PASADENA, Calif. - In their worst display of football since the Herm Edwards era began in 2018, the Arizona State Sun Devils (5-3, 2-3 Pac-12) were beat 42-32 by the UCLA Bruins (3-5, 3-2 Pac-12) in a game where the score proved a poor reflection of who proved to be the better team.

The Bruins led 42-10 with less than 11 minutes left in regulation, dominating the first 50 or so minutes so significantly that ASU’s 22 fourth-quarter points all came in garbage time.

Naturally, with the game being so one-sided, plenty of newcomers saw significant game action in all facets of this contest. Here’s how they did.

Offense

While true freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels shouldn’t be one of the main culprits at fault for this pitiful showing, he certainly finished with aesthetically pleasing numbers thanks to that meaningless fourth quarter. The native of San Bernardino, California finished with 271 passing yards on 20-for-29 throwing and added three touchdown tosses and once again did not turn the ball over.

He also rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown, in addition to running for a two-point conversion, on 13 attempts in total. Of course, 117 of those passing yards and 18 of those rushing yards, plus the two-point run, came in the fourth quarter, all of which should be considered garbage time.

Still, it says a lot that Daniels proved not to be a liability in a contest where the team was dominated so thoroughly, even if the officiating played a significant role in that- at the very least during the first half.

Another important thing worth noting on Daniels is he had to leave the game in the opening minutes of the second quarter, as he came up limping following a quarterback sneak on a 3rd & 1 play. ASU was stopped but still had hope down only 14-7 at that point.

Even though Daniels only missed one snap, this meant true freshman signal-caller Joey Yellen appeared for the first time in his collegiate career. He didn’t get to run a play though, as a false start on a fellow true freshman- offensive lineman Spencer Lovell- pushed the play back to a 4th & 6, and as a result, ASU pulled the offense off and punted. Daniels returned to the game and didn’t miss another snap after that.

The only other real highlight from the newcomers was a four-yard touchdown catch from true freshman tight end Nolan Matthews with 6:04 remaining; only his second catch of the season and his first for a touchdown. This was a nice way for the youngster to bounce back after being flagged for false start penalties on ASU’s second and third offensive plays of the game.

Additionally, redshirt freshman receiver Geordon Porter caught a pass for nine yards, and true freshman receiver Ricky Pearsall had a two-yard catch, which he could’ve turned into a lot more if he could’ve juked one defensive back, but unfortunately for Pearsall that was not the case.

True freshman receiver Jordan Kerley also appeared but was not targeted, while redshirt freshman running back A.J. Carter contributed two carries for three yards- both goal line attempts, the second of which he nearly scored.

True freshman quarterback Ethan Long almost scored himself on a two-point attempt following the Matthews touchdown. Although he was stifled at the one, the hit by UCLA redshirt sophomore defensive back Jay Shaw got him ejected for targeting and granted ASU the retry from the one, which Daniels converted.

Long also appeared on kick and punt return units throughout the entirety of the game.

Lastly, true freshmen offensive linemen Dohnovan West and LaDarius Henderson saw significant game reps after starting once again. However, for a second straight week, they were rotated in and out throughout the contest, which is something offensive line coach Dave Christensen acknowledged earlier in the week would be necessary as the season goes on due to their youth.

Neither one was called for a penalty though, another sign of positive development from these two newcomers.

Defense:

In a performance by the defense that left a lot to be desired, several newcomers saw the field as a result.

Starting with the defensive line, true freshmen Amiri Johnson and Stephon Wright saw a significant number of snaps at defensive end, as well as redshirt freshman Michael Matus, who seemed to come in exclusively on passing downs.

While none of those three players made an impact in the box score, Johnson nearly got a sack- had he not got his ankles metaphorically broken in an open-field scramble left by sophomore UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

He would go on to complete a 21-yard pass to sophomore receiver Chase Cota on 3rd & 13, an impressive play by both players which the officials would review and uphold, ignoring the fact that Cota came back to make the catch after being completely out-of-bounds.

