ASU Football: It’s “bend-don’t-break” for the Sun Devil defense

(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)

The buildup for the Arizona State football season was created mostly from the headline that a true freshman would be under center to start the year. Quarterback Jayden Daniels has been impressive in his first two outings at Sun Devil Stadium, but his first away game in a hostile environment was the ultimate test for the young, two-dimensional talent.

His composure was unarguably consistent, but the ASU offense was far from it. The Devils totaled just 216 yards of offense in East Lansing but managed to slug out a 10-7 victory against Michigan State after one of the wildest finishes in college football so far this season.

Though it was junior running back Eno Benjamin who stretched the ball across the goal line to take the lead for an eventual takedown of the Spartans, it was the Sun Devil defense who brought a win back to Tempe.

“Players win games,” defensive coordinator Danny Gonzalez said. “Our guys played their tails off for the whole game.”

It was a statement game on the defensive side of the ball for ASU. Through three games now, the Devils have given up just 21 points to opposing teams; however, every touchdown has come in the fourth quarter.

The Spartans combined for 77 points in their previous two games. Against the Devils, who played 28 freshmen throughout the course of the game, did not find the endzone until midway through the fourth.

“We made enough plays to keep them out of the endzone,” Gonzalez said. “The bottom line is we kept them out of the endzone and they had seven points. So, 21 [points] in three games…”

The defense came out with a bang, and it started with an early Spartan fumble in Sun Devil territory in the middle of the first quarter.

Early in the third quarter, Michigan State had a 4th-and-1 in ASU territory. A run to the left side looked promising, but the improved tackling of the Sun Devil secondary came on full display as junior defensive back Evan Fields wrapped up one of his nine solo tackles, to accumulate 13 total tackles for the game – the high of the afternoon.

“That’s the strength of our defense – it’s our secondary,” head coach Herm Edwards said. “We have some athletes back there.”

Misfortune continued to develop for the Spartans as dropped balls became a trend along with a lack of ability to run through the tackles as the game progressed. The Green and White held the football for the majority of the game, but the Devils continued to hold their ground on the Spartan grass.

This season is beginning to trend on the opposite side of the true freshman quarterback. The undefeated start for the Sun Devils must be credited to the bend-don’t-break play of the defense.

“I was disappointed we gave up seven points today,” Gonzalez said. “I think we should have shut this team out. We won the game and give the players credit because players win games. We are building something here that has the chance to be really special.”