Arizona State fell to USC Saturday night 42-28 as offensive newcomers looked to turn the page on the offensive struggles ASU has encountered. Cam Skattebo and Drew Pyne led the offensive charge, while Tate Romney on the defensive side continues to solidify his spot at the linebacker position.
After not scoring in six quarters dating back to the matchup against Oklahoma State, head coach Kenny Dillingham took over play calling this week as this would be quarterback Drew Pyne’s first start as a Sun Devil. Pyne last week struggled, throwing two interceptions while also fumbling twice.
Pyne took the field after having a full week of starting reps at practice. The Notre Dame transfer had a bit of a rocky start, going 0-3 in the first drive. Things picked up in the third drive nonetheless, as Pyne would go 4-6 for 31 yards, setting up a Dario Longhetto field goal attempt. On the ensuing drive, Pyne was 3-4, looking comfortable as he set up yet another field goal attempt for Longhetto.
Although Pyne sailed another interception in the third quarter, in the second half, he was still 13-21, trying to rally a Sun Devil comeback. That didn’t end up being the case, but Pyne looked a lot more seasoned in the overall offensive attack. He finished his day going 21-36 with two touchdown passes.
While Pyne was doing his thing, freshman Kyson Brown got more time in the backfield today, complimenting Cam Skattebo. Brown, on the night, had 19 rushing yards on two attempts, adding a reception for four yards. During a second-quarter scoring drive, he had a crucial rush for 15 yards to keep a drive alive. Brown offered a compliment to Skattebo’s hard running, which was a topic as Dillingham used everyone’s strengths.
“I just think he (Dillingham) used everyone to the best of their ability,” Elijhah Badger said. “Everyone moving around, motioning, different tempos. I think he (Dillingham) just, the way he just, came in with a good gameplan.”
The use of Brown was not the only ability-based thinking Dillingham had… Skattebo not only rushed the ball, but caught, punted, and threw as well.
Starting with the punt, in what looked like a Sparky formation set-up, Skattebo received the snap and punted the ball as to avoid giving USC returner Zachariah Branch a chance to return. Skattebo booted the ball 53 yards in his first punt since high school. On a later drive, the pooch kick punt looked to be in place, with USC sending out Branch to receive. Skattebo, though, would pass the ball to Elijhah Badger for 25 yards and a first down. That wasn’t the last pass either, as Skattebo, on a designed quarterback pass-back, found Pyne for a 17-yard gain. Skattebo really did play three sides of the ball.
“I like to do everything; I believe I can do everything,” Skattebo stated. “When they put me in those situations, I believe I'm going to excel at them. With the help of this dude right here (Badger), he made it happen on one of them. I’m put in the right position, with the right guys around me.”
Besides the kicking and throwing, Skattebo assumed his usual role out of the backfield and did not disappoint. Skattebo had 111 yards on the ground over 20 attempts with a rushing touchdown. In the fourth quarter, 52 of Skattebo’s 79 yards receiving came on a touchdown catch where he broke two one-on-one tackles on his way to the endzone for a second time. Skattebo finished the night with a career-high 190 all-purpose yards.
As elusive as USC quarterback Caleb Williams is, he was brought to the ground a couple of times by the ASU defense. Defensive tackle Deshaun Mallory got it going very early on the second play of the game with a tackle for loss. The tackle for loss being a part of the three total tackles for Mallory on the night.
Edge rusher Prince Dorbah had a massive impact last week and looked to do so again as peer edge Clayton Smith was out for today's contest. That said, Dorbah, although not having many opportunities, had a huge sack on third down in the third quarter, being one of not many to get Williams to the ground.
Playing behind Dorbah was standout transfer Tate Romney, who did not even touch the field last season a part of the program at BYU. Romney finished second on the team in total tackles with seven, as in the second quarter, Romney had a great pass breakup on a second down play. He also posted a quarterback hurry and tackle for loss. Romney seemed to be involved heavily, as when the ball popped out for USC, Romney was the man to recover. Romney’s recovery lead to a Sun Devil score. After the game, he did not focus on his own accomplishments, though.
“It was good to see. I mean, I think overall, as a team, we improved”, Romney said. “I think there was, like, Skat (Skattebo) was saying before, there was more of a family culture on the sideline, everyone getting involved with each other. And that was good to see. Obviously, it’s not the outcome we wanted. And I mean, you can’t be too happy about that. You can’t ever be happy about losing, but there are good things coming forward, and we feel like we can keep building from this.”
In other defensive newcomer news, there were two players defensively that flew under the radar. Dee Ford, to begin, had a near interception and created good coverage almost all night. Ford added two tackles on the box score, but the consistency has been there. Working below him was Tre Brown. Brown quietly had five tackles and, like Ford, has just played consistently so far. Brown created pressure while still serving that veteran role for guys like Romney or Will Shaffer.
As the offense and defense had their stars, special teams had their moments as well…Dario Longetto in particular. Longhetto was 2-2 from 30 and 35 yards. Longhetto did a good job trying to keep ASU in the game against the Trojans. On the other hand, Josh Carlson had another rough night, having a 24-yard punt along with a 38-yard punt.
Full list of newcomers participating in the USC game:
DB Demetries Ford (4 total games played)
DB Shamari Simmons (4)
DT Tristan Monday (4)
DT Dashaun Mallory (4)
LB Tate Romney (4)
LB Tre Brown (4)
OL Sione Finau (4)
OL Leif Fautanu (4)
RB Cam Skattebo (4)
WR Xavier Guillory (4)
P Josh Carlson (4)
WR Melquan Stovall (4)
RB Kyson Brown (4)
EDGE Prince Dorbah (4)
K Dario Longhetto (4)
LS Slater Zellers (4)
OL Bram Walden (4)
DT Sam Benjamin (4)
EDGE Elijah O’Neal (4)
EDGE Clayton Smith (3)
OL Aaron Frost (3)
DB Joisah Cox (3)
DT CJ Fite (3)
QB Drew Pyne (2)
Max Iheanachor (2)
OL Cade Briggs (2)
RB Decarlos Brooks (2)
DB Keith Abney II (1)
Keontez Bradley (1)
Harold Brooks III (1)
DB Roman Rashada (1)
OL Kyle Scott (1)
Freshman who haven’t made an appearance yet:
OL Sirri Kandiyeli
WR Korbin Hendrix
WR Kaleb Black
DL Landen Thomas
DL Kyran Bourda
DL Ashley Williams
LB K’Vion Thunderbird
DB Montana Warren (injured)
DB Lenox Lawson DB Shawn Russ
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today and get your daily fix of Sun Devil news!
