ASU’s bye week checklist: QB decision, defensive stops, and penalties
After a long slog through the beginning of its Pac-12 play, which included three straight matchups against ranked opponents, Arizona State has finally made it to the bye week checkpoint.
Before the Washington game was played, the bye week seemed like merciful relief. It was viewed as a chance where the team could catch its breath and fully stabilize under Aguano. After the 45-38 upset win over the then-21st-ranked team in the nation, the outlook of the program appears to be tremendously brighter. The Sun Devils seem to be headed in the right direction.
ASU interim head coach Shaun Aguano, offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas, and defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson took to the podium Wednesday to discuss their goals for the bye week. All three coaches acknowledged that while the current situation has improved, the team remains in a critical period for self-scouting and adjustments.
Here is the ASU coaching Staff’s checklist for its bye week.
Who will be the quarterback against Stanford?
Emory Jones is in concussion protocol, which resulted from a helmet-to-helmet hit in the second quarter after the Florida transfer ended his scramble with a short slide. Backup Trenton Bourguet entered the game and was marvelous. The junior, a local product from Tucson, threw for 182 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.
“Obviously, that’s the expectation for anybody who is a backup in that situation,” Thomas said. “When you get in there, you’re expected to play at that starter level. I’m excited about what he did. That did not surprise me. He’s a guy that’s engaged, proactive, always showing the initiative to get better. So excited those results transformed on the field.”
Bourguet stamped his authority at the helm of the offense with a brilliant fourth-quarter scoring drive. He converted twice on third down and delivered what ended up as the game-winning score to wide receiver Elijhah Badger, showcasing great anticipation and understanding of how to execute the scheme. Thomas said he was not shocked that Bourguet was prepared when he stepped up to the plate.
“He’s a pretty even-keeled guy, and that’s kind of the reason why he goes about his business on a day-to-day basis, Thomas said. “Even in a couple of instances in the game, he could’ve gotten riled up or frustrated, but he didn’t. He stayed the course, ended up bouncing back, and did some good things.”
Jones won the starting job in the fall after he pieced together a strong week of practice and exhibited the best chemistry with the team’s receivers during the 11-on-11 period. His strong arm, snappy release, and dual-threat abilities meshed well with the offensive philosophy. Bourguet, who had spent the offseason recovering from foot surgery, perhaps was still trying to reach the same level of comfort.
But through five games, Jones was hardly the dramatic upgrade at quarterback ASU envisioned he would be. Jones’ passing numbers (1,120 yards, four touchdowns, three interceptions) are almost identical to the stats Jayden Daniels put up with the Sun Devils over the same span in 2021. His anticipation against pressure and downfield passing hit rate has been notably poor.
A quarterback competition is expected now. It would be unfair for Jones to lose his job because of an injury that was out of his control. But Bourguet earned the moment against Washington. The pressure is on Jones to perform over the next two weeks of practice with Bourguet nipping at his heels, and the timing could not be more perfect to reevaluate who the team’s signal caller should be.
“It is a competition, daily,” Aguano said. “In my philosophy, I don’t think somebody is replaced because of injury. I always kept that policy whenever I’ve coached. Now, in regard to the competition, it’ll be looked at closely. I think it’s good for both sides because I think it’ll raise both of their levels. From a relief standpoint, I know that I have a quality backup that can win games for us, and so that kind of takes a lot off of my shoulders.
“I’ve always told them I would play the best player, no matter the age, no matter size, no matter what it is. I’ll play the best football player that will get our team to win.”
Even before Jones was injured, ASU’s quarterbacks received a more balanced distribution of reps since Aguano took over. Jones took a few hard sacks against Utah and did not throw in the team period that occurred during the media viewing windows ahead of ASU’s road matchup with USC. Bourguet and Paul Tyson continued to be increasingly involved in the days leading up to the Washington game.
“We’re excited that (Trenton’s performance) has created a competition and the expectation that whoever is in there needs to play at a high standard,” Thomas said.
Red zone and third down defense
Over the past three weeks, ASU has allowed its opponents to convert 17 of 19 red zone opportunities. Washington converted on all six trips to the red zone. USC and Utah each scored on all but one appearance, respectively.
Part of the reason for the lack of success is a general difficulty in getting off the field. That means stopping offenses on third down, and ASU has been unable to rise to the occasion. Opponents are converting 50% of its third down tries on the Sun Devils.
“You’ve got to be a great scoring defense, stop them in the red zone, and get off the field on third down,” Henderson said. “Our problem is getting us to the red zone. If we would execute out on the field, we wouldn’t be in the red zone situationally as much.”
The long drives are wearing on the defense, too. During the team period of Wednesday’s practice, starting linebackers Kyle Soelle and Merlin Robertson watched from the sidelines. Safety Khoury Bethley also did not take a rep. The trio is responsible for 153 tackles but will tire exponentially if ASU cannot produce more stops.
“I think right now we were kind of playing a ‘bend and don’t break’ mentality,” Aguano said. My mentality, if we don’t get a stop every single series in three-and-out, I’m not satisfied. You know, I want to make sure that they come up in people’s faces and play and compete. I think from a football intelligence perspective, it was third and nine, everybody in the world knows that they can throw the ball at the chains, and we still got people bailing out sometimes. I think that’s just from an educational standpoint that we got to make sure that, in practice, we work those situations, so the kids understand that.
“I’m going to ask for more: a better third-down conversion rate, making sure that they’re not five-for-five or six-for-six in the red zone. We can’t have that. But I’m always going to make sure that we try to decrease all of those percentages.”
“There’s no reason why we can’t be a good defense,” Henderson said. “And you can see that in the last couple of drives where we put a little more pressure, we play a little bit better, man, we did some things that you like to see. Can we do that all the time? That’s the challenge.”
Clean up penalties
They continue to be the bane of ASU football. The Sun Devils are averaging 75.83 penalty yards over its first five games. A pass interference call by Timarcus Davis on fourth down in the red zone gave Washington another set of downs to score. BJ Green was ejected for targeting during Washington’s final drive – the penalty also occurred on fourth down.
Aguano has taken a direct approach to accountability. Players run at practice as punishment for mistakes made. No starting position is safe. After all, ASU has always been a “next man up” team, and, for the most part, the depth is well-developed.
“I was not real happy with a couple of guys, and I’ve addressed the team,” Aguano said. “If that happens, I will never let a kid disrupt anything from a team standpoint. If we’re going to make stupid mistakes, then you’re going to be standing on the side with a clipboard with me, and I really don’t care who you are because you are hurting the team.
“And so we’ve addressed that, and some of them were just mentally stupid mistakes. I mean, there are a couple of times, especially at the game, that it probably wouldn’t have led to the Hail Mary at the end. The game would have been over. We can’t take a chance and especially in that position, from a discipline standpoint. So I have addressed that, and some of them were not really happy with me because I called them out in front of the team. And they should be because they should be held accountable to the team for some of their mistakes. But I don’t think it will happen again.”
Expectations are clear, and Aguano will not sugarcoat things that could hurt ASU’s improvement – the main factor that will determine a lot of administrative decisions in December.
