ASU Football: Mental mistakes could haunt the Sun Devil’s future

(Photo via Joseph Plishka/WCSN)

The 84-year unbeaten streak by Arizona State football over Northern Arizona lives to see another year. What does that mean exactly? Nothing. ASU’s 2022 home opener against NAU was a way for the program to highlight its strengths while showcasing this season’s potential. However, despite the blowout nature of the Sun Devils’ 40-3 win, there are still glaring issues that ASU will need to cut down on against superior opponents.

“[This] is one of those games where there’s a lot to learn from it,” head coach Herm Edwards said. “There’s a lot of things we still have to work on.”

The root of any loss last year for ASU was ill-advised penalties, which made an appearance in the first game of the 2022 campaign. While not the 13 penalty slugfest from the previous year’s home opener, there were still glimpses of those flaws in the present. There was only one false start Thursday, a massive plague for the team in 2021. Despite that, mental mistakes reared their ugly head in big moments on the defensive side of the ball that took 14 potential points off the board for ASU.

Junior defensive back Chris Edmonds and senior defensive back Kejuan Markham both nabbed an interception and took it back to the house for a pick-six. That would be the case if not for an offsides penalty by redshirt junior defensive lineman Anthonie Cooper that negated Markham’s pick and a defensive holding flag by redshirt junior defensive linemen Omarr Norman-Lott on Edmonds’ return.

“It’s a shame,” Edwards said. “You get two touchdowns from interceptions. That’s a pretty good night for these boys.”

Twice, the Sun Devils had a chance to put the nail in the coffin before the sun could even set over Frank Kush field. Like history has shown, the Sun Devils would be their own worst enemy, taking their points off the board. While it can be cast off as early seasons woes, if not treated, those bad habits could sprawl into a consistent basis that’ll hurt in crucial moments in the future.

ASU benefited heavily from blunders from an inexperienced NAU. One is an opportunity for the Lumberjacks to tie the game with a field goal near the end of the first quarter if not for a muffed snap to halt that attempt. NAU gifted ASU second chances on failed offensive drives with a poorly timed targeting penalty that later aided ASU into the end zone.

Add in the slow start offensively, and the Sun Devils were not impressive early. It was not until Edwards, and the coaching staff went heavy on their running attack that the offense started to march down the field.

“We were a little amped up, a little antsy on our feet,” redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones said. “Our whole team settled down, and we came to play and execute.”

The execution was coming on the ground from the elusiveness and speed of new Sun Devils. Jones and graduate running back Xazavian Valladay made a significant impact in their debut and started the offensive avalanche that led them the rest of the way.

“I definitely got more in the tank,” Valladay said. “I got some things to clean up. I got to look back in these next couple of days, get in the film room and see what we did wrong, try to clean it up.”

Before the season started, Edwards mentioned that they relied heavily on the run game, which showed a team total of 267 yards. Valladay led the way with 116 of those yards and showcased his shiftiness, which ASU will benefit greatly from in the future. Especially with the improvements from the offensive line that opened those holes for the running backs.

“Me and the O-line, we’ve been working since spring ball started,” Valladay said. “It’s something we’ve put a lot of really hard work into just throughout this offseason, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. That’s what we’ve been preaching on telling everybody how excited we are for this new football team.”

Jones was also comfortable in the pocket with plenty of room to operate. The Florida transfer looked comfortable in his Tempe debut, but against power five-level competition, those pockets will become much more suffocating than the Lumberjacks’ pressure. Nevertheless, Jones showcased his ability to spread the ball, finding five different receivers.

“I’m the type of guy to do what I’m coached to do,” Jones said. “We have a lot of talented guys in the receiving room. We’ll definitely have to rotate different guys in there.”

Offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas wanted to have the tight ends a more focal point of the offense, and Jones seemed to agree, finding Swinson for 50 yards on four catches. ASU’s offense was comfortable, but the slow start may offer some questions on the reliability heading forward.

The Sun Devils’ defense made a statement allowing less than 200 yards from the Lumberjacks’ offense. Despite struggling in no-huddle situations, the ASU front seven was outstanding, stopping NAU’s run game in its tracks. Even with missing starters, the secondary effectively cut off anything deep.

“I thought the front [seven] played pretty good. We got after the quarterback, stopped the run, that’s what we need to do,” Edwards said. “The corners, that is what I wanted to see. They didn’t give up any vertical balls. When you get two interceptions, that’s pretty good.”

Edwards eluded that the no-huddle offense by the NAU will help prepare the team for their matchup against Oklahoma State next week. The Cowboys await in Stillwater with their speedy, high-octane Big-12 offense that will be a considerable juxtaposition from the Lumberjacks.

The Sun Devils showcased what the program is capable of on both sides of the ball, but the mistakes at brutal times against a team like OSU won’t be as easy to come back as it was in the home opener. Edwards and the team know that they have the firepower to match up with the best of them, but they will need to be careful to snip those bad habits before it costs them.