Junior transfer cornerback Jack Jones, who finished the night with two tackles, was on the wrong end of this play, as he was in a position to intercept the pass had it not been so well-thrown.

Moving on to Wright, who made his second appearance of the season, he appeared to play more snaps in the second half than the first. It’s hard to know if this had to do with the score, as ASU trailed 28-7 to start the second half, and then 35-7 after not even four-and-a-half minutes elapsed.

Regardless, he seemed to be a disruptive presence at times, which for ASU’s sake may be a sign of things to come for the four-star recruit. The same could not be said for Matus, however, as it seemed like the UCLA offensive line got the better of him most of the snaps he was on the field.

One newcomer on the defensive line who did register in the box score was sophomore junior college transfer T.J. Pesefea. He only recorded one tackle, but was taken out after that aforementioned UCLA score to open the second half. He was seen grabbing his left arm around his elbow as he exited the field with trainers.

At linebacker, true freshman Case Hatch played on the kickoff and punt coverage teams per usual but was seen getting reps at linebacker in garbage time.

Lastly, the face of the newcomers on this side of the ball- redshirt freshman safety Cam Phillips- tallied two tackles and a pass defended. This play should’ve been an interception, one of multiple opportunities ASU had at that, and Phillips seemed to wear down as the game went on.

This is likely a result of his elbow and hamstring ailments of recent weeks, which helps explain why true freshman safety Willie Harts saw significant action again, only tallying a tackle on the game.

It didn’t seem like Harts did terrible, although he definitely had his share of bad plays. This could be said about almost anyone on the secondary though, which helps explain why for a brief period Phillips and Harts were seen in the game at the same time, with Harts going in for Crosswell even though he’s technically the backup to Phillips.

There’s no telling if this was due to an injury to Crosswell or his on-field performance but by the end of the game, even sophomore cornerback and transfer Timarcus Davis was seeing action at cornerback, even with a fully playable secondary.

Special Teams:

ASU seemed to be experimenting here, as junior college transfer Kevin Macias, listed as a punter on the roster, handled four of ASU's six kickoffs, an extension of last week when he stepped in for an injured Josh Plaster.

Redshirt sophomore Cristian Zendejas took care of the other two kickoffs and would come on in the third quarter to make a 30-yard field goal, his only attempt of the game.

One thing that has been consistent in the lineup is redshirt junior Erik Dickerson, a former junior college transfer, in his role as long-snapper this season, as he’s appeared in every game since missing the opener.

Saving the best for last, sophomore transfer Michael Turk punted three times for an average of 47 yards, with a long of 67 and pinning one of those three inside the 20-yard-line.

Also, worth adding is that Porter and Pearsall seemingly alternated between being the alternate kickoff returner/lead blocker for senior receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Neither one fielded any kickoffs.

True freshman Elijah Juarez was also seen blocking on kick return units.

Here’s the running total of the participation of all ASU true freshmen to date:

True freshmen who played in all 8 games

QB Jayden Daniels

OL Dohnovan West

WR Jordan Kerley

WR Ricky Pearsall

LB Case Hatch

LB Elijah Juarez

ATH Ethan Long

S Willie Harts

***

Freshmen who did not play Saturday but won’t be redshirting

DB Kejuan Markham Played five games

***

Freshmen who played in less than 5 games but are expected to redshirt

QB Joey Yellen Played in one game

RB Demetrious Flowers Played in two games

DL Stephon Wright played in two games

DL Amiri Johnson Played in three games

LB Fritzny Niclasse played in one game

S Connor Soelle Played in one game

CB Jordan Clark Played in one game (recovering from sports hernia injury)

***

Freshmen who have yet to play this year

WR Andre Johnson

OL Ben Scott (decent chance he will play in a game or two this year)

OL Roman DeWys

OL Alijah Bates

DL Anthonie Cooper

CB Keon Markham

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