ASU Football: Sun Devils come close but fall to No. 10 Washington in Pac-12 opener

(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)

In its Pac-12 opener, Arizona State (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12) came up short in a 27-20 loss to No. 10 Washington (3-1, 2-0 Pac-12).

ASU had a chance going into the fourth quarter down 20-13, but costly penalties and mistakes may have my have been the game changer for the Sun Devils.

“I thought going into this game, we wanted to get it into the fourth quarter,” ASU head coach Herm Edwards said. “And we got it into the fourth quarter. And then we kind of self-destructed.”

ASU had seven penalties for 72 yards during the game, three of those penalties coming in the fourth quarter of the loss.

The Sun Devils flipped the script of their offense the last two weeks, finishing with more rushing yards than passing yards for the first time since their season opener against UTSA.

“The game plan was pretty simple,” senior quarterback Manny Wilkins said. “We wanted to really establish the run. We knew we could run the ball well on these guys.”

That game plan led to 164 yards on the ground for Arizona State, double the 80 rushing yards they put up in the last two games combined. Sophomore running back Eno Benjamin eclipsed 100 yards on the night, finishing with 104 yards and a touchdown.

“I thought our run game kind of improved,” ASU head coach Herm Edwards said.

While the run game improved, the passing numbers were less than stellar for the Sun Devils. Wilkins finished with 104 yards in the air, a far cry from his last two games in which he posted 300+ yards passing.

“We just knew they weren’t going to let us really throw it over their heads,” Wilkins said.

“They’re talented,” Edwards said. “They got a talented secondary. There’s a reason these guys are ranked 10^thin the country.”

While the Huskies secondary may be talented, ASU seemed determined to find its ground game from the opening kickoff. The Sun Devils ran the ball the first eight plays on offense and finished the first half with 25 rushing attempts to only 11 passing attempts.

“After that San Diego State game, I just felt like we had to change something there,” Edwards said. “We got to be able to run the ball better.”

Defensively, the Sun Devils allowed 373 yards. Washington’s senior quarterback Jake Browning accumulated 204 yards to go along with three touchdowns.

“We are struggling right now in the secondary to make a play in coverage,” ASU defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said.

While the Sun Devils dropped their second straight game, they remain focused on finishing at the top of the Pac-12.

“The Pac-12 championship isn’t out of our reach,” Wilkins said. “That’s our goal. That’s what we are working towards.”

“Our goal is to win the Pac-12 Championship,” Gonzales reiterated. “Not just the south, the championship.”

Arizona State continues Pac-12 play next week at home against Oregon State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium.

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