Arizona State’s fluid, injury-filled quarterback situation has affected the team in many ways, putting increased pressure on its running game and playmakers at wide receiver to compensate for possibly having to field an inexperienced signal caller.

But the defense—which is attempting to overcome injuries of its own—is now being heavily relied upon to slow down some of the Pac-12’s most explosive offenses. The unit perhaps did its fair share given the circumstances, but ASU (5-3, 2-3 Pac-12) fell 37-32 to Washington State at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday night, the Cougars’ first win in Tempe since 2001.

WSU’s (5-2, 4-0) Air Raid offense led by quarterback Luke Falk presented a difficult challenge as it entered the contest with over 40 points per game and over 500 yards of total offense per game. On Saturday, Falk completed 42 of 53 passes for 398 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and receiver Gabe Marks caught eight balls for 107 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown where he beat ASU sophomore corner, Kareem Orr.

Orr has been ailing with a right knee injury and redshirt sophomore safety Armand Perry did not play against WSU due to injury, putting an already struggling secondary at a larger deficit.

ASU’s front seven picked up the slack, sacking Faulk seven times. Crump had three of them, linebacker DJ Calhoun had two, and safety Marcus Ball and defensive lineman Tashon Smallwood each had one.

““I mean there was definitely a sense of urgency trying to get to the quarterback,” Ball said. “…It was a sense of urgency trying to get to (Luke Falk) but we knew he was going to get the ball out quickly.”

The unit’s strong start helped ASU out to an early 14-3 lead, but its performance fell off a bit as WSU scored 28 unanswered points to take a commanding lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, redshirt senior linebacker Salamo Fiso suffered an injury that kept him out for the remainder of the game. It seemed to ignite the defense, which eventually buckled down and made stops to give the offense a chance to cut into a 16-point deficit.

“The guys on the field, some of them have been here for four and five years,” he said. “They have been here, worked, and dedicated so much to this program. Every time we take the field it’s to honor those guys and to do our best for this program…Salamo was a guy that is a role model to this defense so when he went down, we had a sense of urgency to play for him, and a lot harder.”

On the other side of the ball, redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins led an 11-play, 59-yard touchdown drive on the opening series where he hurdled a defender on a three-yard touchdown keeper. However, he did not play another snap as he was pulled due to an injury initially described as a “stinger” on the radio broadcast.

True freshman Dillon Sterling-Cole took over but struggled to find a rhythm and completed just seven of 16 passes for 86 yards. Additionally, fellow true freshman Jack Smith, who played quarterback in high school, completed a 40-yard pass on a trick play out of the Sparky formation.

“Dillon did what he could do, he played with heart and all we had to do as an offense is keep him motivated and confident because you never know what can happen on the last series of the game,” said receiver Tim White, who scored his first touchdown of the season on a 70-yard punt return.

White also admitted the obvious as ASU’s quarterback injuries have placed heavier emphasis elsewhere.

“We know our situation and we know we have to rely on the run and I think our offense did a great job we just have to finish strong,” he said.

ASU now enters the final four games of the season where it faces tough ranked games at home against Utah and at Washington. Its matchups at Oregon and Arizona, which may seem lower-profile as both teams are well below .500, still cannot be classified as safe bets as they are road games.

And with no one knowing how ASU’s quarterback situation will play out in the coming weeks, its defense is embracing the challenge heading into the final stretch.

“From here on out every game is going to be on us,” Ball said. “That’s how every defense in America should look at it. Defense wins ball games, no doubt about it. We’re not going to hang our heads about the loss, we’re going to go back to work and show up on Saturday.”