(Photo via Hailey Rogalski/WCSN)
Heading into its date with Fresno State on Saturday, Arizona State football Head Coach Kenny Dillingham’s squad already had the odds stacked against it.
The Sun Devils were without nine players and five starters — including freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada, redshirt junior running back DeCarlos Brooks and redshirt junior tight end Jalin Conyers — before the game even kicked off.
The dire situation managed to become exponentially worse in ASU’s (1-2) 29-0 loss to the Bulldogs (3-0), which marked the first time the Sun Devils were held scoreless at home since 1988 against USC.
At least six more Sun Devils sustained injuries in the defeat, two of which were redshirt junior Trenton Bourguet and redshirt sophomore Drew Pyne, the team’s backup and third-string quarterbacks who played in the absence of freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada. On top of this, ASU’s offense turned the ball over eight times, extending its scoreless drought to six consecutive quarters.
“I’ve never in my career been involved in a game like that,” Dillingham said. “I literally couldn’t even explain how that’s even possible. But we’re going to get it fixed, I’m going to get it fixed. That’s a guarantee that I’m going to get that fixed.”
Dillingham also revealed that Rashada — who started under center in ASU’s first two contests of the season — will miss four to six weeks due to injury.
“It was kind of a combination,” Dillingham said of the injury. “It’s something that’s been lingering for him dating back to high school, and the game aggravated it. And then at that point, it was something that, we made a decision that this was best for him.
“We’ll get him healthy. And you know, six weeks left in the season, when you talk nine weeks, we’ll probably try to make sure we keep his redshirt alive at that point, because that’s just not fair to him to play him in five games. So we’ll do what we can from that standpoint to play him if needed, but the number one priority for him is to get healthy.”
Fresno State’s pass-heavy attack, which has now spearheaded the nation’s second longest winning streak to 12 games, didn’t waste any time on Saturday. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Mikey Keene connected with redshirt freshman wideout Jalen Moss on a 19-yard touchdown pass that capped off an eight-play, 75-yard opening drive.
But this was only the beginning of ASU’s troubles.
On his third snap of the game, Bourguet floated a pass that senior defensive back Carlton Johnson nabbed for his first of three interceptions on the night, allowing Fresno State’s offense to tack on three more points.
After he started to get into a rhythm on his second go-around on offense — completing five passes and moving the chains twice — Bourguet sustained a leg injury throwing the ball away on a broken play. The Tucson native finished his brief stint under center going 6-for-8 with 47 yards and a pick.
Replacing Bourguet prematurely was Drew Pyne, who was expected to run the offense during ASU’s third and fourth series of the night, and the Bulldogs threw pressure at him immediately. On his very first play, the Notre Dame transfer fumbled after being sacked in the backfield for the second Sun Devil turnover in as many drives.
And once again, Fresno State made ASU pay with another field goal to take a two-possession lead.
Pyne’s second fumble came on the ensuing Sun Devil drive, as he fell victim to another strip-sack recovered by the Bulldogs. With another field goal, Fresno State took a 16-0 advantage into the half, but not before Pyne threw his first of two interceptions on the game.
Due to the constant turnovers and lack of sustained drives, ASU’s offensive numbers were nothing to write home about. The Sun Devils logged 188 total passing yards, while freshman running back Kyson Brown paced the ground game with 23 of ASU’s 42 total rushing yards.
“Is [the offense] going to be fixed overnight? No,” Dillingham said. “Is it going to get better? Yes. I know our guys are disgusted by how we played. It’s just one of the most incredible things I’ve ever been apart of. And if we just punted on offense, we probably would have had a better football game.”
The second half presented more of the same for ASU, with Mikey Keene recording another passing touchdown on the Bulldogs’ inaugural drive of the second half. A fumble from sophomore running back Tevin White allowed Fresno State to ultimately kick another field goal.
Less than five minutes into the third quarter, redshirt sophomore quarterback Jacob Conover replaced an injured Pyne under center, who completed five of his 13 passes for 52 yards. Ultimately, Conover led the Sun Devil quarterbacks with 89 yards but followed the path laid before him with two interceptions of his own.
Perhaps the lone bright spot from ASU’s performance on Saturday was its defense, which held Fresno State to only 15 points off the eight giveaways despite the Bulldogs offense spending north of 37 minutes on the field.
But even as the offense seemingly looked helpless, members of ASU’s defense didn’t point fingers after the defeat.
“We’re a team, you’re gonna lose together no matter what the offense is doing,” senior defensive back Chris Edmonds said. “We’re going to keep going out there, everybody’s going to keep going out there, battle for those boys. Because I know [the offense] was still out there battling, so I’m not going to blame nobody. We’ve got to play better collectively.”
