ASU Football: Dominant 2nd half defense carries Sun Devils over UNLV

(Photo: Haley Spracale/WCSN)

While No. 23 Arizona State Football’s offense showed its complete potential on Saturday night, the defense was quite the opposite early on.

UNLV redshirt freshman quarterback Doug Brumfield – making his first career start – led two methodical drives to open the game, totaling 26 plays in over 11 minutes compared to ASU’s 17 plays in just over seven minutes. The Sun Devils’ defense had trouble picking up UNLV’s read option that Brumfield ran frequently. The Rebels were also successful on third down, going 3-4 in the first quarter.

“They made plays early,” ASU defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce said. “[Brumfield] did a good job early on scrambling, buying some time, keeping the ball on some zone reads, which we expected. We just got to make those plays. Guys are there – we got to make the play.”

The Rebels’ first drive stalled in the red zone and they settled for a field goal. On the second one, Brumfield silenced all of Sun Devil Stadium with a jaw-dropping front-flip into the end zone to give UNLV a 10-7 lead. With the defense struggling and the offense answering back with a score of their own, the Sun Devils looked to be getting themselves into a shootout.

But the wild, airborne touchdown was the last highlight the Rebels would have on offense. ASU completely neutralized UNLV the rest of the way, leading to a 37-10 victory over the Rebels and the stats backing up just how dominant ASU’s defense was in the second half.

The unit did not allow a single third down conversion or let the Rebels cross midfield once after halftime, with UNLV only totaling 19 yards.

Instead of an inspirational halftime adjustment speech, ASU head coach Herm Edwards simply reminded his team of his comments a day earlier.

“I talked about it Friday night in a meeting,” Edwards said. “I just sensed that it was going to be one of those games. I told them [that] the third quarter – that’s when we’re gonna have to go. We got in at halftime, I said, ‘Okay, it’s the third quarter now. We made the adjustments, you guys gotta go play. Let’s do this now.’”

Without forcing any turnovers – usually ASU’s calling card – the defense was pivotal to begin the second half. UNLV had an opportunity to take over as the Sun Devils’ offense struggled to get into rhythm on its first two drives, but instead the score came to a standstill at 14-10.

Impact plays could be seen across the board on defense as the other end finally let loose, whether it be a menacing QB hit by redshirt senior linebacker Kyle Soelle or a savvy pass breakup by senior cornerback Chase Lucas. However, the face of the defense on Saturday might be a familiar one: senior linebacker Darien Butler.

Butler, who shined with his first two career interceptions last week, once again set the tone with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks on two third-and-long situations that fired up the home crowd.

Butler’s versatility and impact to start the season was a main theme postgame from his peers and coaches.

“From the defensive standpoint [Butler] means everything,” Lucas said. “Either he’s blitzing or he’s covering a tight end, making a play on the ball … he’s doing the damn thing and I’m so proud of him. He’s been a captain for four years and I’m just happy and blessed to be playing with him, really.”

Pierce added: “That guy’s one of the best players on our football team, probably one of the best in the Pac-12 Conference. For a guy who came in as a freshman kind of heavyset and chunky and played early – [he] just dialed in. That’s a complete linebacker, that’s a three-down linebacker. Hopefully people are paying attention.”

Pierce’s second half gameplan, as Edwards noted, worked wonders with the pass rush’s ability to contain Brumfield with pressure and the secondary’s “cat coverage” to stay pressed to the opponent.

Even with the stunning defensive show, Lucas was light-heartedly disappointed in the effort, as Pierce declared a goal of not allowing over 150 total yards per game. ASU allowed 155 against the Rebels.

In all seriousness, the strength of the defense has helped propel the Sun Devils in both of their wins this season. Next week they play their first true test in BYU (2-0), who is coming off an upset win over No. 21 ranked Utah. With BYU averaging 25 points per game this season, ASU’s defense will likely be in for another test as the quality of its competition improves once again.

For Lucas, it’s almost as if the season starts right now.

“We’re already ready,” Lucas said. “We’ve been practicing, we’ve been training for the past 6-7 months. We’ve been waiting for these moments and I think we’re just ready to go. I’m glad we got the dub and now it’s onto BYU.”