Sun Devil passing game still a work in progress
Arizona State opened the delayed 2020 season with a 28-27 loss to No. 20 USC Saturday morning at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The lead changed hands five times before the Trojans went ahead for good on a 21-yard pass from Kedon Slovis to Drake London with 1:20 left.
It should be no surprise the contest was decided late. The last three games between the schools have been decided by a total of nine points.
The Sun Devils unveiled both a new defense and a new offense. Zak Hill was brought in from Boise State to construct a more high-powered offense around quarterback Jayden Daniels.
On the other side of the ball the Sun Devils are in transition from the 3-3-5 to a more conventional four-man front under the guidance of Antonio Pierce and Marvin Lewis.
Let’s review:
3 takeaways
1. The ASU offense is still a work in progress: The Sun Devils have just three returning starters on offense so they are young on that side of the ball. It’s a complex offense and there were no non-conference games to work out the kinks so struggles were to be expected especially given that the opener came against one of the Pac-12 favorites. The running game was effective and the big reason the Sun Devils were able to take a 13-point lead. Hill and coach Herm Edwards acknowledged that the passing game needs work so that will be a point of emphasis moving forward.
2. Merlin Robertson is back: He was the Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2018 but had a tough sophomore season, although his play did pick up in the last couple of games. With the media unable to watch practices it was tough to gauge where Robertson was heading into the season although coaches and teammates praised his off-season preparations. That showed on Saturday. A leaner, more fit Robertson had an acrobatic interception in the second quarter and stopped a USC ball call carrier on a fourth and 1 at the ASU 6, finishing with 10 tackles, the interception and a fumble recovery.
3. Frank Darby needs to be a huge part of the offense: The senior was being looked at the heir to Brandon Aiyuk as the vertical, big-play threat in the passing game. When he left the game in the first half with a rib injury, it left a huge void in the ASU offense with no other receivers who had more than eight catches last year. ASU has some promising young receivers, but they’re still learning. Darby’s absence was particularly glaring when the Sun Devils needed to rally in the last minute after USC took a lead.
Offense
The Sun Devils totaled 392 yards, 20 more than what they averaged in 13 games last season. The bright spot was the rushing attack, particularly because the Sun Devils were looking to replace a two-time 1,000-yard rusher in Eno Benjamin. Coaches have said it will likely be running-back by committee rather than a one-man show. Newcomers DeaMonte Trayanum and Rachaad White had 84 and 76 yards, respectively, each on 12 carries and Daniels scrabbled for111. The 258 yards ASU total was twice what it averaged on the ground last season . . . On to the passing game. ASU managed only 135 yards and 55 of that came on a scoring screen pass from Daniels to White, who ended up with three catches for 70 yards . . . The offensive line allowed just one sack but Daniels was hurried on several other occasions. The Sun Devils lost the time of possession battle 34:38 to 25:22. They were 6 of 14 on third down and failed on their lone fourth down which came at the end of the game. They scored on both red zone opportunities but managed only seven points off four USC turnovers.
Grade: C
Sometimes numbers can be deceiving. ASU did give up 556 yards, but a bulk of that (135 yards) came on USC’s last two scoring possessions. Due to some offensive failures, particularly in the passing game, the ASU defense was on the field a lot. USC ran 95 plays to ASU’s 61 and ASU actually managed more yards per play than USC (6.4 to 5.9). Most notable were two fourth-and-one stops both coming on by junior D.J. Davidson at the ASU 46 and the other by Robertson. USC converted seven of 19 third-down attempts and was 5-of-8 on fourth.. The Sun Devils continued their mastery in the takeaway department with four - three fumble recoveries and an interception. Senior safety Evan Fields recorded a career-high 17 tackles and forced two fumbles with Robertson adding 10. Kyle Soelle and DeAndre Pierce each added nine tackles. Pierce and Tyler Johnson also had fumble recoveries. Much has been made of ASU’s struggles when it comes to lack of a pass rush but is did get three with Jermayne Lole getting 1.5, Johnson one and Michael Matus a half. Matus and Lole led in the breakup department with two each.
Grade: B-minus
Special Teams
There were some real highlights and some lowlights here. Let’s start with the bright spots. Punter Michael Turk was his normal stellar self with five kicks for an average of 51.6 yards with three of those for 50 or more yards and three downed inside of the 20 (two of those inside the 10). Cristian Zendejas connected on field goals of 38 and 41yards to extend his streak of attempts made to 13 . . . Grad transfer Logan Tyler handled kickoff duties and averaged 63.8 yards — better than what any of the three players who did the honors last season fared.
Now to the not-so-good moments. The worst moment came late. ASU had seen its lead cut to 27-21with 2:52 to play. Because USC had no timeouts remaining it opted for the onside kick and the Sun Devil failed to come up with it, setting the stage for the Trojans late heroics . . . Jack Jones muffed USC’s first punt and the Trojans recovered, although they didn’t capitalize off the mistake. There was another later in the day in which Jones didn’t look sure handed either . . . The Sun Devil managed nothing in the return game - just two yards on a kick return and two on a punt. On the other side USC managed 95 yards on five kick returns and 15 on two punt tries.
Grade: C
Personnel
The Sun Devils used more than 50 players in the opener including nine true freshmen. Among those making their first career starts were freshman right tackle Ben Scott, junior running back Rachaad White, freshman defensive end Anthonie Cooper, sophomore defensive end Michael Matus and junior defensive tackle T.J. Pesefea. There are some injury concerns moving forward with Darby missing most of the game with a rib injury. Senior right guard Henry Hattis left the game and did not return and sophomore LaDarious Henderson taking his spot. Senior corner Jack Jones left the game in the third quarter after having cramp issues for the second time in the game.
Jones played well defending USC receiver Aman-Ra St. Brown before having to be carried to the locker room by two trainers. Junior linebacker Merlin Robertson, junior defensive back Timarcus Davis and junior defensive end Tyler Johnson were also slowed in the second half. Redshirt freshman defensive end Amiri Johnson did not make the trip due to a lower body injury that has limited his participation in practice the last two weeks.
Up next
The Sun Devils will play their first home game on Saturday against California, which had its game this week canceled after a player tested positive for COVID. The game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2.