ASU Football: Sun Devils escape an ugly season opener

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

After a 37-31 season-opening victory over New Mexico State on Thursday, ASU head coach Todd Graham said he’d “take an ugly win every week.”

While the sentiment is clear — a win is a win — taking an ugly one against an opponent like the Aggies should be cause for concern.

It isn’t in Graham’s interest to be highly critical of his team in front of the cameras after a game like this. There’s no doubt he made his concerns clear in the locker room, though, and whether his team can rebound from a poor performance remains to be seen.

“We’re 1-0 and the goal is to go out there and get a win,” quarterback Manny Wilkins said. “But we’ve got a lot of things to clean up.”

The Sun Devils started strong against the Aggies, going up 14-0 in the first quarter as their offense showed flashes of excellence. The game’s first score came on a 7-yard run by Kalen Ballage, the second on a 53-yard pass from Wilkins to Jalen Harvey.

Early on, the defense looked strong as well. Joey Bryant picked off New Mexico State on the opening drive and the secondary held serve.

But ASU was unable to maintain that early momentum against an inferior opponent.

New Mexico State struck first in the second quarter as it plugged away with 5- and 6-yard crossing routes, exposing an inexperienced Sun Devil secondary and seeking out matchups with linebackers. A spectacular one-handed touchdown grab by Jaleel Scott capped off a quality offensive drive for the Aggies, bringing the score to 14-6.

With less than three minutes left in the half, New Mexico State marched down the field again and scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Tyler Rogers. Halftime arrived and ASU led 14-13 with its offense completely stalled and its defense gassed. There had yet to be a substitution on the defensive side.

“Running 13 plays, 12 plays in a row, it gets tough,” defensive lineman Tashon Smallwood said. “It’s the first game and we definitely felt it, but it’s not a shock to us.

“Our coaches want the best players on the field, and that’s what we did.”

The Sun Devils were at their best in a stellar third and early fourth quarter, where they rattled off 23 consecutive points. A field goal by Brandon Ruiz, 20-yard run by Ballage, 60-yard pass from Wilkins to John Humphrey and 49-yard pick six by Kobe Williams put ASU up 37-13 with 13:52 to go. Flashes of excellence once again.

But the fourth quarter mirrored the second and only heightened concerns about this team’s consistency. A lack of defensive subs started to wear on the starting 11. Koron Crump played through a minor leg injury in the fourth quarter, the front seven appeared tired, and the secondary started getting beat with greater regularity.

NMSU’s Jason Huntley ran for a 50-yard score and later caught a 23-yard TD to make it 37-25 after two failed two-point conversions. With Blake Barnett getting garbage time reps for ASU, the Sun Devil offense found no additional success.

The final drive of the game — which brought the game to its final score — was a microcosm of ASU’s struggles in the final frame. Scott hauled in a 29-yard touchdown as time expired to cap off an eight reception, 149-yard performance. The Sun Devils appeared relieved to get off the field and no longer have to defend him.

New Mexico State outgained ASU 549-400.

“Proud of our guys, proud of how we got after it,” Graham said. “But if we’ve got a three score lead we need to close the door on them.”

When the Sun Devils walked over to sing the alma mater and ring the victory bell, there wasn’t the same kind of excitement and elation that you’d normally see from a winning team. They know they need to be much better next week to avoid a scare from San Diego State.

An ugly win is still a win, but if ASU can’t clean up the areas in which it struggled, the rest of the season won’t be pretty.

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