Missed opportunities starting to ruin season
BOULDER, Colo. – There’s a lot of football left, but it’s starting to feel like Arizona State’s first season under Herm Edwards will be defined by missed opportunities.
This latest disappointment, a 28-21 loss at Colorado on Saturday, should sting more than the others. It certainly meant the most.
ASU had a chance to establish itself as a power in the Pac-12 South. A chance to knock off an-
other ranked team to prove the Michigan State win was no fluke. A chance to show it’s fast-tracking an evolution from a run-of-the-mill program into the sort of school that other teams fear.
Instead, the Sun Devils couldn’t get 3 yards when the game was in the balance. They couldn’t adjust after halftime. They couldn’t stop the other team’s best guy when they knew he was getting the ball. They couldn’t stay disciplined when they had chances to steal momentum.
“Opportunities present themselves,” Herm Edwards said. “They capitalized on the opportunities when they presented themselves, and we didn’t.”
Same ol’ same
It’s starting to sound familiar, and it gets more frustrating each time.
It’s more frustrating than the targeting call late in the game against San Diego State that robbed ASU of a chance to win or tie after a furious comeback. That was a non-conference game.
It’s more frustrating than the missed tackles and missed communication that cost ASU against No. 10 Washington. That was a Pac-12 North opponent.
This is worse because ASU’s goals start with winning the Pac-12 South … and because the program still hasn’t won on the road under Edwards … and because the players had those other experiences to draw from … and mostly because it looked like ASU really had something with that run game.
Eno Benjamin gained more than 100 yards on the ground for a third straight game, but this week his production plummeted after halftime.
In the first half, Benjamin racked up 96 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
In the second half, he had 24 yards and no touchdowns on eight carries.
“I think Colorado at half made a great adjustment,” Benjamin said. “They started bringing corner blitzes that we weren’t seeing.”
It felt like ASU was establishing an identity as a run-first offense that would bruise opponents into submission then strike over the top.
Edwards made the run game a point of focus after San Diego State following two weeks of underproduction on the ground. The offense added the power and the counter and a gap-blocking scheme that gives linemen a chance to get physical and take advantage of mismatches.
Benjamin went over 100 against Washington. His 312 yards against Oregon State set records. And in the first half, it looked like Benjamin was set for another huge day.
“We were just taking advantage of what they were doing,” center Cohl Cabral said of the first-half success. “We understood that we could get the nose locked up in front and part it like the Red Sea with the tight end moving inside and doubling up to the other backer.” Again, that was until halftime. “They did a nice job,” Edwards said. “They got us into some bad downs, too. And that’s always bad. You never want to be behind the chains.”
Other misses
It wasn’t just the offense that had issues.
ASU couldn’t stop Colorado wide receiver Laviska Shenault — no matter where he lined up.
Shenault took direct snaps. He split out wide. He lined up in the slot. He started in the backfield. And when it was over, he had accounted for 140 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns.
“There were a couple of times that we had him doubled and he still caught the football,” Edwards said. “You have to give him credit. They found a way to get him the ball, and he made a lot of big plays for them today. … We could not tackle him.”
ASU is a few plays from being 6-0. Instead, they’re 3-3 and 1-2 in the Pac-12.
It’s not good enough when you set your sights higher.
When you aspire to greatness, you have to convert on fourth-and-goal from the 3 with a chance to tie the score in the fourth quarter.
Cabral called it “demoralizing” when Manny Wilkins and the 6-foot-8 Curtis Hodges couldn’t connect on a fade route in the fourth quarter.
When you want to win the Pac-12 South, you can’t jump offsides and give up a 39-yard pass that sets up a touchdown.
When you want to go to a prestigious bowl game, you can’t jump offsides and negate a shanked punt that would put your offense in position to take the lead in the third quarter.
Edwards knows every last bit of this. He has time to get it fixed and redefine his season. But it’s running out.
“We are a 3-3 football team with six games left,” he said. “We will see what we can make of it. We’re still right in it. But we have to win games.”