Devils and the details
Lessons to be learned from ASU season opener
Arizona State opened coach Todd Graham’s sixth season with a 37-31 win over New Mexico State on Thursday night.
Although the Sun Devils had flashes, their first performance wasn’t pretty.
Let’s review:
3 takeaways
Protection is a problem. Don’t just blame the offensive line. The Sun Devils struggled picking up the blitz nearly all night. Running backs missed blocks. Tight ends missed blocks. At one point, ASU had seven in protection and got beat by a four-man rush. Up front, breakdowns came on both the left and right sides. Also, quarterback Manny Wilkins at times took too long to get rid of the ball. Overall, the Aggies posted seven quarterback sacks. They produced only 12 all of last season. The defensive depth might be
worse than expected. This should’ve been an “experience” game. One that lets ASU get its depth on the field. The fact that coaches planned to play the starters every down is telling. It suggests they don’t have confidence in their reserves. At least not at this point. Overall, ASU didn’t make a single defensive substitution until early in the fourth quarter, and that was because of an injury. Let’s not overplay this: The main reason was because the Sun Devils never went to a nickel package, which changes personnel. (Graham said they didn’t feel like it was necessary.) Even so, it’s a tough task for a defense to play every down in August heat, especially for the boys up front. New Mexico State scored on its final two possessions against ASU’s first-team defense. Was it because the Sun Devils were tired? On the other hand, once ASU’s second team took the field, New Mexico State went 85 yards in 48 seconds, so maybe that explains it. For the most part, they are who we
thought they were. Keep in mind: Most experts put ASU in the 5-7 win range. No doubt, Thursday’s opener was underwhelming, but it was clear from the start that this team has issues. The question moving forward is how much the Sun Devils can improve in Week 2.
Offense
Wilkins was solid to start, completing his first nine passes. He finished 22 of 27 for 300 yards. He connected with wideopen junior WR Jalen Harvey for a 53yard TD in the first quarter. In the third, he threw a 60-yard TD pass – perhaps the best throw of his ASU career – to sophomore WR John Humphrey. The pass traveled 61 yards in the air and was right on the money. Wilkins also was smart, sliding when forced out of pocket and darting out of bounds instead of taking a hit. Three of Wilkins’ completions came on shuffle passes or jet sweeps to sophomore WR Kyle Williams. … In his first ASU game, Humphrey had seven catches for 123 yards . ... The Sun Devils often used sophomore RB Nick Ralston as a blocking back, both inside and on the perimeter. … Senior RB Kalen Ballage rushed 18 times (which tied a career high) for 79 yards and two TDs. His first score came on a 7-yard run out of ASU’s “Sparky” formation. His second came after sophomore RG Steven Miller and senior C A.J. McCollum produced a running lane. … Sophomore QB Blake Barnett played two series, completing 2 of 3 for 21 yards. … The Sun Devils committed just one penalty – holding on junior TE Jay Jay Wilson – but it negated a first down and led to a punt. … The Sun Devils had just three plays of 20-plus yards, but all three went for scores. Overall, they produced 400 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per play.
Grade: C. Defense
ASU usually doesn’t show much in home season openers, and this was no exception. The Sun Devils stuck with a four-man rush throughout most of the contest. It’s too early to know if this is the new plan under coordinator Phil Bennett, or just a way to keep ASU’s next opponent, San Diego State, from seeing the Sun Devils’ pressure on film. (I’d bet on the latter.) New Mexico State totaled 549 yards, averaging 6.2 per play. The Aggies ran 18 more plays than the Sun Devils and converted 11 of 18 on third down. All red flags. … Still, ASU looked better in areas. After leading the country in big plays last season, the Sun Devils limited New Mexico State for most of the contest. They still gave up seven plays of 20-plus yards – including a 50-yard TD run – but five came in the last eight minutes. ASU also forced two turnovers, a problem in the past. Both corners making their first career starts picked off passes. Junior Joey Bryant made a nice leaping interception on the game’s first possession. In the fourth quarter, sophomore Kobe Williams took advantage of a New Mexico State communication error to pick off a pass and return it 49 yards for a TD. Williams also intercepted a 2-point PAT attempt. … Senior LB DJ Calhoun had a team-high 13 tackles. Senior DT Tashon Smallwood had four TFLs. Senior J’Marcus Rhodes, playing spur linebacker for the first time, also had nice moments, finishing with nine stops. As a team, ASU had six sacks and eight TFLs . ... Overall, tackling was better and the Sun Devils didn’t have the amount of missed assignments that killed them last season. This year’s big question might simply be: Do they have the personnel?
Grade: C+. Special teams
ASU didn’t make it easy on freshman Brandon Ruiz. In his first college contest, the freshman kicker attempted field goals of 56 and 52 yards. He made the 52-yarder. He had enough leg on the 56-yard attempt but missed left. Ruiz also missed a PAT in the third quarter. He produced touchbacks on six of seven kickoffs . ... Sophomore Michael Sleep-Dalton averaged 37.7 yards on six punts. Four landed inside the 20. ... In the first half, ASU tried to pin New Mexico State but Wilkins’ pooch-punt stretched only 16 yards . ... Ballage set up one of Ruiz’s field-goal attempts with a 51-yard kickoff return.
Grade: B. Personnel
Demario Richard in the first half took a hand-off and was smothered, losing four yards. The senior RB stayed on the field but he limped out of the backfield on the next play. Soon thereafter, his night was over with what looked like a right-leg issue. Graham said he didn’t think it was serious, but he normally doesn’t discuss the severity of injuries (at least truthfully) unless they are season-ending. … Seven true freshmen played: Ruiz, running back Eno Benjamin, running back Trelon Smith, cornerback Alex Perry, safety Frederick Langston, safety Ty Thomas and defensive tackle Shannon Forman.
Up next
Saturday, Sept. 9 vs. San Diego State, 8 p.m., Pac-12 Networks.
Contact Haller at 602-444-4949 or at doug.haller@arizonarepublic.com.