Arizona State football closed out its odd season on Saturday with a 46-33 victory over Oregon State in Corvallis.
The win gave the Sun Devils (2-2) a two-game winning streak to finish the 2020 campaign, a season with more ups and downs than the craziest amusement park roller coasters. Closing out with a victory and obtaining a .500 record gave ASU a bit of solace heading into its offseason.
As it has been all year, the Sun Devils’ newcomers were a big part of the team’s win on Saturday.
Offense
For the fourth-straight game, the ASU young guns shining the most Saturday on offense were the running backs.
Paced by junior college transfer Rachaad White, the Sun Devils’ youthful tailbacks stood out against the Beavers.
White had 13 carries for 158 yards (12.2 yards per carry) and two touchdowns in the game. One of his scores was a 55-yarder, and the other was a tough, four-yard rush where he dragged defenders with him.
White finished his first season at ASU, averaging 10 YPC. While four games is a short sample size, ASU offensive coordinator Zak Hill was still flabbergasted by White’s gaudy statistics.
“I was just looking at that, and I was amazed,” Hill said. “(12.2 yards) a carry. That is crazy. That was fun to see. He’s an explosive kid. I glad we got him for a couple years.”
ASU’s freshmen running backs were not shabby themselves. Chip Trayanum had 12 carries for 57 yards, a touchdown, and an evasive 26-yard run to set up the first of White’s two touchdowns on the night.
Daniyel Ngata, who did not see much playing time until last week’s 70-7 drubbing of Arizona, was also a big part of the ASU offense against Oregon State. He fought hard for a solid 10 carry, 48-yard performance.
Defense
On defense, graduate transfer DeAndre Pierce was the star newcomer.
The safety had nine total tackles, one of which was for a loss, and was also the only player to intercept a pass for either team in the game.
Pierce attributed the interception to the ASU pass rush making it hard for Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan to see downfield.
“I think even one of the d-lineman told me that they were right in the quarterback’s face,” Pierce stated. “I give my credit to my pick to the d-lineman because they were able to get in his face, force a bad throw.”
Special Teams
The standout young gun special-teamer on Saturday was true freshman Will Shaffer. Shaffer, a local product out of Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, blocked a punt late in the first quarter and returned it 22 yards. The play set ASU up well into Beavers’ territory, and the Sun Devils scored a touchdown on the third play of the drive.
Jackson He again made headlines in the game Saturday. After becoming the first Chinese-born player to score an FBS touchdown last week, He did not see the field at halfback in the game. However, he was on ASU’s kickoff coverage team for the majority of the game as people back in China tuned into the matchup on Tencent Video, a streaming service with more than 900 million monthly users.
Other fresh faces participating in Saturday’s game were graduate transfer right guard Henry Hattis, redshirt freshman right tackle Ben Scott, graduate transfer left tackle Kellen Diesch, graduate transfer tight end John Stivers, freshmen swiss army knife D.J. Taylor (one catch, five yards), redshirt freshmen defensive back Keon Markham (three total tackles), redshirt freshman defensive back Jordan Clark (one total tackle, pass break up), graduate transfer kickoff specialist Logan Tyler (two touchbacks on eight kicks, 55-yard average), redshirt freshmen defensive back Connor Soelle (three total tackles, forced fumble), true freshman linebacker Jordan Banks (one total tackle), freshman defensive back Ed Woods, redshirt junior transfer Vincenzo Granatelli, freshman linebacker Dylan DeVito (one solo tackle), redshirt freshman defensive end Alexander Randle and freshman tight end Ryan Morgan.
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today here and get all the latest Sun Devil news!
