(Photo: Brett Deckert/WCSN)
The struggles that have plagued Arizona State on the road this season remained at the forefront of its 40-16 loss to the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder on Friday night.
The most glaring problem remained the offense, as the unit continued the theme of playing stagnant in enemy territory. On the road this season, the Sun Devils are averaging 22.6 points in three games. In Tempe, however, that average jumps to 46.5 points per game in four games.
In Boulder, as was the case last week against UCLA, the passing game couldn’t get going, this time despite the return of Manny Wilkins.
Between the two games, the offense amassed just 345 passing yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Wilkins looked hobbled from the beginning and looked to be playing at less than full strength, which is what was to be expected. However, the five sacks and the six hurries he took didn’t make things much easier for the ailing quarterback.
He finished the game with 149 passing yards to go with a touchdown and an interception. He also carried the ball nine times for negative 31 yards, as Colorado eliminated Wilkins from the rushing attack.
In terms of the running game as a whole, neither Kalen Ballage nor Demario Richard fared much better behind an offensive line that struggled.
While Richard averaged 5.9 yards per carry (10 carries for 59 yards), his stats were heavily inflated by a 37-yard run in the second quarter.
Aside from that run, the duo of Ballage and Richard combined for 36 yards on 16 carries.
Defensively for ASU, it was the Colorado rushing attack that lead to the unit’s demise.
Entering the matchup, the Sun Devils had allowed just 89.3 rushing yards per game and one rushing touchdown to opposing offenses per game.
The Buffaloes, however, flipped that script and then some, rushing for 315 yards and all five of its touchdowns in the game.
If there were a silver lining for the Sun Devils, it was the pass defense — the group continued to look much improved from its early-season state. The secondary limited quarterback Sefo Liufau to 265 passing yards and no touchdowns.
Next week, the Sun Devils will look to clean up their act against the Washington State Cougars (3-2) in Tempe.
