Tim Hasselbeck threw two long second-half touchdown passes and Cedric Washington scored on an 11-yard run, all in the second half, for the Eagles (7-5).

After the teams played to a 10-10 tie in the first half, Boston College scored twice in a two-minute span of the third quarter.

The scores came on Hasselbeck passes of 58 yards to Dedrick Dewalt and 40 yards to Ryan Read. Two series later, Washington put the game out of reach with his 11-yard touchdown.

Hasselbeck did not post impressive numbers, completing nine of 21 passes, but the long-gainers more than offset the low completion percentage. The Eagles also got a strong performance from Washington, who gained 109 yards in 22 carries while filling in for suspended starter William Green.

The first half was one of missed opportunities.

Arizona State (6-6) scored on its first possession, Tom Pace capping a 46-yard drive with a 14-yard run.

The Eagles moved ahead on Washington’s 10-yard run and Mike Sutphin’s 50-yard field goal, but Mike Barth countered with a 28-yard field goal to tie it.

Both teams failed to take advantage of good field position.

The Sun Devils got to the Eagle 19, but Willie Poole picked off Jeff Krohn’s pass in the end zone. They got to the Eagle one in the second quarter, but Griffin Goodman fumbled and Paul Cook pounced on it for Boston College. It was one of five Arizona State turnovers in the game.

Goodman entered the game after Krohn dislocated his right shoulder in the second quarter.

The Eagles got to the Arizona State seven in the first half, but a fake field goal went awry.

Arizona State’s final score came with 51 seconds left, with quarterback Matt Cooper passing to Ryan Dennard on a 31-yard touchdown play.

The Sun Devils had better game numbers--81 plays to 56 and 35:33 to 24:27 in time of possession--but they were hampered by the turnovers, which led to two field goals and a touchdown.

“We tried to make this a four-quarter game because we knew we couldn’t match up with their speed,” Boston College Coach Tom O’Brien said. “We knew their speed would have to come back to us in the fourth quarter.

“It came back a little sooner than that. We knew we would get stronger as the game went on and we were able to do that.”

That’s when Hasselbeck hit for his two scores and Washington ran in for his second touchdown.

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In the town where his grandfather once caught political flak, Richmond Flowers III caught just about everything else.

The Tennessee-Chattanooga receiver’s leaping 21-yard touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone with 59 seconds left gave the Gray a 40-37 victory in the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic at Montgomery, Ala.

“The quarterback put the ball there,” said Flowers, whose grandfather was Alabama’s controversial attorney general during the 1960s. “My job was just to go up there and make the play.”

Flowers caught 12 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns.

The game, pitting the North against the South, is for seniors whose schools were not playing in bowl games.