Rashard Ross returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to break open a close game, and Taylor Kelly threw three scoring passes to tailback Marion Grice in Arizona State’s 51-17 victory over Colorado on Thursday night in Boulder, Colo.
Grice caught touchdowns of 37, 16 and 20 yards from Kelly, who threw for 308 yards and five TDs with no interceptions, thanks to a steady diet of successful screen passes. He also tucked it and ran for 67 yards through huge chunks of open space all night long.
The Sun Devils (5-1, 3-0 Pacific-12 Conference) will take a three-game winning streak into their showdown next week against second-ranked Oregon.
The Buffaloes fell to 1-5 and 1-2 in conference play.
COMMENTATOR DIES
Beano Cook, the college football commentator with an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport he dearly loved, has died.
The 81-year-old Boston native had worked for ESPN since 1986 and was the sports information director at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, from 1956 to 1966. The school announced Thursday that Cook had died in his sleep.
Cook was a diabetic and his health had been failing recently, as he made mention in his most recent blog post at www.bean-cook.com.
“Sorry to say that health issues hit me at the worst time – start of College Football Season,” he wrote in a post dated Oct. 1. “Everything except recovery takes a back-burner now. I won’t say I’ll be back to the blog by a certain date, as some businesses might ‘promise,’ but I do hope to return soon. Thanks for your support and encouragement. Enjoy the season! –Beano”
Born Carroll H. Cook, he grew up in Pittsburgh before graduating from the university in 1954, and was known for his love of the college game and, in particular, championing the cause of northeastern teams including Penn State and Pitt before either school was a nationally known power.
Cook said his favorites from his time working at Pitt were Mike Ditka, who went on to become a Pro Football Hall of Famer, and basketball star Don Hennon.
“He was special,” Ditka said in a statement. “We became really good friends the years I was in school at Pitt. I don’t know that anybody loved that job and loved Pitt more than he did.”
Cook was ABC Sports’ press director for the NCAA after leaving the SID job at Pitt, and later worked in as a writer or media representative for the St. Petersburg Times, Miami Dolphins, the Mutual Radio Network, and CBS before joining ESPN.
“Beano was a unique human being and he was college football at ESPN. I am indebted to him. Beano was a tremendous help at the start of my television career and I would not be where I am today without him,” ESPN analyst Lee Corso said. “I am forever grateful to Beano and the time we spent behind the GameDay desk.”
Cook received his distinctive nickname as a youth, when his family moved from Boston to Pittsburgh. A neighbor of the Cook family said, “Oh, from Boston, like the beans” and tabbed the 7-year-old “Beano.”
EX-MICHIGAN CAPTAIN TOM COYLE DIES AT 62
Tom Coyle, a co-captain for Michigan’s football team in 1972, has died. He was 62.
Coyle was a co-captain with Randy Logan in 1972 and a three-time letterwinner for the Wolverines. Michigan went 30-3 in those three seasons. Coyle started 32 games at right guard in that span.
Fritz Seyferth, a teammate of Coyle’s, called him a great leader who took coach Bo Schembechler’s message to heart.
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