(Photo via Bec Striffler/WCSN)
Arizona State Football made history Saturday night against Eastern Michigan, just not the good kind.
The Sun Devils’ poor run defense and blown opportunities against the Eagles combined for a historic 30-21 loss that head coach Herm Edwards summed up as “not good, period.”
In the effort, EMU became the first Mid-Atlantic Conference team to beat a Pac-12 Conference opponent in regular season history. The loss also marks the Sun Devils’ first home defeat to a non-power conference school since 2008 against UNLV.
“We’re all disappointed,” Edwards said. “I’m probably more disappointed than anybody.”
ASU’s lackluster performance was foreshadowed from the opening kickoff with an out-of-bounds penalty to give EMU excellent starting field position. The Eagles didn’t need the extra help, slicing through the Sun Devils’ defense with an uptempo offense that dominated throughout the first half. Fast-paced offenses have been the catalyst for all of the Sun Devils’ defensive problems early in the season, and it was no different against EMU.
From the start, the Eagles showcased they were dangerous on the ground, led by senior running back Samson Evans. The Sun Devils were able to weather the rushing attack by the Eagles enough to hold them to a 26-yard field goal to open the game.
ASU’s offense had a chance to respond to the initial score by EMU but struggled to get any momentum down the field throughout the entire quarter. A quick three-and-out allowed Evans and the Eagles to continue their overpowering attack.
“[EMU] physically dominated us,” Edwards said. “They knocked us off the ball, and they ran for it.”
The decisive rushing game by Evans allowed for short third downs to be easy pickups. Besides once on the opening drive, the Sun Devils could not stop the Eagles on third down in the first half, allowing a 9-for-10 efficiency.
“They converted a lot of third downs on us, a lot of third and ones,” Edwards said. “They kept the ball methodically.”
That dominance meant it was only a matter of time before the Eagles would add to their lead, with junior running back Jaylon Jackson punching in a four-yard touchdown making it 10-0.
The only blemish by EMU’s offense came at the end of the first quarter, when ASU senior defensive back Kejuan Markham sparked life into the stadium with an interception. The offense was able to capitalize on the turnover by the Eagles, as redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones scrambled to find redshirt junior wide receiver Andre Johnson for a four-yard touchdown catch to cut the deficit to 10-7.
The tide wouldn’t stay in ASU’s favor for long, as EMU continued their running attack with Evans, who earned a career-high 96 first-half rushing yards.
Before ASU knew what happened, EMU put another seven on the board with a 6-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone, extending the lead to 17-7.
Jones credited the poor attention to detail during the week’s practice as a reason for the team’s bad start. Edwards agreed and told the group about the importance of not taking their foot off the pedal against any opponent.
“I talked about it all week. I did as much as I could in my powers to reach the team and say, ‘Man, you can’t fall into this trap,'” Edwards said. “We got to do better.”
Jones and the offense knew how crucial the next drive would be to stay in striking distance, as the redshirt junior shined through the air and on the ground. He marched the team down the field on a calculated drive encapsulated with a three-yard rushing touchdown to inch closer at 17-14.
Nevertheless, the Sun Devils’ offensive success could never translate to the other side of the ball. Evans continued to stampede over the defense, which led to another seven points for the Eagles to end the first half. The Eagles had 307 yards of offense along with a 24-14 lead. Edwards voiced his displeasure over the lack of consistency on both sides of the ball.
“I thought we moved the ball offensively, but we stalled out,” Edwards said. “We get it within a score, and then low and behold, they hit us on a couple of run plays again. [They] made some big plays on run plays. It wasn’t passing. It was the run.”
Edwards knew the pressure heading into the second half and had the offense playing with some pace to start. However, Jones and the offense missed crucial openings to strike back against EMU.
The first two drives for the Sun Devils consisted of wide-open post routes to the end zone for an easy touchdown. Instead, those 14 points became obsolete thanks to dropped balls by ASU wide receivers.
“Well, obviously, when you throw it down the field, you have an opportunity to make big plays. You need to capitalize on those,” Edwards said. “It’s a different score if you catch those balls.”
The Sun Devils’ defense responded better in the third but faced trouble stopping the run yet again. ASU got its second stop of the game on third down but it still led to EMU points with a 40-yard field goal to make the score 27-14.
“You got to give [EMU] credit. They stuck to it,” Edwards said. “[Evans] did a good job, and that’s the ballgame at the end of the day.”
At the beginning of the fourth, ASU needed a big play to spark a comeback and almost had one with a strip sack by senior linebacker Merlin Robertson that was recovered by the Eagles. Despite the missed opportunity, the Sun Devils got the stop and felt the energy shift significantly.
Up to this point, ASU’s rushing attack proved futile but returned impactfully with senior running back Xazavian Valladay scoring a 44-yard rushing touchdown untouched to make it 27-21. While not perfect, the timely plays by the Sun Devils kept them hanging around.
The Sun Devils’ defensive problems became redundant at this point as the Eagles marched down to the goal line with a chance to put the game out of hand.
The apparent spark seemed to dim because of ASU’s consistently gashed run defense. Evans finished his career night with 36 rushes for 258 yards. The Sun Devils had not allowed a 200-plus-yard rushing performance since 2018.
“The big [EMU] linemen did a good job with [Evans], and he found seams and kept going,” Edwards said. “He’s a big back. He bounced off some tackles and did a good job running the football.
The Sun Devils’ final drive was filled with multiple penalties holding back any miracle comeback. It would all amount to a fumble by redshirt sophomore tight end Jalin Conyers to seal EMU’s 30-21 win.
“We were going, and we got a couple and went backward,” Edwards said on the penalties. “We had to get it down the field, and we got a couple of holding calls. That’s hard.”
With the loss concluding a disappointing end to non-conference play, ASU (1-2) will now face off against No. 14 Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Edwards knows the first step to improvement has to come from within the program.
“We got to fix it with the players. That’s how you fix it,” Edwards said. “No one else is coming into the building. That’s what I told the team moving forward. You got to figure out who you are now and what you want to become.”
