ASU Football: Massive rushing performance powers Sun Devils in season finale

(Photo: Travis Whittaker/WCSN)

The challenges were aplenty for ASU Football this season.

New coordinators on both sides of the ball resulted in schemes being installed quickly and at times remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s grip on the country. The virus’ grasp then found itself latched onto the Sun Devils directly, as an outbreak tore through the team’s locker room and caused the cancellation of three games.

ASU had a month off before playing football again, which hurt the progress made in the learning process of both new schemes on each side of the ball.

So, in the season’s final game against Oregon State, new challenges were guaranteed to be present. The Sun Devils entered the contest without freshman wide receiver Johnny Wilson, redshirt freshman Andre Johnson, senior tight end Curtis Hodges due to COVID-19 protocols and without senior wide receiver Frank Darby due to a family matter.

ASU’s passing game – which head coach Herm Edwards has consistently said needed to improve – entered Saturday night already down for the count with main targets and a depth piece behind them out.

But the Sun Devils rushing attack – a source of high performance and consistency in a year that reflected the opposite of those two traits – had the offense’s back.

The numbers are simply stunning. ASU rushed for 375 yards and six touchdowns in its 46-33 win over the Beavers. The Sun Devils averaged 8.9 yards per carry. Junior running back Rachaad White, who had 13 carries for 158 yards and two touchdowns, averaged 12.2 yards per attempt.

ASU attempted just 15 passes, and sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels only completed eight of them for 139 yards, but it didn’t matter. The Sun Devils dominated anyway.

“The guys stepped up,” offensive coordinator Zak Hill said. “The [offensive line] and the running backs that we needed to handle the line of scrimmage and they did a good job of that. Really the last two games, we were in those types of games where we needed to run the football. [There was] some really bad weather here tonight so it was limiting throwing opportunities so with the backs and the [offensive line] and limited tight ends and wide receivers we had, we did a really good job scoring some points and finishing. Three-hundred-seventy-five yards on the ground, it’s impressive.”

White’s gaudy numbers weren’t over-hyped by his long, 55-yard touchdown run to put ASU up 40-21 with 4:32 left in the third quarter. Remove the rush from White’s stat line and the average rush from Saturday is still an impressive 8.6 yards.

“That is crazy,” Hill said. “That’s fun to see. He is an explosive kid and I’m glad we’ve got him for a couple of years.”

White’s impressive YPC wasn’t just a one-game fluke. He finished 2020 with an average of nine yards a run, which led ASU’s running backs by 2.7 yards. Despite the JUCO product’s big numbers, White feels like he still has more to accomplish and show.

“I feel like I need to prove myself each and everyday still,” he said. “That kind of never stops. Just being a [junior college] guy, that’s kind of just always how I feel, a little underrated is how you feel. That’s just the mentality of how I was raised. I feel like I have to prove myself each and every day.”

White’s big night wasn’t ASU’s only success on the ground. Daniels rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown, including a 53-yard scramble that put the Sun Devils up 33-15 with 10:50 in the third quarter. ASU’s second score of the night was via a designed run for Daniels, which gave the Sun Devils their first lead of the game with 12:44 left in the second quarter.

Hill’s new offense has included more sets designed for Daniels to run. In 2019, Daniels ran for 355 yards over the course of 12 games. In 2020, Daniels ran for 223 yards in just four contests.

“He’s always had the skill-set of a runner,” Edwards said. “Most people don’t think he can run. But once you see him get in the open, he’s very elusive. He has good eyes and knows when to get down.”

ASU’s usual second-leading rusher – freshman running back Chip Trayanum – also scored a touchdown Saturday, and gained his 57 yards in his typical bruising fashion.

Aside from Daniels, Hill and Co. got creative later in the game, as sophomore wide receiver Ricky Pearsall took a handoff 29 yards for a score to put ASU up 46-27 with 12:43 left in the game.

“I just think both teams had the mindset of running the football,” Edwards said. “And we were able to do that and got enough turnovers to give us some short fields similar to last week where we could put points on the board.”

Early in the season, it was made clear from those in and outside the room that the Sun Devils’ rushing attack would be formidable. Despite inexperience, the versatility of White and the power of Trayanum had the potential to be a valuable weapon for ASU. But Edwards said the group’s work this season has been unprecedented, and that Saturday was a representation of that.

“We didn’t anticipate they would put up the numbers they put up and that’s a credit to the offensive line, that’s a credit to their ability to run as well and rally play together,” Edwards said. “When you have three running backs, that can be a tough room with egos and they don’t have egos. They all believe in themselves, they all kind of hope for each other [and] pull for each other.”