In many ways, Trenton Bourguet is the perfect backup quarterback. He’s a good locker room guy. He’s solid in his practice reps. And perhaps most importantly, he’s always prepared. Bourguet has been in the program since 2019. Always “there” but never “the guy.”

Since 2019 he has backed up Jayden Daniels, then this year was No. 2 in the depth chart behind Florida transfer graduate student Emory Jones. His first meaningful snaps in maroon and gold didn’t come until Saturday afternoon when Jones was knocked out of the game after taking a shot to the head while sliding at the end of a scramble late in the second quarter. At the time, an injury to the starting quarterback seemed like the last thing the free-falling 1-4 Sun Devils needed. Now some may claim it might have been a blessing in disguise.

Bourguet was phenomenal in his debut. Better than any of his coaches or teammates could have asked out of the fourth-year, redshirt sophomore backup. He was 15-21 on pass attempts, racking up 182 yards and three touchdowns through the air in just over a half of football. On his first snap, he handed off to senior running back Xazavian Valladay, who scored from 11 yards out. Jokes were starting to cast then about how good the offense looks with Bourguet at the helm. It was more of an omen than it seemed at the time. Ultimately, the Bourguet-led offense resembled a shootout-style Big-12 attack, rolling to a 45-point performance that was just good enough for the Sun Devils to come away with a 45-38 win over No. 21 Washington.

“I’ve prepared for the last four years like I am the starter. As a backup, you’re always a play away, and I’ve always been told that. I prepared like a starter the whole week, and we were able to get a win. It was very fun,” Bourguet said.

The quarterback wanted to make sure to shed light on Jones’s situation as well. “The last thing you want to see is a guy go down," Bourguet commented, "especially with a head injury. So prayers go out to Emory; hopefully, he’s okay. I just saw him in the locker room, and he seems okay.”

Fans and members of the media may have been surprised by Bourguet’s stellar performance, but his teammates were not.

“Look. Trent is a baller,” graduate transfer running back Xazavian Valladay said pointedly after the win.” He’s been around a lot. We have a lot of ballers all over our depth chart.”

Not only was Valladay the recipient of Bourguet’s first handoff for a score, but he was also on the receiving end of the former Marana (Ariz.) High School standout's first touchdown pass as well. Bourguet stood in on a corner blitz off the edge. He stepped and fired in the direction of the pressure, threading the needle to Valladay, who was able to waltz into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day. Bourguet earned his keep all afternoon, but he did pay for it on a couple of snaps. On this particular play, he got hit hard soon after releasing the impressive pass.

“That was my hot read,” Bourguet said with a grin. He didn’t seem to mind getting plastered by a Washington rusher on the play.

“It’s about what’s next. Who’s next?” Interim head coach Shaun Aguano said when talking about how smoothly Bourguet was able to assume the role of signal caller. “Our second (teamers) get those good reps in practice. Trenton was practicing like he was the starter every single day.”

Bourguet’s other two touchdown passes went to redshirt sophomore Elijhah Badger, who didn’t miss a beat when the change had to be made at quarterback in the first half. Six of his seven catches came from Bourguet. The second touchdown pass, a curl route that left Badger wide open at the goal line, proved to be the game-winner. According to Bourguet, it was no accident.

“That’s a play that we installed this week that Coach Thomas thought we had a good chance of seeing against this team,” He explained. “They have great defensive backs, and we thought we could hit them with that route. We were trying to connect on it in practice, and I think we hit it a couple of times this week, so I’m glad we could execute on the field and get a big touchdown.”

Badger hardly cared which of his two QBs was delivering the pass. He has confidence in both. The only variable on his end was when the easy pitch and catch would be called. He didn’t squander the opportunity; he shed the Washington defensive back like a winter coat.

“I just don’t think any defensive back can guard me,” Badger remarked. “Everybody trusted me with the one-on-one (because of) what I do in practice. That was the result.”

The weight lifted off of Shaun Aguano’s shoulders must feel colossally relieving. But his job doesn’t get much easier from here. On top of the unique demands of assimilating into the head coaching role mid-season, he may now have the infamous quarterback controversy on his hands. There’s no way to know how Jones would have fared for the remainder of the contest against a suspect Washington secondary. That being said, it’s impossible to ignore the efficiency and cohesion displayed by the offense under Bourguet.

Arizona State put up 397 yards of offense. It only punted twice. After being deaddful on third down conversions all season, the Sun Devils converted nine of their 13 attempts on Saturday. Bourguet himself was 5-7 for 81 yards and a touchdown on the decisive down. By all measurables, Glenn Thomas’s unit operated like a high-powered machine with its unassuming backup quarterback at the helm.

“He’s not the tallest, not the strongest. He doesn’t have the biggest arm,” Aguano said. “But he has the traits of a great quarterback, and his guys rally around him. It’s going to be a (quarterback) battle now.”

Even aspects that aren’t directly affiliated with Bourguet's play looked better with him under center. Center Ben Scott noted that the run blocking and pass blocking were improved. He also praised Bourguet’s preparation and dexterity when it comes to grasping every detail of what can be a complicated offense. Scott explained that Bourguet knows the offense better than “damn near anyone out here.” There was no panic in the huddle when he took over.

You don’t have to look too hard to find the similarities between Aguano and Bourguet. Both are Arizona guys, as Aguano states proudly whenever he gets the opportunity. Both come from big families and thus know the deep value of the new mantra “Ohana.”

More than any other parallel, neither Aguano or Bourguet got to where they were Saturday according to plan. A September coaching change. A sudden injury. This wasn’t scripted, yet it played out like a Broadway play that had been rehearsed for weeks. The upset win, like the quarterback/head coach duo that piloted it, was a product of making the best out of an opportunity that didn’t seem close as recently as a month ago.

“These three weeks have been very, very hectic,” Aguano said as he fought back tears. “I can’t tell you how happy I am for our kids. For our program.”