ASU Preview: How Good (or Bad) Are the Sun Devils?

Arizona State had USC beaten last Saturday until it didn’t.

The Sun Devils, who might host Cal this weekend if the Bears get clearance from the City of Berkeley, built a 27-14 lead over the Trojans at the L.Al Coliseum and were in control until the final minutes. .

Then the Trojans used ability, a little luck and some shaky ASU defense to score two touchdowns in the final three minutes to pull out the game, 28-27.

But Arizona State showed enough talent and moxie to give the Bears reason to worry. Led by sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels, the San Bernardino native the Bears tried hard to lure to Berkeley, the Sun Devils piled up enough yards (392) and points to win most games.

“Number 5, Number 5, Number 5, Number 5,” was Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon’s response when asked what concerned him most about the ASU offense.

That, of course, is Daniels’ number, and the Trojans saw a lot of it as they spent much of the afternoon pursuing him.

A magician as a ballhandler, Daniels had the Trojans’ repeatedly pursuing empty-handed Sun Devils. He rushed for 111 yards on ten carries himself, and his wizardry was more than partially responsible for running backs  Chip Trayanum (84 yards, two TDs) and Rachaad White (76 yards) also doing damage on the ground.

“Jayden is an excellent player,” Sirmon said. “I think they’ve done some things with him developmental wise so he is running with the football. He gave SC some fits.”

Daniels’ passing is still a work in progress  His totals against USC were rather modest (11-for-23, 134 yards) as SC concentrated on denying the pass. But Daniels did not throw an interception and some passes that weren’t caught still produce yardage. 

“ He did a nice job of throwing the ball up. To force pass interference calls that thought were important,” Sirmon said. 

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Jayden Daniels on the run

For much of the game Daniels was without receiver Frank Darby, ASU’s main deeo threat.  He left after just one reception with a rib injury. Head coach Herman Edwards said he expected Darby to play against the Bears. In his absence, freshman LV Bunkley-Shelton caught four passes. “He did a nice job; he’s a freshman wide receiver and he made some catches,” Edwards said. “He had the one fumble but for the most part played pretty well I thought.”

The Sun Devils have a lot of depth at tight end, and senior Curtis Hodges really caught Edwards’ eye Saturday.

A converted wide receiver Hodges was devastating in blocking for the running game. “I thought Hodges did a great job at the tight end position,” Edwards said. “He didn’t catch any balls but did a really good job of blocking, just a wonderful job of blocking and being involved in the run game and we’ve got to get him more involved.”

The offensive line, which had trouble keeping USC rushers away from Daniels the few times he dropped back to pass, was much better opening holes for the rushers. The Sun Devils start a pair of newcomers at the tackles, grad transfer Kellen Diesch at left tackle and freshman Beb Scott on the right.

“Those guys played their hearts out,” Edwards said. “Just going out there in their first game as a Sun Devil, really. It was Kellen’s first game starting here. They stepped up to the challenge and they did what they could do.”

New coordinator Zak Hill’s offense looked very creative and diverse. “They are not easy to prepare for,” Sirmon said. “A lot of moving parts, Shifts and motions and they do a nice job of utiliizing multiple personnel groupings.”

Statistically, the numbers for the ASU defense look horrid, They gave up 556 total yards, 280 through the air. On the other hand, they recovered three fumbles, intercepted a pass and forced USC to turn the bali over on downs three times including once at the Sun Devil goal line.

There are playmakers all over the defense. Linebacker Merlin Robertson was conference Defensive Player of the Week, which shows the junior might have returned to his freshman form when he was one of the best in the conference, His play tailed off last year, but he was all over the field on Saturday. 

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Merlin Robertson (8)

Defensive end Michael Matus showed the potential to be a disruptive pass rusher. “I mean the thing about him he didn’t play a lot last year at all, he wasn’t a guy that played a lot,” Edwards said “He got an opportunity to start, he did a nice job of rushing the quarterback.”

Edwards felt that Matus, like a lot of the Sun Devil defenders, might have worn down, because the Trojans ran 95 plays.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of football games as a former player and a coach, and I’ve never been involved in a game that we had 95 plays defensively,” Edwards said. “Now, some of that had to do with missed opportunities to get off the field, but 95 plays for a defense is a lot, a lot of plays and a lot of opportunities that you give to an offense that’s very explosive.”

Although the ASU special teams failed in the game’s most important play, an onside kick USC recovered, the rest of the unit looks good.

Punter Michael Turk averaged 51.6 yards per punt (this was at sea level, what will he do in Tempe?). He was special teams Player of the Week in the Pac-12. Cristian Zendejas, yet another in the seemingly endless family line of kickers, handles the placements. He upholds the family tradition.

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