STILLWATER, Okla. - It was impossible to know at the time, but Arizona State’s first drive of the game would be symbolic of the offense’s night as a whole in the Sun Devil’s 34-17 loss at Oklahoma State. On the first play from scrimmage, Xazavian Valladay took a hand-off and burst through a gaping hole in the right side of the line. As he breezed untouched past the second level of the defense, it looked like he might take it all the way.
He was tackled near the OSU sideline after a 42-yard gain. ASU drove into the red zone but then stalled in a goal-to-go series that culminated with Emory Jones throwing too high for Messiah Swinson in the back of the end zone. Overall, a 3-0 lead was a definitive success after a drive for each team. But the feast and famine style of the Sun Devil offense wouldn’t stop there.
“I was pleased with their mentality going into halftime; I think everybody knew we were right there,” offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas said. “I haven’t seen the stat sheet yet, but obviously, the third down conversion rate wasn’t what it needs to be.”
That would be an understatement. ASU converted on just two of its 11 third-down chances. No matter the distance, they looked completely overmatched on almost all third-down snaps. Many of them were run plays that looked to be easily contained by the veteran Oklahoma State front seven. Thomas maintained that the ground game will be utilized on any down and that it opens up the offense to have more success downfield.
“We’re going to try and be stubborn running the ball. We felt like we had some opportunities there,” Thomas said. “If you take a step back and convert on some third downs, that opens up some other things.”
The third down issues were masked on successful drives purely based on the fact that ASU didn’t get to third down for most of its trip down the field. Jones’s overthrow to Swinson in the end zone was the only third-down snap on the first drive. Later on, in the opening drive of the second half, a 73-yard catch and run by Giovanni Sanders highlighted a drive that didn’t need a third down. Valladay punched in his second touchdown run from two yards out on second and goal.
Arizona State’s only other scoring drive came at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Elijhah Badger highlighted a big night with a 21-yard touchdown catch to bring the Sun Devils within three points.
“We didn’t take care of business,” Jones said simply. “I felt like I threw away a lot of plays when I could have used my legs.”
Jones has been open about how hard he (and some of his family members) are on him when it comes to his performance. This critique often comes in the form of extreme accountability following losses. When asked about the team’s third-down struggles, Jones took some of the blame, saying his decision-making could have been better on a number of those plays. Through two games, ASU is 6-26 on third downs. A 23% conversion rate.
“They showed everything that we expected,” Jones said. “We knew we had to come out in the second half and score the ball. That’s what we did; we moved the ball.”
Thomas encapsulated the juxtaposition of ASU’s offensive night.
“We have to stay on the field and help out the defense,” Thomas said. “We did have to make some adjustments on our end; those (Defensive linemen) are the strength of that defense, with all their experience. I liked our mentality; we did a lot of good things.”
It was far from all bad.
Last year, ASU’s first loss of the season was a ringing indictment of the team’s discipline, the coaching staff, and procedural aptitude as a whole. Saturday night in Stillwater was not that. There were a number of negatives, of course, but the fact that Arizona State was in a position to win this game in the early moments of the fourth quarter speaks to the hard-nosed makeup of the team.
Any good coach will tell you there are no moral victories. Yet, there were certainly a few on Saturday night for ASU. Elijhah Badger was clearly the breakout star on the offensive side of the ball, though he declined to acknowledge as much in the postgame because ASU didn’t win the game. Giovanni Sanders proved he could be a reliable option in big games against formidable opponents, and Daniyel Ngata provided a spark off the bench when Valladay got a breather.
Arizona State could have won this game. A reality that makes the loss sting more at the moment, but one that will prove to be a positive as time heals the wound.
“The little things get you in a loss like this, but the offense didn’t flinch at the crowd noise; they handled that aspect well,” Herm Edwards said. I’m pleased with how the team competed overall.”
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