Prior to the final drive of Saturday’s 28-27 season-opening loss to No. 20 USC, Arizona State sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels only threw the ball three times in the second half. Up until the scoreboard showed the Sun Devils trailing by one with a minute and change to play at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Daniels hadn’t needed to use his arm.

A great opening act from the Sun Devil backfield duo of Rachaad White and Chip Trayanum, paired with a 100-plus yard rushing performance from Daniels himself, allowed the ASU offense to keep the attack on the ground and the clock moving for much of the second half.

Sometimes, that’s the way the game flow goes. In the first game action of 2020, the Arizona State offensive line was able to open up holes in the running game en route to 258 rushing yards and 6.8 yards per rush. For 57 minutes, the strategy worked. Three whirlwind minutes to close the game on a 14-0 USC run may have changed the exit poll results of Sun Devil fans feelings, but the ground game impact from a variety of contributors was an unfamiliar sight to the ASU offense of recent years.

“We felt like we were running the ball well and were in a position of the game where we needed to run the ball and run the clock,” said offensive coordinator Zak Hill during Tuesday’s meeting with the media. “We wanted to pound the football a little bit, and even though they knew we were running the ball at times we were getting big chunks, so we wanted to stay with that.

When all was said and done Saturday afternoon; Daniels completed 11 of 23 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown, a 55-yard catch-and-run from White.

“You always look back at every game, and yeah, we want to score more points,” Hill said. “We want to be more explosive. We want to have a better pass game and get that going, and we felt like in that one, especially in the second half, we had to run it to win.”

One of the main factors contributing to the Sun Devils’ inability to produce explosive plays in the passing game was the absence of senior receiver Frank Darby. The big-play threat left the game in the first quarter with an injury to his ribs – contributing just one catch for two yards on a screen pass on the opening drive – and the downfield passing game of the Arizona State offense was left to freshman Johnny Wilson.

“Losing Frank was a big part of our offense,” Daniels told reporters Tuesday. “Him going down still gives no excuse of how we performed as an offense. There were some things in the pass game that I missed, receivers missed. We can’t just depend on one player to be there to change our whole scheme outlook.”

Despite budding relationships which date back to their days in high school, Daniels was unable to make significant connections when targeting two of the Sun Devils’ highly-touted freshman receivers. LV Bunkley-Shelton was able to make four catches for 28 yards and a second-quarter fumble, while Wilson was unable to secure any receptions (but did draw a pass interference in the third quarter).

“I know I experienced it,” said Daniels of things not going to plan in a collegiate debut. “I know how it is. Unfortunately for them, my first game was versus Kent State. Their first game was versus USC. It’s a bigger stage.

“I feel like they are young, and it’s time to grow up. I see that they had some of the jitters in them, but other than that, now it’s just onto the next week.”

Although Wilson failed to record his first collegiate catch (he had a swing pass that was recorded as a rushing attempt) he was targeted five times. On the final offensive play of Arizona State’s day, Bunkley-Shelton was Daniels’ intended receiver on a ball that bounced into his hands on a 4th and 10 attempt.

“They are attacking it trying to develop and get better,” said Hill of the talented freshmen duo. “We as coaches have to do a good job of putting them in good situations, which can help them be successful, especially early in the game.

“They both have high expectations of themselves, which is good. They are competitive dudes. And I think no matter how they would have played, they are always expecting better and expecting more, and I like that about them.”

Time will help progress the relationship building between Hill and Daniels. During preseason practices, Hill expressed the assistance game action has for building trust, something he said was solidified by what he saw from the second-year signal-caller of the Sun Devils in their first experience working together against a Pac-12 opponent.

“He’s a very competitive kid” said of Hill of his takeaways from the first 60 minutes spent competing with Daniels. “He wants the ball in his hands, and he’s not afraid in any moment. He’s very calm, cool, and collected.

“He can make all the plays. I know he was frustrated with some throws, so we’re working on balance and some of the footwork stuff, but overall, seeing how he handles the game and handles the adversity and how we communicate on the sidelines, we’re always improving. It’s fun being on the sidelines, fun being with him, and I think we’re going to be able to keep progressing with that relationship.”

The growing pains of a passing attack that lost first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk to the NFL were on display Saturday. Had they come in a win rather than a loss, Daniels and company could feel better about them knowing the Sun Devils sat in pole position in the Pac-12 South. Instead, as Daniels put it following the loss: “We need to win out.”

Daniels’ aforementioned running ability was noticeable in its differences between his freshman and sophomore seasons. Quick to get down and protect himself during his opening season in Tempe, on the opening possession of the game, Daniels showcased a greater trust in his physical prowess. Rather than sliding down for a considerable gain on first down, he extended his run to the perimeter, picked up a few downfield blocks and scampered for a gain of 38 yards – one of his five carries that went for more than 10 yards Saturday.

“Last year there were times where I left some yards out on the field when I scrambled,” explained Daniels, whose 111 yards rushing against USC surpassed his previous career mark of 84 set at California last year. “I put on some more weight but I’m still smart enough to know when and when not to take a hit. That’s the stuff that me and coach Herm [Edwards] talked about. They knew what I was capable of doing.

“I told them what I planned on doing this year with my legs more, and they just said, ‘know when the journey is over.’”

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