(Photo via Rebecca Striffler/WCSN)
In its last two contests, Arizona State Football faced two of the nation’s most potent passing attacks in Colorado and No. 5 Washington. Completely shutting down such talented and high-powered offenses is simply out of the question for most teams — the Sun Devils are no exception — but defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s unit certainly put forth its best effort, limiting both opponents to uncharacteristically low numbers.
Still in search of its first Power Five victory under first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham’s, ASU (1-6, 0-4 Pac-12) will have its work cut out for it yet again this Saturday, as it hosts a Washington State team currently on a three-game skid.
Over the last five meetings, the Cougars have defeated the Sun Devils four times, most recently last season in a 28-18 victory in Pullman.
But given how well they’ve played through much of the season, despite a lack of results, it’s entirely possible the Sun Devils could pull off a much-needed upset against an opponent that has been treading water of late.
“It seems like every week we’ve been right there,” junior defensive back Jordan Clark said. “The fans have been awesome, they’ve been so supportive. They deserve [a win], we’ve been working super hard, we deserve that. So it’s about coming back and competing, playing as hard as we can on defense…
“I think that the offense, it’s bound to happen, they’re bound to explode. You know the guys that they have on that side of the ball, they just need to put it together, they will. We’re going to keep supporting them, they’ll keep supporting us and we’ll play ball.”
The Cougars rattled off four straight wins to start the 2023 campaign — including home upsets of then-No. 19 Wisconsin and then-No. 14 Oregon State — and reached as high as 13th in the AP Poll, making them one of the Pac-12’s formidable teams. However, WSU is winless in its three contests since shocking the Beavers,
Even in the midst of a lull, the Cougars’ offense is a handful for any opposing defense, mainly due to the abilities of redshirt junior quarterback Cameron Ward. Few coaches know this more than Brian Ward, who became quite familiar with the dual-threat quarterback during his lone season as Washington State’s defensive coordinator in 2022.
“Cam is the most dynamic runner we’re gonna see,” Brian Ward said. “I would rather play [Caleb Williams] at USC than Cam, because he really is a very similar magician. Now, Cam is a gunslinger too, he’s dynamic with the ball in his hands.”
So far through this year, Ward has thrown for the fourth-most passing yards in the Pac-12 with 2,217, adding 15 touchdowns and just shy of a 70% completion percentage. He can easily extend plays with his legs when facing pressure, making him one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks.
What makes Washington State’s offense even more menacing is the sheer amount of talent Ward has around him. Three Cougars receivers — junior Kyle Williams, senior Lincoln Victor and redshirt junior Josh Kelly — have recorded north of 400 receiving yards, with Williams and Victor already eclipsing the 500-yard mark on the season.
But for ASU, playing against some of the most elite offenses in college football is nothing new. In last week’s 15-7 loss to Washington, the Sun Devils limited Heisman Trophy contender Michael Penix Jr. to 275 yards in the air — his lowest passing yards in a game this season while keeping the Huskies’ offense out of the end zone all game long.
Last weekend’s defensive effort was even more impressive because of the four turnovers ASU forced. Going into Seattle, the Sun Devil defense had recorded only one takeaway on the season. Such sudden success capitalizing on an opponent’s mistakes, especially those of an offensive powerhouse, can generate momentum for the rest of the year.
“In my experience, it’s really one [big play] can really affect everybody,” Ward said. “Our red zone defense, our goal line defense, our third down defense, our stopping the run, keeping the ball in front of us on play actions. Last week you literally had an example of us doing that against a good football team, so now the expectation is this is who we are, this is what we want to be, and this is how we do things.”
Despite experiencing prolonged struggles as the season has progressed, ASU’s offense enters this weekend with an opportunity to build off some promising performances. Last Saturday, the Sun Devils had control of the football for 37:29 — about 15 minutes longer than the Huskies. ASU only had two three-and-outs and had no trouble staying on the field, outgaining a well-oiled Washington offense 341 yards to 288.
Aside from an eight-play, 53-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter, the offense simply couldn’t score. Graduate kicker Dario Longhetto went 0-for-2 on field goals while ASU only capitalized on one of its three trips to the red zone. It seems the Sun Devils’ attack has nearly found its stride, but needs to do a bit more to get over the hump.
“We wanted to control the clock in the game, we wanted to try to be efficient,” Dillingham said. “And when you look at it, we were efficient in a lot of ways. We had very few three-and-outs, there were four drives consecutively that took up 16 minutes of game clock, which is what you want to do versus those guys.
“The issue is we weren’t consistent enough throughout the entire drive to actually put points on the board … we weren’t consistent enough to play that style of game and then finish off with touchdowns.”
ASU also benefited from the return of redshirt junior running back DeCarlos Brooks, who missed four games due to injury, last weekend. On 10 carries, he paced all running backs with a game-high 63 yards and provided a nice change of pace from junior Cam Skattebo, the Sun Devils’ bonafide lead back during Brooks’ absence.
One of the many struggles ASU’s offense has faced this season is the inability to create explosive runs. With two viable options in the backfield, picking up big plays on the ground could be more attainable, especially against a porous Cougars defense that concedes the second-most rushing yards per game
“That was huge, it was good getting a mix between keeping [Skattebo] fresh with DeCarlos and having that back-and-forth,” Dillingham said. “It’s a good balance for us, and you can see the freshness in both those guys, so that was a huge positive.”
In terms of the passing game, redshirt junior quarterback Trenton Bourguet is enjoying a solid overall solid season but is coming off arguably his worst game of the season. Against the Huskies, Bourguet totaled just 196 passing yards and a 55.3% completion rate — both season lows for the Tucson native. But much like in the run game, Bourguet and Sun Devils have an opportune matchup to do damage through the air, as WSU allows the third-most passing yards per game in the Pac-12.
Even after a difficult start to the first year under a new regime, there is a belief within the ASU locker room that this weekend provides an opportunity to right the ship and finally get back into the win column.
“Like I said in the past with the guys, if you’re hurting, it means you care,” Bourguet said. “For people that care, it stinks. We’re not here to lose, everyone wants to be a winner. But to know that we’ve lost the last four games by 14 points, two touchdowns combined, it stinks. It shows you just how close we are, but I think we’re super excited to break down that last wall and explode.”
