Week-by-week: Sun Devils defense plays vital role in victory over Colorado

(Photo: Jakob Brooks/WCSN)

TEMPE – Colorado third-year quarterback Isaac Wilson stood alone in shotgun formation on a fourth-and-six at Arizona State’s 35-yard line. With six minutes remaining in the first half and the Buffaloes facing a 10-0 deficit, the Utah transfer took the snap before scanning the field for nearly five seconds.

As the pocket began to collapse around him, Wilson attempted to move towards the left side of the field until fourth-year defensive linemen C.J. Fite and Jalen Thompson got in his way. His last-ditch effort to salvage the fourth-down situation by running the other direction was cut short when third-year defensive end Albert Smith III snagged his left leg for a sack.

The turnover on downs as a result of the 24-yard loss set the stage for first-year quarterback Jake Fette to connect with fourth-year wide receiver Reed Harris on a 34-yard touchdown pass six plays later, expanding the Sun Devils’ advantage to 17 points.

Although offensive production ground to a halt during the second half, ASU’s (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) defensive effort throughout most of the contest laid the groundwork for a 20-10 win over Colorado (3-6, 1-5 Big 12) at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday.

“We feel like as a defense, week-by-week we have felt our confidence grow,” third-year linebacker Owen Long said. “We’ve done nothing but just get back to work, and to just go out there and let our work speak for itself, go play as hard as we can.”

The in-conference showdown featured an intriguing matchup of a struggling offense versus a struggling defense. On one hand, the Sun Devils had allowed 29.5 points per game — second-worst in the Big 12. Meanwhile, the Buffaloes ranked last in conference with just 21 points scored per game.

An immediate three-and-out by Colorado to open the game signaled a promising start for ASU, but third-year defensive back Rodney Bimage Jr. suffered a serious leg injury on the following possession, which dealt a serious blow to the team’s secondary.

A considerable number of the program veteran’s teammates surrounded him to show their support before he was carted off the field, and instead of allowing the loss to derail its momentum, the defensive unit kept charging forward in his honor.

“(Rodney’s) been a staple of our defense,” Long said. “That guy gives everything he’s got every day, whether it’s a Tuesday practice or a Saturday game. To see someone go down like that, obviously, is not anything that we want, but the team rallying around it. Going out there and playing for him, doing what he would do, which is play as hard as he can.”

Two plays after Bimage exited the game, Smith III brought down Wilson on a third-and-eight for his first sack of the day. His 24-yard takedown of the Buffaloes’ signal-caller a quarter later, in addition to a strip sack for another turnover on downs with three minutes left to play, ultimately brought his total to three.

The Louisiana native and Class of 2024 commit only had half a sack to his name through eight games. By the end of Saturday night, Smith III surged to the third-place ranking in total sacks amongst the team.

“I’ve really challenged Albert for three years,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “You can ask him. I’ve challenged him a lot because he has a lot of talent, and sometimes he doesn’t like me, but I think he’s starting to learn. There’s a reason I’m choosing to challenge him.”

ASU’s secondary did its part by weathering the storm without Bimage and limiting Colorado’s air attack to 93 yards through the first two quarters. When Wilson attempted a 39-yard deep ball on the Buffaloes’ opening drive of the second half, fourth-year defensive back Ashton Stamps put himself in the perfect position to pick off the pass.

The LSU transfer’s first takeaway of his collegiate career prevented Colorado from snapping the near 45-minute shutout with a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter. Up to that point, the Buffaloes had only managed four punts, two turnovers on downs and an interception.

“I was excited about that because we played team football on the play,” Dillingham said. “Give me a play where we play really sound football, and we leverage the ball to each other and make a play like that over somebody just winning a one-on-one and making a one-handed catch. Because talent does that, but good teams make the plays when they work together, and they play team defense, and that was a team defense interception.

“Even our defensive end recognized boot with the cut split of three and got up the field, and our adder added fast. The team created that, and everybody understood the assignment.”

Colorado started to find its groove on offense in the last 15 minutes of play, resulting in Wilson throwing a seven-yard touchdown pass that brought his team within two possessions. By the time the contest came to an end, the Buffaloes managed 248 net passing yards and even outgained the Sun Devils with 312 total yards of offense.

However, ASU’s defense holding firm on nine of 13 third-down conversion attempts on top of shutting down all three fourth-down conversion attempts helped make up for the offense only putting up three points in the second half.

The Sun Devils also surrendered 64 net rushing yards the entire game, reflecting a massive improvement from previously allowing 134 yards on the ground per game.

“They came out, they stopped the run which has always got to be an identity for us,” Dillingham said. “We lost that for three weeks, and I think we’ve refound it. We’ve got to continue to keep that identity of teams who want to throw the ball on us, that’s great. It’s kind of awesome. But eventually, you’ve got to run the ball to win games, and we want to be a team that can stop the run.”

Dillingham has been vocal about wanting his defense to possess an identity focused on limiting the opponent’s explosiveness and reducing errors to a minimum, but allowing 40 or more points in three of ASU’s first six games of the season signified a departure from that playstyle.

If previous contests against Kansas State and then-No. 9 BYU reflected the unit making strides in terms of stopping the run, the Sun Devils’ body of work against Colorado provides a glimpse of what their defense is capable of when firing on all cylinders.

While one win is all that is needed to achieve bowl eligibility, three games against offenses averaging at least 30 points a game have still yet to be played. A road trip to Orlando, Florida, to take on UCF being first on the docket will go a long way in determining if ASU’s defense is heading in the right direction or merely experienced a flash in the pan.

“I think it’s just a testament to the work that the coaches and players put in this week,” Long said. “We know what it looks like when we’re on the same page, and when we’re on the same page, and when we’re flying around playing our game. Now the job is to continue to do that going into next Saturday.”