Arizona State head football coach Todd Graham said on Monday that X Rays on quarterback Manny Wilkins’ left leg came back negative, also noting that Wilkins is out of the protective walking boot he wore on the sideline during Saturday’s 41-20 loss to USC.

Wilkins suffered an injury while being sacked late in the first half. He did not return, but the fact that he sported a walking boot brought concern to whether the injury had season-altering ramifications.

Graham said he is unsure if Wilkins will play against UCLA this week or of his overall timetable.

”The good thing is that it’s not going to be for an extended period of time,” he said. “The good news is that it wasn’t anything significant. “

Although ASU did not earn a single first down in the third quarter, Graham said redshirt freshman Brady White was prepared when his number was called, and did a good job given the circumstances.

“It’s tough in those games because each quarterback is different so you want to adapt to the strengths of each one,” Graham said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in (Brady White).”

Graham said ASU played well for the most part in its first three series. However, the Sun Devils settled for a field goal on the opening drive and nullified a turnover on downs with Wilkins’ interception in USC territory.

“We got to capitalize there,” Graham said. “When you’re on the road, you need to score touchdowns. Instead of getting six points, it should have been 14.”

Graham said he still felt good about his team when it trailed 17-6. But that lead quickly became 27-6 at halftime.

The deficit along with a backup quarterback ready to take the first meaningful snaps of his career proved too much.

“USC did do some things they had not done defensively,” Graham said. “They pressured and brought zero blitz pressure most of the night. Going back and looking at it, we didn’t adjust very well and the adjustment was to stay true to the plan and take what they give us, and we were doing that early. When we got behind, I guess that made us change a bit there.”

ASU committed five penalties for 75 yards. Graham felt his team essentially gave up 24 points off of those penalties.

Tackling in the secondary remained an issue too.

“It’s not a lack of effort, just a lack of technique,” Graham said.

Graham said UCLA’s offense under first-year offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu looks similar to USC’s because the Bruins have the same type of speed at receiver. But he noted that its pro-style system works because of quarterback Josh Rosen.

“He makes all the throws and is very efficient throwing the ball intermediately as well as the deep ball,” Graham said. “They want to be physical, they want to run the football and they want to use play-action.”

Additionally, Graham said UCLA’s secondary is an impressive veteran group.

“I like their corners, their corners are very physical,” he said. “They’re a team that is going to play a lot of man free coverage…Very strong up the middle and inside defensively, they like to get after you.”

He also said defensive back James Johnson, who saw time in the loss, still is not healthy. However, defensive back Maurice Chandler’s health is progressing well.

ASU is now in a familiar position.

Last season, USC routed the Sun Devils 42-14 at Sun Devil Stadium. The next week, ASU traveled to No. 7 UCLA and beat the Bruins 38-23.

In 2014, ASU suffered an embarrassing 62-27 loss to UCLA in Mike Bercovici’s first career start. A week later, the Sun Devils defeated USC 38-34 in the Coliseum with the famous “Jael Mary” play as time expired.

ASU suffered a loss at Stanford in 2013 before coming home and routing USC 62-41, effectively ending Lane Kiffin’s tenure with the Trojans.

Under Graham, the program has had an impressive history of bouncing back from tough losses, positing an 8-2 record in games after a loss during the past three years.

“Our guys have a lot of heart and I think it’s a byproduct of the relationships we build with each other and the values we have in our program,” he said. “It’s life, man. You’re going to get knocked on your can, but you have to get back up. We’ve got to be humble and we’ve got to learn and correct mistakes.”