(Photo via Joey Plishka/WCSN)
In the first half of Arizona State Football’s 34-17 loss to No. 11 Oklahoma State, it looked to be the same old script – relying heavily on the run at a methodical pace.
At first, it appeared to be holding up, with the Sun Devils leading 3-0 after the first quarter. Still, it seemed as if the Cowboys’ offense would soon wake up and force redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones to open up the downfield attack.
In the second quarter, the former came true but the latter didn’t follow suit. Despite Oklahoma State scoring 17 points in just over five minutes of total possession time, ASU stuck to the game plan with 12 of 16 plays coming on the ground. The success faltered due to the Cowboys’ menacing defensive line, as the Sun Devils recorded 51 rushing yards on 1.2 yards per carry.
Even with the momentum swaying the other way, the Sun Devils’ rushing identity was still a priority for offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas.
“We’re going to try to be stubborn running the ball,” Thomas told Devils Digest postgame. “We felt like we had some opportunities there. If you take a step back and convert on some third downs, then that opens up some other things.”
In Jones’ limited first half passing attempts, he completed seven of 12 throws for 88 yards. However, ASU’s defense did enough to bog down Oklahoma State’s explosive offense, leaving the score at a manageable 17-3 at halftime.
“I just thought that we hung in there and the key for us was the third quarter,” head coach Herm Edwards told Devils Digest.
Out of the break, Jones and the rest of the offense were immediately shot out of a cannon. Amidst blown coverage, he found senior wide receiver Giovanni Sanders wide open up the seam on the second play of the opening drive. Sanders took it 73 yards and senior running back Xazavian Valladay finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
Regardless, Jones’ rollercoaster ride of usage continued, as the Sun Devils ran the ball six more times than through the air in the quarter and struggled to build momentum against the hard-nosed Cowboy line.
“Just because they stop you running, you can’t stop running and abandon the run. Especially on the road,” Edwards said. “When we had to go back in pass, they brought pressure and they got to the quarterback a couple times.
“That’s what you don’t want to get into because then a lot of bad things happen. You can’t protect the quarterback and you got to just drop back and throw it.”
Jones was under duress throughout the game, with Oklahoma State chalking up two sacks and 10 quarterback hurries.
The Florida transfer still displayed poise, starting the fourth quarter with a 21-yard deep slant touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Elijhah Badger to get the Sun Devils within three.
Badger – who led ASU with six catches and 91 yards – seemed to develop a rhythm with Jones, and hinted that the rapport is starting to build.
“It’s getting real comfortable. It’s going to get better,” Badger said to Devils Digest. “We’re going to work on it. This is just a little fallback. We’re going to be back tomorrow.”
That was the last sign of life for ASU the rest of the way, with Oklahoma State flustering Jones and forcing inaccurate throws.
One notable absence from the redshirt junior’s usual arsenal was the threat of his legs. After using the read option to the tune of 48 yards rushing and two scores in Week 1, Jones set up more under center or in an empty backfield, while hardly taking off for any designed runs. His final stat line on the ground was seven carries for -17 yards.
“I feel like [the pressure] definitely impacted the game,” Jones told Devils Digest postgame. “I had to speed up some of my reads to make sure I got through them. I feel like I gave up on a couple plays and just threw it away instead of trying to make a play out of it with my legs. That’s something I will look back on and try to get better at.”
With the new-look Sun Devils facing one of the top teams in the country, Edwards recognized that the entire offense is still a “work in the making” in the early season. He keyed in on the maturation of Jones and the passing attack, considering the heavy rushing focus the team utilizes.
“I thought [Jones] did some nice things throwing the ball and that’s a good thing because we got to hit some passes,” Edwards said to Arizona Sports 98.7 FM postgame. “We got to be able to throw the football because people are going to stack the box on us and when they do that, we got to make some big plays in the passing game.”
While saying it wasn’t a moral victory, Edwards voiced encouraging words on the entire team and indicated that Saturday’s obstacle was positive. Even with mixed results, perhaps the same can be said for Jones.
“There’s a lot of growing up this team took today, I thought,” Edwards said. “Coming here, with all the stuff they had to deal with, right? No one gave them a lot of chance to even be in the game. … We wanted to win this football game, and they thought they could win it too.
“I take my hat off to them because they played their tails off. They played hard.”
