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ASU secondary flunks its first test of '21 against formidable BYU receivers

PROVO, Utah - Arizona State’s defensive backs take great pride in their ability to cover one-on-one. The identity of the Sun Devil defense appeared to be its strength in man coverage. Yet in a 27-17 loss on the road to BYU at LaVell Edwards Stadium, it was clear that trait was not as formidable as previously thought.


Perhaps the problems began before the game even started. Nickel cornerback Timarcus Davis, who has dealt with a lower leg injury since the second week of fall camp, did not take the field for warmups. This came as a surprise since head coach Herm Edwards told the media on Monday he expected Davis to be ready for the game.


With Davis out, ASU opted to forego the nickel package for most of the first half. When BYU spread three receivers out wide, the Sun Devils sent either Evan Fields or DeAndre Pierce down from their safety position to match up in man coverage. The remaining safety patrolled the top of the secondary from the single-high position.


This decision essentially put Jack Jones and Chase Lucas on islands for most of the second half. The move was not unexpected; defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce has been bullish in the past about how much he trust he places in his veteran defensive backs.


“Teams are going to challenge us vertically for how we play defense, and our guys got to step up to the challenge,” Pierce said in the postgame press conference. “With veteran guys coming back, we expect them to play well, and players of that nature make plays. And we did at times, but at critical moments we didn’t, and we failed our team at that.”


Jones and Lucas harbor high-energy personalities and mental fortitude. Neither cornerback has ever wavered in their confidence to man the boundary by themselves. They play with the necessary speed, urgency, and aggressiveness to succeed in isolation.


The wings of the secondary locked down ASU’s starting receivers in fall camp, and the result was similar in the victories over non-conference opponents. The duo racked up four pass breakups in a suffocating effort against the UNLV Rebels and did not allow a passing touchdown to Southern Utah. However, Jones and Lucas were not tested vertically in those games.


The BYU receivers ended up being a different story. Quarterback Jaren Hall did not fear that duo or its teammates, completing 15-27 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns. The clean pocket he enjoyed for most of the game allowed the Cougars even more time to stretch the field. In the second quarter, the separation of BYU’s aerial weapons became notable.


Lucas got caught in rotation as Dallin Holker snagged a 31-yard pass on a dig from Hall, a career-high mark for the receiver. Two plays later, Hall found favorite target Neil Pau’u for a 20-yard gain as Jordan Clark drifted into space, a rare moment in the first half when ASU did elect to play in nickel. Hall attacked Clark the next play on a deceptive flea-flicker; the freshman cornerback stopped in his tracks at midfield, letting Gunner Romney soar into open space as if he anticipated Pierce to pick up his assignment. But Pierce had dropped down to assist Fields, and Romney ended up wide open for the 34-yard score.


“We knew they were going to take shots,” Pierce said. “Individual matchups, stay with your man, eyes, just do your job. It was pretty self-explanatory, just busted coverage.”


The cascade of miscues from the secondary did not stop there.


On the first play of BYU’s next drive, Hall lofted another ball into the Provo night sky that dropped into the arms of a streaking Romney. Romney attacked the cushion and got Lucas to bite with a double-move inside, opening a look for Hall up the sideline. Later, Jones looked for the ball too early in coverage against Puka Nacua the next play, who managed to get one foot in the end zone. Fortunately, the replay review determined he did not have control of the football. The sigh of relief was short-lived, and the drive ended with Isaac Rex’s first touchdown of the game, which appeared to be a blown coverage by Fields.


And then Lucas took a knee to the head while tackling Nacua on an end-around and went to the locker room shortly after. He did not return to the game.


Changes were made to start the second half, not only to replace Lucas but to address spotty safety play as well.


Kejaun Markham replaced Fields for the first defensive stand but was not seen the rest of the game. Macen Williams, who handled outside duties during the first two weeks, was called upon again to execute that role in Lucas’ absence. After giving up a 14-yard reception to Pau’u that moved the chains on the first play of the second half, Williams played well up until Rex rose above him in the end zone with 1:19 left in the game for what ended up being the game-sealing touchdown.


ASU did manage to intercept Hall twice throughout the contest, but both were unsuccessful at providing a spark for the team.


Jack Jones intercepted Hall in the back right corner of the end zone in front of Romney at the tail end of the second quarter. Despite the turnover, the 16 remaining seconds didn’t allow much time for quarterback Jayden Daniels and the offense to capitalize on the big play.


The other moment was Merlin Robertson’s interception of Hall in the third quarter. Robertson returned the ball 60 yards but had the ball punched from his grasp by running back Tyler Allgeier, who swung his fist over Robertson’s right shoulder in a leaping, athletic play. On closer inspection, Robertson’s right foot appeared to be touching the sideline before fumbling the ball. But that information did not come to light until much later, and much too late for the Sun Devils to do something about it. Yet, there is some doubt as to whether the linebacker’s foot did touch out of bounds or merely hovered over the white line.


Where does ASU’s defense move from here? Antonio Pierce said “consequences” would be in order to fix the discipline issues exhibited Saturday. It wasn’t just poor secondary play, it was the little things too. Lucas lined up offsides at one point in the second quarter. 3-technique defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott was called for two facemask penalties on BYU’s final drive, a 15-yard dagger that propelled the Cougars into the red zone.


The penalties left Edwards searching for answers after the game.


“I can’t figure it out,” Edwards said. “Because we don’t practice that way. We practice with officials and for some reason, we didn’t help ourselves tonight.”


ASU marched into Provo knowing its secondary would be tested. The cracks in the armor were exposed, the defensive backs faltered in their first exposure to a hostile environment in what was a major step-up in competition and they failed that test.


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