(Photo via Spencer Barnes/WCSN)
Since Arizona State football began preparing for its Week 8 clash with No. 5 Washington in Seattle, head coach Kenny Dillingham knew what his team was going up against.
The Huskies entered the season as a contender to win the Pac-12 Conference and represent the league in the College Football Playoff, and have met those high expectations so far. Entering Saturday’s game, Washington’s dangerous attack — centered around senior quarterback and Heisman hopeful Michael Penix Jr. — led the nation in passing yards per game and yards per completion.
According to Dillingham, containing an offense loaded with talent would require ASU’s defense to capitalize on any mistakes Washington made and force turnovers. This is an area defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s group has struggled in so far in 2023, as a lone fumble recovery was its only takeaway through six games this season.
And on Saturday, the Sun Devils (1-6, 0-4 Pac-12) rose to the occasion, picking up four turnovers and refusing to allow Washington (7-0, 4-0 Pac-12) to get into any groove. But an inability to capitalize on those miscues along with a late-game interception from redshirt junior quarterback Trenton Bourguet ultimately proved ASU’s downfall in its 15-7 loss to the Huskies.
The Sun Devils have lost six consecutive contests for the first time since 2016, when they dropped seven of nine conference games en route to a 5-7 finish.
“Unbelievable,” Dillingham said on the defense’s performance. “Defense battled, they attacked, they played aggressive. They played way better than enough to win the football game versus that offense. Unbelievable job by [Ward], unbelievable job by that entire staff, unbelievable job by our players, competing and fighting.”
With his team clinging to a 7-6 lead midway through the fourth quarter and looking to convert on a fourth-and-3 in the red zone, Bourguet dropped back and tried to find graduate wide receiver Melquan Stovall on a slant. But the Huskies’ junior defensive back Mishael Powell jumped the route and made the easy interception, reaching the end zone untouched for an 89-yard house call and the go-ahead touchdown.
“We had a chance to put them away,” Bourguet said. “Defense played their butts off again. [Powell] made a good play. In that situation, I thought I had [Stovall], guy made a good play and you just have to tip your cap.”
It didn’t take long for the Sun Devils’ defense to find its stride. On Washington’s third play from scrimmage on its own 23-yard line, Penix underthrew junior wideout Rome Odunze, allowing junior defensive back Ro Torrence to adjust and pick off the pass for the ASU’s first interception of the season.
This was a promising sign of things to come, as ASU held the Huskies without an offensive touchdown on the night. The Sun Devils made life difficult for Washington’s attack all night long, logging five tackles for loss, four pass breakups and limiting the Huskies to just 13 rushing yards.
Completely eliminating Penix’s playmaking ability is a near-impossible task, but ASU effectively contained him throughout Saturday’s contest. Along with throwing two picks, the Tampa, Florida native was held to just 275 yards in the air, his lowest in a game this season.
“[The key to success] is just having a lot of confidence,” redshirt senior defensive back Shamari Simmons said. “We already knew what the game plan was, and we knew what their tendencies were, so it’s just going out there, having as much confidence as we need to have and just knowing that we’re a great defense.
“[Getting takeaways] felt good because all week we were talking about, ‘It comes in bunches, it comes in bunches.’ So as soon as we got one we were just eager to get more.”
However, the Sun Devils couldn’t take advantage of the turnover — another bit of foreshadowing for the rest of the game. On the ensuing drive, ASU only picked up one first down and elected to play it safe and settle for three points. But graduate kicker Dario Longhetto’s 31-yard field goal try ricocheted off of the front of the right upright, keeping the score tied and squandering a golden opportunity to set the tone early. The Sun Devils’ second and final field goal attempt of the night went awry in the third, as Longhetto’s kick was blocked by Washington sophomore defensive back Elijah Jackson.
In total, ASU failed to capitalize on three of the four turnovers — the interception and two fumbles — it forced on Saturday. A nearly 15-minute advantage in time of possession ultimately didn’t result in points, as the Sun Devils were forced to punt four times and turned the ball over on downs twice in addition to the two botched field goals.
“The formula was there, that was the formula we wanted,” Dillingham said. “We wanted to keep the ball, we wanted to run the football. We wanted to run perimeter runs, we wanted to throw a really quick passing game and not really take negatives, which we did. Those two fourth downs and then missing two field goals, that’s four times you get inside enemy territory, inside the 25-yard line and have zero points.”
Yet ASU did cash in on an interception by Simmons later in the first half that gave the offense control of the ball near midfield. Bourguet led an eight-play, 53-yard drive finished off by a one-yard score from junior running back Cameron Skattebo that gave the Sun Devils a 7-0 lead.
Since the 29-0 loss to Fresno State earlier this season that proved the low point for ASU’s offense, Dillingham has made it a point of emphasis to improve his team’s attack. While the Sun Devils have shown strides every week, few feats this season are more impressive than out-gaining Washington with 341 yards to the Huskies’ 288.
Bourguet was once again reliable under center, going 26-for-47 with 196 passing yards. ASU’s backfield also benefitted from the return of redshirt junior running back DeCarlos Brooks — who led the way with 63 of the visitors’ 145 total rushing yards on ten carries — mixing into the run game with Skattebo.
While Washington struggled on offense, it managed to chip away at the Sun Devil lead with two field goals before the pick-six put it ahead for good. Another field goal with just over three minutes remaining in the game added some insurance for the Huskies.
“Every time I take the field, anytime I do something competitive, I expect to win,” Dillingham said. “I hate losing, this is so frustrating because we could’ve won the last four football games. Our guys are playing solid to good football, we’re finding different ways to lose and I have to remove that. We can’t keep losing games in different ways, we eventually have to get over the hump.
“But I will say this: I’m so proud of our guys. Our guys are battling, we’re 1-6. Our guys are competing their butt off, we couldn’t go to a bowl game preseason, nobody cares about us. And our guys are showing up to work every day, they’re competing every day, they’re in that locker room hugging each other saying, ‘Man, we’re going back to work.’ We’re building the right culture here. We can see how close we are in year one, through all of this.”
