ASU Football: Sun Devils blow late lead to USC in 28-27 loss

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

Herm Edwards said Saturday would be a long time coming. The Arizona State Football head coach – among many others on the staff – could feel the excitement his players had for the Sun Devils season-opener against USC in Los Angeles.

When the ball was kicked off at the LA Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, almost a full year had passed since the Sun Devils had seen game action on a football field. The 2020 season was delayed approximately two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

And while the Sun Devils controlled the game and its tempo for nearly 57 minutes, ASU withered at the end, blew a 13-point lead and came away with a crushing 28-27 loss to the USC Trojans.

There was always the chance the contest wouldn’t be smooth-sailing. The rust from last playing a game 11 months ago could have reared its head. New offensive and defensive schemes for the Sun Devils were bound to create confusion and a lack of execution. Freshmen littering ASU’s skill positions increased the odds that mistakes could take place. And so, the messiness prevailed. ASU and USC each had two turnovers in the first half. The Sun Devils had tackling issues.

Additionally, senior wide receiver Frank Darby left the game early in the first quarter with an abdomen issue. Freshman wide receiver Johnny Wilson had multiple crucial drops.

ASU built a 27-14 lead in the third quarter thanks to USC turnovers throughout the game and a long rushing touchdown from freshman running back DeaMonte Trayanum. However, that lead was ripped away in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, as USC found their offensive game, scored touchdowns twice on fourth down, recovered an onside kick and scored 14 points in 4:28 to take win by a point.

“We had an opportunity to finish the game in the fourth quarter,” Edwards said. “We talked all week about how this game would go down to the fourth quarter. We didn’t finish the game. You got to give them credit. They made the plays they needed to make. We did not, whether it was on offense, defense or special teams. You have to give those guys credit.

“I told the team that we have to grow from this moment.”

USC had four turnovers in the contest and struggled with ASU’s pass rush and rushing game for most of the day. But after the Sun Devils seemed to put the game away after recovering a Trojans fumble with 11:16 left, a three-and-out gave the Trojans a chance with 4:28 remaining.

Slovis and his weapons unleashed an air-raid on ASU’s defense. The sophomore found junior wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for 36 yards, then redshirt freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy for 26 yards into the end zone on a fourth down heave from Slovis. The jump ball was bobbled, and ended up in McCoy’s hands.

With 2:52 remaining and just one timeout left, the Trojans decided to attempt an onside kick. The ball bounced widely and just missed the hands of ASU sophomore wide receiver Ricky Pearsall before a dogpile ensued. The ball was found under a Trojan player.

“We go over that in practice all the time,” Edwards said. “It’s not like we didn’t have our hands team out there. They [USC] made the play.”

USC then took advantage, and Slovis found sophomore wide receiver Drake London in the end zone later in the drive thanks to a pinpoint throw.

“We were in pretty good coverage and we didn’t make the play,” Edwards said of the game-winning touchdown. “We were in position to make the play and we did not do it. There were multiple opportunities to close the game defensively, and we just fell a little short.”

There were positives from Saturday’s outing for ASU. What was a tough day for ASU’s receivers was balanced by a prolific rushing attack. After a slow start on the ground, the Sun Devils found a groove with Trayanum, whose size troubled Trojan defenders.

ASU paired Trayanum’s running with junior running back Rachaad White’s pass catching ability. The pair each had long touchdowns in the first half, as Trayanum had a 25 yard score running while White took a screen pass from sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels 55 yards.

Trayanum finished with 84 yards on 12 carries, while White had 76 yards on the ground and 70 yards via the catch.

“I was really proud of the backs,” Hill said. “I thought they ran hard and ran physical. We’ll have to watch the film, but as far as them handling a game like this, I thought they did a great job. I feel really good about our running back room.”

ASU’s defense was stout throughout most of the game, forcing three turnovers and limiting USC’s air-raid attack. The pass rush – specifically from redshirt sophomore defensive end Michael Matus – made USC sophomore quarterback Kedon Slovis uncomfortable and forced scrambles.

While ASU did get burned on some of Slovis’ keepers, the overall pass rush got the Sun Devils big stops when they needed them throughout the first three quarters.

“We had an opportunity defensively to get off the field a couple times and we didn’t do it,” Edwards said of the final minutes. “We gave their offense life, and they have some talented players over there. They were able to make plays. That was the game.”

USC’s mistakes started early. After ASU’s defense recovered from some early tackling issues, redshirt senior cornerback Jack Jones muffed a punt in the red zone, giving the ball right back to USC after their opening drive.

It didn’t take long for the Trojans to return the ball back to ASU though, as USC senior running back Vavae Malepeai coughed it up at the goal-line just a minute later.

In the second quarter, ASU junior linebacker Merlin Robertson made a diving interception on a good ball from Slovis. It came just a couple plays after ASU coughed the ball up themselves, thanks to a fumble by freshman wide receiver LV Bunkley-Shelton.

Later in the third, ASU redshirt senior cornerback Chase Lucas punched the ball out of USC redshirt senior wide receiver Tyler Vaughns’ hands, and Trayanum then added to his big day, running for a 17 yard touchdown after the recovery.

The drive was aided by a long Daniels scramble, as the Trojans’ pressure upped the intensity on the sophomore QB. ASU took a 24-14 lead as a result.

Hill threw multiple looks at the Trojans defense early in the game, at times having two running backs wing Daniels from the shotgun. The new role for Darby revealed itself, but the Sun Devils lead target had only one catch and a drop before leaving due to injury.

“The run game was there,” Hill said. “At halftime we talked about being able to run the football effectively and that was the game-plan moving forward. We had an edge there with them.”

In the face of a gut-wrenching loss, Edwards thinks it’s an experience the team – and specifically its young players – could grow from heading into the rest of the shortened 2020 season.

“We have to learn how to finish,” Edwards said. “We played a lot of young guys and you could see the nerves from some of them. They’re going to grow from this.”