It was quite the roller coaster performance for Arizona State on Friday night as the Sun Devils were only able to narrowly defeat FCS opponent Sacramento State 19-7. The same can be said for many of the Sun Devils’ newcomers who struggled as much as they shined versus the Hornets.
Offense
After an excellent week one performance against Kent State, true freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels showed some regression in his second career start. Despite breaking Dillon Sterling-Cole’s freshman passing record of 302 yards set in 2016 with his 304 yards in the game, it was evident all night that Daniels was not on top of his game.
The signal-caller missed numerous short throws throughout the contest, especially in the first half. Consequently, it slowed the offense down forcing ASU into punting situations. He took a massive hit early in the game when he had nowhere to go, but otherwise, he protected his body during runs just as he did against Kent State.
Other positives in the game for Daniels were his deep passes. He showed off his cannon of an arm and connected with junior wide receiver Frank Darby on a would-be 68-yard touchdown negated by a blindside block by senior wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. He also connected with Aiyuk for a 52-yard completion late in the game that was slightly overthrown but Aiyuk was able to make the catch. On the game, Daniels finished 17-27 with 304 yards and a late 72-yard touchdown strike to Eno Benjamin where Benjamin was able to evade a few defenders in his dash to the end zone.
We got complacent, really,” Daniels said. “Not playing how we really could play, to the standard we set. Coach Herm talked all week about how we have to set the tone and we didn’t really do that as an offense. I didn’t do that myself. The receivers did their job for the most part. I didn’t do my part.”
Redshirt-freshman running back A.J. Carter had two missed golden opportunities to score, on a night where points were at a premium for his team. Carter dropped a would-be touchdown in the second quarter. He was nearly redeemed later for a split second catching a pass from Daniels but fumbling the ball into the hands of the Sacramento State defense at the goal line. Carter did not see much if any of the field after his gaffe but ASU coach Herm Edwards said he would give Carter the ball in the future.
“He’s got to be better with the ball in his hands and he knows that,” Edwards said.
On a positive note for ASU tonight, true freshman tight end Nolan Matthews and true freshman wide receiver Jordan Kerley both caught their first passes as Sun Devils. However, Matthews also dropped a pass later in the game.
True freshman swiss-army knife player Ethan Long saw the field on offense for ASU in the Sparky formation and as a tight end but did not have the same success as last game failing to get a first down on a third-down and two to go In the third quarter. He finished the game with only the one carry for one yard.
Another newcomer who struggled on Friday was true freshman center Dohnovan West. After filling in nicely for the injured Cade Cote last week, West had two poor snaps including one way over the head of Long in a the Sparky formation. The play backed up the ASU offense leading to a field goal instead of a potential touchdown. West also had another poor snap in the second half which Daniels made the most of completing a pass for 13-yards.
Other newcomers seeing time on offense were true freshman fullback Elijah Juarez, true freshman wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and redshirt-freshman right tackle Spencer Lovell.
Defense
The first-year player who stood out the most on this side of the ball was redshirt-freshman, Cam Phillips. The safety (played in two games last season late in the first quarter pushed Sacramento State’s running back, Elijah Dotson out of bounds to prevent a huge gain of more than the 13 yards he already had picked up. The safety also forced a fumble in the game and had a game-sealing interception late in the fourth quarter. In the stat sheet, Phillips registered six solo tackles to go along with his interception and a forced fumble.
Other than Phillips, defensive lineman Michael Matus was featured often in the game and the redshirt-freshman’s lone tackle in the game was a fourth-quarter stop of Sacramento State’s B.J. Perkinson for no gain to bring up a fourth and one situation. He also made a nice play in the third quarter to force a Hornets’ fourth down.
On the negative side, junior defensive back Jack Jones did not play up to the standards he set for himself against Kent State. He overplayed a Kevin Thomson throw allowing a 19-yard completion. He did though have two pass breakups and two total tackles on the night.
Seeing his first action for the Sun Devils on defense after just playing on special teams last week was true freshman Case Hatch. The linebacker was active in the game with two total tackles and two quarterback pressures. However, Hatch was in on the coverage (or lack thereof ) of Thomson’s lone touchdown pass. Hatch, along with two other ASU defenders, allowed Tao McClinton to be wide open in the end zone and easily catch the touchdown.
Making an impact after not doing much last week was Rice-transfer Roe Wilkins. The defensive end almost recovered a late fumble and had one solo tackle in the game.
Other newcomers seeing playing time on defense were true freshman Kejuan Markham, Baylor transfer Timarcus Davis (two solo tackles), true freshman safety Willie Harts, true freshman defensive lineman Stephon Wright, sophomore nose tackle and junior college transfer T.J. Pasefea and redshirt-freshman linebacker Ely Doyle.
Special Teams
After his record-setting performance in the season opener against Kent State last week, ASU punter Michael Turk brought more of the same on Friday. The sophomore had three punts inside the 20-yard line and had one punt that traveled 58 yards. He averaged of 47.6 yards per punt which was also his net average as Sacramento State had just one return for zero yards.
Back in the starting placekicker role for ASU this week due to Brandon Ruiz’s ongoing injury was Cristian Zendejas. The sophomore was perfect on all of his three attempts last week, remained perfect on the year going 4-4 on kicks which tied for most in a game by an ASU kicker since Zane Gonzalez achieved that feat against UTSA in 2016. Zendejas’ long of the night was 36 yards in the second quarter.
Jack Jones dropped back in a two punt-returner formation alongside Brandon Aiyuk for the Sun Devils on Friday and did not have a good night. The one punt he returned he should have fair-caught as he was tackled for a two-yard loss.
Another notable newcomer special-teamer for ASU in the game was wide receiver Brandon Pierce. The transfer from College of the Canyons junior college in California was eligible for his first game on Friday and came into the game for the first time late in the second half to return a punt that was ultimately downed by the Sacramento State punt coverage team.
Other newcomers seeing time on special teams were Long, Hatch, kick-off specialist Josh Plaster (only 31 yards of kickoff return allowed this week) and redshirt-freshman Alijah Gammage.
Newcomers not seeing playing time on Friday night who played last week were freshmen defensive back Connor Soelle, linebacker Fritzney Niclasse and defensive back Jordan Clark (groin injury).
