It all started with 4:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. ASU led by a comfortable 13-point margin, looking to cruise to an opening victory against Pac-12 South foe USC.
Then, it happened.
Sophomore quarterback Kedon Slovis willed the Trojans to the endzone on fourth-and-13 just outside the red zone. In double coverage surrounded by Sun Devils, junior receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown tipped up Slovis’ pass, which fell into the hands of redshirt freshman receiver Bru McCoy, narrowing the lead to a one-score game.
Following a dramatic onside recovery and a slow inch towards the red zone, Slovis struck again on fourth-and-9, threading the needle between redshirt junior linebacker Kyle Soelle and sophomore safety Kejuan Markham for a pinpointed touchdown strike.
Trailing by one point, ASU’s efforts at a comeback fell short, leaving the Sun Devils heartbroken in L.A. after losing 28-27. All it took for the USC comeback were two drives of 1:30 and 1:29 and some Slovis magic.
For three quarters, Arizona State put together a very well-rounded football performance, adjusting where they needed to.
In the first quarter, when captain and redshirt senior wideout Frank Darby exited the game due to a rib injury, ASU’s passing attack became practically nonexistent. Despite the new-look offense of coordinator Zak Hill and his efforts to spice up the passing game, with Darby out, sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels attempted to find a reliable option in his plethora of young gun receivers to target and was unable to do so.
Freshman 6-foot-7 starting Z receiver Johnny Wilson had four targets and three drops. Freshman starting slot receiver LV Bunkley-Shelton had seven targets with four receptions for 28 yards. Redshirt sophomore Geordon Porter showed flashes in the final drive with one catch and another that was reviewed late before being overturned, slashing any momentum on the final drive.
“With Frank being out, it’s not an excuse,” Daniels said. “It’s a next man up mentality. Without Frank, we don’t have any experience at the receiver group of people who have actually played. We can’t rely on Frank; we have to get the ball around and help the offense make plays.”
If 2020 was a normal college football season, the young ASU receivers would have been able to build up their confidence through easier opponents, but against a formidable squad like USC, the nerves seemed to prevail.
“You usually get the warmup games against (weaker opponents), so (today) was a big game,” Daniels said. “I sensed the nerves; it’s their first game, so I expected it. At the end of the day, it’s just playing football, and we can’t be nervous out of the gate.”
While the Sun Devils failed to muster an aerial assault, Slovis and the Trojans dissected ASU’s secondary for most of the contest, finishing with 381 yards through the air. Despite this, before the final four minutes of the contest, all of USC’s points came via the running game.
On defense, the Sun Devils came out in another new system that has received a lot of attention, co-defensive coordinators Antonio Pierce and Marvin Lewis’ 4-3 approach. Throughout the first half, by playing soft zone coverage and failing to put consistent pressure on Slovis in the pocket, the Sun Devils fell victim to long gains through the air, and short runs up the middle, but thanks to a familiar saving grace, the turnover, ASU was able to keep USC from running away.
Last year ASU ranked fourth-nationally for turnovers, forcing 2.2 per game. The Sun Devils forced three turnovers on defense on Saturday, all of which were fumble recoveries caused by strips or opposing mistakes.
For the majority of the second half, ASU’s defense was stellar, stopping significant drives by USC in the third quarter with a pair of fumble recoveries and a massive stop on fourth-and-1 towards the end of the third quarter. Fields gave insight on the message at halftime that made the defense shift into another gear.
“We haven’t (beaten) them yet. We didn’t care what the score was; we treated it like it was 0-0,” Fields explained. “We really had to play with a chip on our shoulder, like we had something to prove every play.”
ASU’s defensive line, a position group that was highly scrutinized after a subpar 2019 campaign, came out swinging in the second half, finally forcing significant pressure onto Slovis and the Trojans. Junior defensive tackle Jermayne Lole and redshirt sophomore defensive end Michael Matus were the stars of the show, each breaking up a pair of passes. Lole had a solo sack, Matus had a sack assist, and redshirt junior Tyler Johnson had a solo sack, as the position group looks to be trending in the right direction.
“I think (Lole, Johnson, and Matus) are great players,” Fields said of his d-line. “They rush like crazy, and they give the offensive coordinator on the other side a headache. I think those guys are rushing hard and playing hard, and that’s the key.”
While USC found most of their success through the air by the hands of Slovis, St. Brown, and sophomore receiver Drake London, ASU found its stride on the ground.
When sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels struggled in the passing game, he used his legs, rushing for 124 yards, just 10 yards less than the amount he threw for. ASU’s running backs also made their presence felt, as freshman Chip Trayanum and junior transfer Rachaad White were responsible for all three of ASU’s touchdowns on Saturday.
In the preseason, ASU’s running backs were marketed as a three-headed approach with Trayanum, White, and freshman Daniyel Ngata making up the trio. However, on Saturday, it was the two-back combo of Trayanum and White that looked so special.
“It was kind of like a thunder and lightning situation,” Daniels noted about his running backs. “They did a great job around the ball and did a great job of (giving ASU) a push. USC game planned for something else, and we had to adjust and just take what they gave us.”
Trayanum rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts, becoming the first freshman running back to score two touchdowns in his first collegiate football game since George Montgomery against Baylor in 1990. White had 12 touches for 79 yards but found his biggest gain of the day on a screen pass that he took for 55 yards and a score.
Arizona State’s ground-and-pound approach was also a relief for the rather inexperienced offensive line. After struggling to protect Daniels for a long enough timeframe to throw in the pocket, the group began to thrive when driving off the ball and blocking for the running backs. The most successful of these schemes were the power runs, using the more experienced left side anchored by sophomore guard Dohnovan West and graduate transfer Kellen Diesch to pull, kicking out the defensive end and to lead the Sun Devil backs to the promised land.
Despite great displays in the running game and an overall improvement across positions like offensive and defensive line, the Sun Devils collapsed in crunch time, allowing the Trojans to strike late and close a contest that had A-S-U written all over it.
“USC did a great job defensively, taking away the pass, so that’s why we went to the run so much,” Daniels described. “Really, other than that, we just have to execute. There were times when we could’ve executed a play we had on third down. We just have to go back and watch the film and go back to the drawing board.”
“We’ve been preparing and putting in work, so that’s where our confidence comes from,” Fields recalled. “We had a big game plan and went out there and executed for the most part, but we have to finish…We just have to do a better job of having mental toughness when you know you’re fatigued; that’s what it all comes down to. Our focus, we can’t let that lack whenever we are tired.”
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