PHOENIX -- West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard had zero college scholarship offers from FBS schools when he left high school. Now, he ranks ahead of Drew Bledsoe and Marc Bulger in Cactus Bowl history.

Howard set Cactus Bowl records with 532 yards passing, 555 yards total offense and and five touchdown passes in the Mountaineers' wild 43-42 victory over Arizona State and its blitzing defense on Saturday night at Chase Field.

"We knew it was going to be high risk, high reward," Howard said. "We knew if we could hold up up front that we would have some shots downfield. I was just giving those guys a shot, and they came down with it."

Howard's 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver David Sills with 2:19 remaining was the sixth lead change in a game that featured combined Cactus Bowl records for 950 yards passing and nine touchdown passes.

Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici passed for 418 yards and four touchdowns, but his fourth-down pass with 1:32 remaining was tipped and fell incomplete and West Virginia ran out the clock.

The Mountaineers (8-5) reached eight victories for the first time in four seasons in the Big 12, an emphasis entering the game, with their first bowl victory since the 70-33 thrashing of Clemson in 2012 Orange Bowl.

"It's the kind you dream about," said Howard, who completed 28 of 51 passes with two interceptions.

"When they blitz 100 percent of the time, that gets pretty nerve-wracking back there," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said.

"I give him credit for hanging in there. That's tough. You get hit. When you know they are going to bring six, seven guys."

Mountaineers wide receiver Daikiel Shorts Jr. had two touchdown receptions, and wide receivers Shelton Gibson and Gary Jennings had one piece. Shelton had 143 yards receiving and Ka'Raun White had 116.

West Virginia attacked Arizona State's defense at its most vulnerable point. The Sun Devils had allowed an average of 383.6 passing yards per game.

"The story of the game, we couldn't contain the vertical pass," Arizona State coach Todd Graham said. "We blew some coverages early."

Bercovici's 58-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gary Chambers with 4:36 remaining gave Arizona State (6-7) a 42-36 lead before the Mountaineers scored on their next drive.

Graham said he should have gone for a two-point conversion after Chambers' score. If successful, the Sun Devils would have been up by seven.

"It's my fault," Grahman said.

Arizona State senior wide receiver Devin Lucien had nine catchers for 144 yards and a touchdown. Lucien had 26 receptions for 534 yards and five touchdowns in his final three college games.

The 1,196 combined yards is second in Cactus history to the 1,211 Arizona State and Rutgers had in 2005.

West Virginia had 237 yards in total offense in the first quarter but had to settle for three Josh Lambert field goals and a 9-3 lead after their drives stalled at the Arizona State 4-, 14- and 10-yard lines. Howard had 191 yards passing in the quarter.

Arizona State, which had 42 yards of offense and one first down in the first quarter, turned an interception by linebacker Salamo Fiso into a Zane Gonzalez 37-yard field goal.

Gonzalez, a junior, had four field goals and broke Luis Zendejas' school career scoring record.

The Sun Devils took their first lead when Lucien caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Bercovici with 9:59 left in the second quarter, and the lead changed hands five times thereafter.

Howard beat single coverage with a 59-yard touchdown pass to Gibson for a 16-10 lead with 6:02 remaining in the half.

That was one of three passes of more than 50 yards ad five of more than 30 yards that Howard completed.

NOTES: Arizona State played in its fifth consecutive bowl game, a school record. Coach Todd Graham is the only coach in Sun Devils history to reach a bowl in his first four seasons. ... Graham and West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen coached against each other in the last Backyard Brawl in 2011, Graham's only season at Pitt. The Mountaineers won 21-20. ... West Virginia played in its 13th bowl game in the last 14 seasons, missing only after 2013. ... The Sun Devils won the only previous meeting with West Virginia 42-7 at home in 1979. ... Mountaineers All-Big 12 junior CB Daryl Worley did not play for academic reasons. He had six interceptions. ... Arizona State sophomore LB D.J. Calhoun made his first start of the season in place of the injured junior LB Laui Moeakiola. Calhoun was second on the team with 6 1/2 sacks during the regular season. ... Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell did not coach during bowl preparation after being named head coach at Memphis on Dec. 3.