(Photo: Dom Contini/WCSN)
On the same day its chances at a Pac-12 Conference Southern Division title – and shot at the Rose Bowl – were crushed, Arizona State Football folded once more.
All the inconsistencies, mental mishaps and errors that have bitten the Sun Devils in 2021 have led them down a road that they know all too well. On a chilly night in Corvallis, Oregon, Oregon State redshirt junior wildcat quarterback Jack Colletto applied the proverbial salt in the wound when he firmly denied ASU’s with a 47-yard touchdown run on a critical 4th and 2 in the fourth quarter.
The score put his Beavers ahead 24-10, the final tally in a game that quickly became defined by ASU’s inability to stay disciplined – and productive – on offense. The Sun Devils committed seven false starts in the losing effort, five of which came in the second half.
“Guys are just flinching,” ASU head coach Herm Edwards said postgame on 98.7 FM Arizona Sports. “Tonight we got jumpy again.”
The same themes that have plagued the Sun Devils over the past few weeks in the passing game were also present, and junior quarterback Jayden Daniels showed few signs of improvement. On Daniels’ first pass attempt of the evening, the Oregon State defense forced him out of the pocket and inevitably off the field after his ninth interception of the season found the hands of redshirt freshman defensive back Alex Austin.
Even on its final drive of the first quarter – after moving the ball 66 yards and into field goal range – ASU found a way to let opportunity slip away. Redshirt junior kicker Cristian Zendejas shanked a 32-yard field goal attempt wide left before the Beavers answered with a long, 14-play, 80-yard scoring drive, capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Chance Nolan to junior wide receiver Tre’Shaun Harrison.
Daniels finished 16-27 with 166 yards making him 37-63 (57% completion percentage) for 401 yards and four interceptions over his last three games.
“We’re not making enough explosive plays in the passing game,” Edwards said.
The offensive results for the Beavers throughout the evening weren’t only fruitful – they were methodical and energy-depleting for the ASU defense. Their two drives in the second quarter totaled 168 yards on 27 plays and lasted a combined 11:39.
The Beavers accumulated a jarring 93 yards on the ground during the second frame as well.
That trend changed with the start of the second half, and ASU found their footing briefly in the third quarter and into the early stages of the fourth.
A 14-play, 76-yard drive ended in a field goal midway through the third quarter before a botched Oregon State punt attempt recovered by graduate defensive back Timarcus Davis at the four-yard line at the beginning of the fourth led to a touchdown from sophomore running back DeaMonte Trayanum. This ended up being the entirety of the ASU offensive output before back-to-back false start penalties on the final possession of the game personified the lack of discipline and consistency throughout the night.
The Sun Devils committed 11 penalties in total during the contest.
Another grim sign of their fate was how well the Oregon State defense controlled the Sun Devils’ rushing attack, and in particular redshirt senior running back Rachaad White. White was held to a measly 39 yards on the ground after running for 396 yards over his last two games.
The Sun Devils as a whole was held to 100 yards rushing on 30 attempts, their worst performance on the ground as a team this season. Oregon State, led by redshirt junior running back B.J. Baylor, ran for 235 yards and two touchdowns as a group.
The Sun Devils didn’t have an answer when they needed to respond the most, though it is important to note how shorthanded they were on both sides of the ball. ASU was without 11 key players including senior linebacker Darien Butler, who has been a crucial piece in the middle of ASU’s defensive alignment all year. The absence of his run-stopping abilities was seemingly felt throughout.
The Sun Devils will head home for the final time this season for a date with the Arizona Wildcats in a Territorial Cup matchup at Sun Devil Stadium. With their fate within the conference all but decided, a final chance at reconciliation remains.
ASU has had a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of a season, exposing the ugly side almost as frequently as the opposite at times. But what hasn’t changed is the expectations, which were arguably aimed too high from the beginning.
Before the Sun Devils lost in excruciating fashion once again on Saturday, their hopes of meeting those expectations were dashed. Perhaps those two outcomes coming within hours of one another, all while being mutually exclusive from each other, proves that ASU may have needed more time before what could be expected of them was turned into reality.
