With senior running back Cam Skattebo absent, it was evident that heading into Saturday’s matchup against UCF, the offense would need the rest of the cast to elevate their play and compensate for their top weapon's absence. With the offense's inconsistencies early in the contest, it was the defense and special teams that stepped up in the 35-31 win over the Knights.
A punt block by freshman linebacker Martell Hughes and returned for a touchdown by redshirt freshman safety Montana Warren was the opening score for the Sun Devils in the first quarter, and a pick-six by junior cornerback Laterrence Welch with under a minute left in the second quarter had the defense and special teams outscoring the offense heading into the locker room at halftime.
“Those two plays specifically create buy-in on special teams,” Dillingham said. “They’re huge, game-changing plays. We were really close to blocking one against Kansas, but we timed it poorly because I overcoached that in the Kansas week. I didn’t overcoach it this week, just told the guys to block one this week, and they blocked it.”
Head coach Kenny Dillingham has conveyed the value of having a good special teams unit, and tonight he had one. The early scoop and score not only energized the team the rest of the night but also potentially the next week of practice as the Sun Devils will be tasked with arguably their greatest foe yet, No. 22 Kansas State, on the road next weekend.
For guys like Welch, Hughes, and Warren, who aren’t starters at their positions, making plays to help their team win is a tremendous boost to their teammate’s belief in them. Having such finite snaps in a game can be formidable at times, but making the best of the opportunities in front of them is how they work their way up to being a player Dillingham knows he can count on moving forward.
“They’re fired up, and it gives guys confidence that all the little things are important,” Dillingham noted. “You don’t know what play is going to change the game, and that’s why the buy-in of every play matters. You have to prepare like you’re the guy who’s going to change it, and everybody gets bought into that.”
"Hughes is a true freshman, and Warren is in his second year after redshirting his freshman year. Having guys that young be able to contribute to the game as much as they did is possibly a sign of things to come for Dillingham and his team, and it also portrays their work ethic and capability to take advantage of the little time they get on the field.
“When we talk about success, it’s about being the very best you can be, win or loss,” Dillingham voiced. “Those two kids try to be their very best all the time, so when it shows up for them, it’s awesome. I gave Montana a game ball because that dude shows up and works. He works so hard, and the team went crazy when I gave him the ball because those are guys you should get fired up about.”
Dillingham isn’t the only person to recognize his team's dedication; the guys Warren and Hughes play with see it every day. Welch is a veteran in his position, and he spoke on how much of an impact those two make on the team each week.
“Martell has been supposed to have a block by now,” Welch commented. “Every week on punt, they take that job seriously. And Montana had hit Jake (Smith) hard during practice, and Coach Dilly flashed on him. But you can see how that reflects on game day because those guys really want to be. They love what they do, and I’m proud of them.”
Throughout the season, Dillingham consistently harped on the importance of the “middle eight,” the last four minutes of the second quarter and the first four minutes of the third quarter. The Sun Devils were already in position to receive the second-half kickoff when UCF won the opening coin toss and elected to receive first, but their offense was able to orchestrate a drive late in the second half, leaving minimal time for the Knights to have any offensive snaps in the period.
The Sun Devils’ ability to manipulate the clock their way, combined with mistakes from the Knights, led to 14 points in 9 seconds for ASU, going from a 17-7 deficit heading into halftime with instead a 21-17 lead. So far this season ASU has outscored its opponents 63-13 in the middle eight and have 12 touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first and second halves.
“We were plus 14 in it (middle eight) today,” Dillingham mentioned. “It was game-changing for us. We shouldn’t have won that football game; we played horribly. We didn’t coach great, but guess what? Good teams find a way to win, and we found a way. So kudos to our guys for finding a way to win.”
Although the defense ended up making the difference in the win, they also tied for the most points they’ve given up this season after a 35-31 win against Kansas a month ago. UCF came into this game with the second-most rushing yards in the country, with 2,451 yards, and continued their dominance with 177 rushing yards tonight compared to ASU’s 99 yards on the ground. Yet, the Sun Devils can hang their hat on their run-defense effort in the fourth quarter.
Leading the team with 127 rushing yards and three touchdowns was senior running back RJ Harvey, who seemed to find a way to always gain a couple of yards. There were multiple times when ASU got to him at the line, but he kept his legs churning and picked up three or four yards. A game like this is one where Skattebo is missed dearly, as the ASU sideline is used to him doing that to opposing defenses instead of it happening to them.
“We got dominated on the ground,” Dillingham recognized. “If you just look at the rushing statistics, it’s not pretty. That’s a good learning lesson for us that we just can’t line up and stop the run; we have to practice like that. I told the guys we got a little confident, and that’s my fault for letting them get into that mold.”
With the defense making plays but also giving up so many points, the challenge against Kansas State will be a big test of how the defense responds to adversity. The last time they gave up 31 points, they followed up the next week, only giving up 19 points to a then-ranked Utah offense while forcing three turnovers.
Kansas State’s attack is similar to UCF's, favoring its running game. The Wildcats are third in the Big 12 with 208 rushing yards a game but are 11th with 214 passing yards a game. It was apparent that ASU struggled to stop the run, and a hostile environment in Manhattan, Kansas, will make the Sun Devils very aware of where they stand after the game in terms of rushing defense.
“We have to get back to playing with a chip on our shoulders,” Dillingham expressed. “We play with a chip on our shoulder way better than when we play like we’re good. We’ll have to play with that chip next week because we’re probably going to be seven and a half to 14-point dogs on the road next week. I don’t think many people are going to pick us on that day.”
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