(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
In a four-game losing streak with potential first-round pick Justin Herbert and the No. 6 Oregon Ducks looming into Tempe this week and hunting for a College Football Playoff berth, Arizona State head coach Herm Edwards and his interaction with his freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels before the game was pretty straight-forward.
“I said ‘How are you going to play?’” Edwards said. “This guy [Herbert] is going to get drafted in the first round. He’s a really good quarterback. I said ‘What are you going to do?’”
In reality, Daniels may be a freshman and Herbert may be a senior, but on Saturday night, the quarterback roles reversed. Daniels played like a seasoned senior while Herbert showed some freshman faults.
Arizona State knocked off the number six team in the country 31-28 in Tempe, breaking a four-game losing streak for the Sun Devils and sending the home crowd into a frenzied mosh pit on the field after the game. Behind a 408-yard and three touchdown performance by Daniels, it also clinched bowl eligibility for the Devils for the ninth time in the last ten seasons.
“It’s a great feeling,” Daniels said, who also broke the passing yards school record by a freshman of 2,273 yards. “We felt like we were better than the other team and today, we played a complete game. It showed what we can do.”
Daniels immediately found rapport with his top two wide receivers, senior Brandon Aiyuk and redshirt-junior Frank Darby, and it would be present for the entire game. He threw 286 of his 408 passing yards to Aiyuk (161 rec yds) and Darby (125 rec yds). Daniels connected with Darby for touchdown passes of 57 yards and 26 yards and an 81-yard touchdown to Aiyuk on 3rd-and-16 with a 24-21 lead with 3:54 left in the game gave the Devils the breathing room necessary to pull out the win.
“It’s a blessing playing with these boys,” Darby said. “They played their hearts out. We could not have done it without all of us doing what we have to do. I came out here with a chip on my shoulder and I know they all did too.”
The continuous problem for the ASU defense was first-half struggles. Prior to Saturday night, it had given up an average of 24.5 points in the first half alone in the past four losses. But against Herbert and the Ducks high-flying attack, it limited their offense to just seven first-half points. A 10-7 first half lead for the Devils was crucial considering both teams scored 21 points in the second half.
“We tried to slow the game down,” Edwards said. “I knew we could not get into one of those games where we were playing from behind. Lo and behold, it kind of worked out for us. We got some turnovers there. It was a good effort by our kids.”
Indeed, two key interceptions by Jack Jones and Khaylan Kearse-Thomas on back-to-back fourth quarter Herbert drives allowed the ASU offense to score 11 points off those turnovers.
“[It’s] just staying the course,” junior running back Eno Benjamin said, who rushed for 114 yards and converted a two-point conversion in the fourth. “There have been times where we have disappointed ourselves and times where we should have been beat. We came with a different mindset and came to practice knowing we had to work harder. When you look at this game and the way we practiced, you would have not thought that they were the number six team in the country. This to us was just another game.”
Edwards had used up all of his motivational words to his team during this struggling stretch. He said they were eventually going to find a way to win considering their past losses were all relatively close games.
“We didn’t handle success and when you’re young, you think it’s easy,” Edwards said. “When you get off to 5-1, you’re going ‘Man, this thing’s pretty good.’ There’s a lot of work into that and I think they forgot that. I kept telling them, ‘When you get tired of losing, you’ll figure this thing out.’ Tonight was the night. They got tired of losing and good for them.”
This ASU win spoils Oregon’s chances of reaching the College Football Playoff, and it sets up a rivalry matchup between Arizona next Saturday in Tempe to conclude the regular season. However, the players are excited that the Arizona game won’t be the last game of the 2019 season.
“[The bowl game] gives the seniors another game to look forward to and add to their resume,” Benjamin said. “Some players go on and don’t play football anymore. Just being able to grant those guys another game is a huge opportunity to show the world that we are capable of playing teams around the country and not just the Pac-12.
Kickoff against the Wildcats is slated for 8:00 p.m MST from Sun Devil Stadium.
