(Photo: Dom Contini/WCSN)
For all the struggles that Arizona State Football has had this season, the Sun Devils went back to what has always worked for them on Saturday night: the running game. This time, against Washington, it saved them.
With the routine struggles showing up once again – whether it be costly penalties, interceptions or the lack of a downfield passing game – plus the cold and wet conditions in Seattle, it made the 35-30 grueling win over the Huskies that much more special.
“Honestly, that’s probably the best win in my life,” senior running back Rachaad White told Devils Digest postgame.
White was the leading runner and pass catcher for ASU and accounted for 63% of the offense’s total production, but it didn’t look like that would matter early on.
ASU head coach Herm Edwards told his team toward the end of the game that, “you guys like it to be hard” as the Huskies punched ASU’s defense in the mouth with two touchdown drives in the first quarter. Washington, led by interim head coach Bob Gregory and interim offensive coordinator Junior Adams, executed an efficient game plan with eight first downs in the period, one more than it had in its entire game last week.
While the Sun Devils were able to limit Washington to three first downs and a field goal in the second quarter, ASU could only muster seven points and was down by 10 heading into the half.
White continued to rack up yards in the third, but the pendulum would not swing the Sun Devils’ way until senior defensive end Tyler Johnson came up with the first turnover of the game. Washington redshirt freshman running back Cameron Davis mishandled a pitch, and Johnson scooped up the ball and rumbled down to the Huskies’ nine-yard line.
“I ain’t gonna lie, [Johnson] was a game-saver right there,” White said. “It just felt like the momentum really shifted. We always – like I said – we felt strong. We believed in one another, but it was like in due time of a play. I was calling on the sideline – I said, ‘We’re going to get a turnover.’”
Two plays later, White scored the first of two touchdowns from five yards out, and for the rest of the game the Sun Devils “kept pecking away at it,” according to Edwards.
With junior quarterback Jayden Daniels struggling to throw the ball amidst the weather conditions, offensive coordinator Zak Hill completely abandoned the pass in the fourth quarter to run wild with White.
This was clear on a draining, 20-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to start the quarter and cut ASU’s deficit to three once again. The Sun Devils only threw three passes on the drive – the only plays through the air for the rest of the game. Daniels spun free from a defender to finish it off with a four-yard touchdown run.
When White got word that the drive lasted 20 plays postgame, he turned to junior offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson and seemed stunned at the number.
“I was so tired to be completely honest,” Henderson told Devils Digest postgame. “I was looking at the D-linemen looking [at] me, and I was trying to act like I wasn’t tired. That was just – you gotta fight and you gotta finish.”
The drive sparked the offense – as Edwards noted – and seemingly took the wind out of the Huskies’ sails the rest of the way.
The Sun Devils forced a three-and-out on the next possession and got the ball back with 4:06 remaining. With no need to hurry, the Sun Devils yet again dominated the Huskies with the run. However, it was Daniels this time who came up big with two crucial runs of 10-plus yards to set up White for his second touchdown dash. White credited Daniels for responding to adversity, as the junior threw for just 90 yards with a touchdown and interception in Saturday’s win.
“Just to see [number] five [in Daniels] just go out and get it,” White said. “One thing I know about five is he’s a competitor and he’s got so much poise. And I ain’t ever seen it in nobody.”
White’s 10-yard score gave the Sun Devils their first lead of the game with 1:11 left on the clock. Washington redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan Morris – who struggled throwing the ball since the second half started – could not rise to the occasion. His 4th-and-1 throw was intercepted by senior linebacker Merlin Robertson, who returned it 37 yards for a touchdown to put the game on ice for ASU at 35-24.
White ended the game with 184 yards on the ground and 53 yards receiving. Daniels ran the ball 15 times for 56 yards and a touchdown.
With ASU not converting a third down until the fourth quarter and committing nine penalties for nearly 100 yards, the Sun Devils were in another situation where their own mistakes could have cost them. However, this time, they finally broke through the glass ceiling and showed heart after being down to start the game, which is perhaps why the win resonated so much with the Sun Devils’ roster.
“It was nice to come from behind and actually finish a game,” Hill told Devils Digest. “The way it happened too, with the rain and all that stuff …
“It was a game I’ll never forget, for sure.”
