As the evening fog rolled into Martin Stadium slowly with foreboding gloom, Arizona State (3-7, 2-5 Pac-12) fought to keep its bowl game hopes alive but ultimately fell short against Washington State (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12) in a chilly 28-18 loss.
Like every opponent that has faced the Sun Devils this season, the Cougars identified the main weakness of the Arizona State defense and sought to establish the run. Washington State handed the ball off to running back Nakia Watson 20 times for 116 yards and three touchdowns. Watson averaged 5.8 yards per carry and doubled his season rushing touchdown total in the first half alone.
“We didn’t execute upfront, Arizona State interim head coach Shaun Aguano said in a postgame press conference. “And I’ll take the blame for that because we didn’t put ourselves in the right situations, and then our defense had to be on the field too much. It was just a lack of execution on my part and a lack of execution on third downs.”
Stopping the run has been a season-long issue for Arizona State. The team is allowing 179.8 rushing yards per game. 23 of the 36 touchdowns the defense has given up this season were scored on the ground. Last week against UCLA, Arizona State gave up five rushing touchdowns alone in a bleak 50-36 home loss.
To make matters worse, the Arizona State defense dealt with blows to its personnel before the game. Middle linebacker Kyle Soelle, who ranked sixth in FBS before Saturday’s game with 98 tackles, was declared out with an upper extremity injury. Cornerback Ro Torrence, who was tied for second in the Pac-12 with eight pass breakups, could not shake the flu bug that the Sun Devils have dealt with for the past week. Isaiah Johnson was also sick and was not available to play against Washington State.
The holes in the defense forced new players to step up into starting roles. Will Shaffer replaced Soelle and made six tackles, one of which was for a loss. Macen Williams filled in for Torrence and collected a pass breakup. When Khoury Bethley took a knee to the helmet in the first quarter and was forced to exit the game, starting nickel cornerback Jordan Clark took his place at safety and finished the game with eight tackles.
Watson’s effort on the ground, combined with Washington State’s forward-thinking game plan to carve up ASU’s zone coverage with quick passes and tunnel screens, resulted in a shutout first half.
Arizona State’s defense could have folded at that moment as it trudged into the locker room, down four touchdowns at halftime. Instead, the Sun Devils decided to flip the script. Arizona State stiffened up, managed to get off the field, and did not allow Washington State to score in the remaining time to play.
“It’s just a gut check, man,” Clark said on the mood at halftime. “We got a lot of guys in our room who have been counted out and haven’t necessarily been the star their entire life. We had some guys hurt, not here. We had some young guys step up and play a big role. It was really just about growing up, digging your feet in the grass, and saying ‘that’s enough.’”
Some of those adjustments that were made came down to identifying where the Sun Devils were superior. Man coverage was emphasized more in the second half in the play-calling by Arizona State defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson. The tighter matchups caused Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward to become less confident when forced to pass.
Ward had only 34 passing yards in the second half, and the Cougars converted just three first downs. Defensive linemen Omarr Norman-Lott and B.J. Green each notched a sack. Nesta Jade Silvera and Merlin Robertson combined on another takedown of Ward.
“We kinda just realized that outside we were better athletes,” Clark said. “We were playing really soft at first, kinda just allowing quick game. They were hitting slants; they were hitting hitches, screens; they were going for extra yards and things like that. In the second half, we just tightened up as a secondary.
The run defense, too, gained some traction in the trenches. Watson had just 17 yards after nearly reaching the century mark in the first half. The Washington State backfield as a whole averaged 2.0 yards per carry.
“The guys in the blocks played their gap, did their job, and paid dividends,” Clark said.
“One thing that I told them today was their legacy, and it’s tough because they got all the cards stacked against them, and we’re playing on one knee right now with our personnel, they don’t quit, and they’re going to play hard,” Aguano said.
After suffering its seventh loss of the season, Arizona State is no longer eligible for a bowl game. The Sun Devils have made a postseason appearance every year since 2017, but the four-game season during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Aguano – whose future with the program once the season ends remains cloudy – knows there is still much to play for over the remaining two games against Oregon State and Arizona, the latter of which will host the Territorial Cup down in Tucson.
“I’m going to have a great time with these kids and these kids the next two weeks,” Aguano said with a smile. “And then we’ll see what happens.”
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