(Photo via Sam Volante/WCSN)
When redshirt junior quarterback Trenton Bourguet found redshirt junior wideout Troy Omeire in the end zone on a fade route — tying the game at 24 with under a minute to play — it appeared Arizona State Football had all of the momentum on its side.
The 15-yard touchdown pass capped off a 13-play, 94-yard drive that began at the Sun Devils’ six-yard line, giving Deion Sanders’ Colorado squad little time to march down the field and attempt to win the game.
But the Buffaloes (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) did just that, as a 43-yard pass from junior quarterback Shedeur Sanders to graduate receiver Javon Antonio put them in prime position to walk it off with a last-second field goal, an opportunity they wouldn’t squander. From 43 yards out, sophomore kicker Alejandro Mata put it right through the uprights, sealing a 27-24 win over ASU.
With the loss, the Sun Devils moved to 1-5 on the season for the first time since 1942. But over the past two games, ASU has lost by a combined six points, a trend that hasn’t gone unnoticed by head coach Kenny Dillingham.
“I have to do a better job as a coach trying to simulate those scenarios that way, when the game is on the line,” Dillingham said. “Are we making those plays, and how do we get our guys to make those plays?
“Because the last two weeks, we’ve played winning football. We’ve won every category but we haven’t won the game, and we really got to look at why, and what guys should be on the field when the game is on the line. And that’s another thing we’ve got to look at.”
From the get-go, ASU indeed played winning football, marching down the field on a nine-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a touchdown thanks to yet another creative play call by Dillingham. With the ball on the 2-yard line, Bourguet and redshirt junior center Leif Fautanu lined up alone in the middle of the field, creating an opening in the Colorado defense and allowing the junior signal caller to dive into the end zone for the score.
Bourguet built off of his strong performance last weekend at Cal — one that saw him throw for nearly 350 yards — against Colorado on Saturday, completing 32 of his 49 passes and logging 335 yards and a touchdown through the air. Bourguet’s favorite option was predictably redshirt junior wideout Elijhah Badger, who caught 12 of his 16 targets for 134 yards.
“I think we have a lot of great weapons,” Bourguet said. “The line did a great job of keeping me pretty clean, but just trying to find the playmakers and get the ball in their hands … But for me, it’s not really about the numbers and the stats, but I’m just trying to do what I can to help this team win.”
In many respects, ASU’s offense did its part in attempting to pull off an upset victory over the Buffaloes. Despite only logging 57 yards on the ground, the Sun Devils outgained Colorado 392 yards to 295 and led in time of possession by almost ten minutes.
What makes out-pacing a talented Colorado offense even more impressive is the fact that ASU did so with an offensive line that has been ravaged with injuries just six games into the season, resulting in multiple linemen with limited game experience or nagging ailments being thrust into large roles.
On Saturday, the offensive line was far from perfect, allowing five sacks and eight total tackles for loss, but it played well enough for the offense to keep up with the Buffaloes.
“I thought our o-line battled,” Dillingham said. “We were really going in with five-and-a-half, six guys that we wanted to play in the rotation … Leif [Fautanu] was sick all week. Leif is battling his own injuries, and he’s going out there and playing really well.
“Having [true freshman Sean Na’a] in there at guard, we moved [redshirt senior guard Joey Ramos] to tackle … I’m proud of the way those guys are battling, and that’s all you can ask for.”
While the visitors evened the score on their next drive thanks to a one-yard rushing touchdown from graduate wideout Xavier Weaver — and traded blows with the Sun Devils for the entire 60 minutes — ASU’s defense played a large part in keeping the score close.
The Sun Devils continued to cause problems in opposing backfields, picking up nine tackles for loss for 56 yards, five of which were sacks. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Prince Dorbah led the charge with 2.5 sacks, bringing his season total to six — the most an ASU player has logged in a campaign since Jermayne Lole recorded 6.5 in 2019.
“For me personally, I definitely feel like [the defense] did a lot of good things out there,” Dorbah said. “There were still little things here and there, but I thought we all did a great job.”
ASU remained in the driver’s seat until Sanders and Antonio hooked up for a 9-yard touchdown that put the Buffaloes up 21-17 just 28 ticks into the final quarter. Colorado added to their newfound advantage about four minutes later, as Mata nailed a 42-yard field goal to make the score 24-17.
While they lost their fifth straight contest in heartbreaking fashion, the Sun Devils enter a much-needed bye week that will allow them to refocus and nurse some of the many injuries they’ve faced.
Taking advantage of the week off will be especially important with a tough road ahead. Four of ASU’s final six opponents are ranked in the latest AP Poll while the remaining two teams — UCLA and Arizona — will also represent major tests for Dillingham’s group.
“I just told the guys, ‘It’s on to the bye week, but let’s take advantage of this bye week,’” Bourguet said. “The rest of the schedule, it’s gonna be a dogfight each and every week. And I think this team, we’re really sticking together and we know that we can beat anybody.
“I think the last team that beat [No. 7] Washington was us, and they’re one of the top teams in the nation. So we were right there against Colorado, against Cal. But we just have to make a couple of plays here and there, and that’s the small details of not just the game, but in practice, in the film room. So we’re just trying to be the best we can be.”
