Second half prowess has been a staple of the 2021 Sun Devils

Superb is the only way to describe Arizona State’s second-half adjustments. Through five games, the Sun Devil defense has shown a propensity to stifle defenses in the final 30 minutes of each game, holding opponents to 23 second-half points thus far.

Saturday night was a continuation of the trend of second-half success for defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce’s unit as the Sun Devils kept Chip Kelly’s impressive UCLA offense under wraps and produced the second shutout in a second half of the year. On Monday, head coach Herm Edwards spoke highly of the work put in at halftime by Pierce and ASU.

“You have to give a lot of credit to our staff and for the players,” Edwards told reporters following the 42-23 win over then No. 20 UCLA. “Football is always about teaching what you see on the field and then how you look at it, deliver it to our players on the sideline.”

The pro model that Edwards and his staff have been developing also benefits the Sun Devils during their locker room break.

“Because of college football, you get 20 minutes that seem like forever,” Edwards remarked. In the NFL, the halftime break is just 12 minutes. “They’ve done a nice job, and the players are tuned in to some things we might do different or things we saw in the first half that we’d like to counter on.

“That’s football. You’ve gotta make good halftime adjustments, and we’ve been able to do that thus far.”

Arizona State’s defensive personnel has been limited because of an array of injuries through fall camp and the first five weeks. The losses of much of the original defensive linemen starters has led the Sun Devils to be young up front with defensive line coach Robert Rodriguez’s group. That hasn’t stopped the defense from being successful.

“I think AP has done a marvelous job just creating personnel groups defensively, trying to get players in and matching what the offense is doing,” Edwards said. In the first half against UCLA, ASU was caught off guard multiple times with formations and substitution patterns, winding up misaligned at the snap. After halftime, none of those problems were still present. “It’s hard sometimes when offenses won’t allow you to do that.”

In the second half, Arizona State closed one of the Bruins’ fourth quarter drives with three consecutive sacks. Some of the notable production on the defensive line came from redshirt sophomore Anthonie Cooper and other younger Sun Devils. Cooper finished with two sacks.

“(Pierce) has done a nice job of allowing a lot of young guys to play,” said Edwards, who noted that walk-on B.J. Green and talented but inexperienced defensive lineman Stanley Lambert were in and contributing on fourth-quarter snaps. “We’ve always said we would do that around here, and that’s still the case.”

In two Pac-12 games, the Sun Devils have held opponents to just 36 points. In total, Arizona State has allowed just 87 points through five games. That mark is two fewer than the next closest Pac-12 team, Utah – but the Utes have played one fewer game.

Operationally, one of the game management adjustments Arizona State made came because of an injury. Not to a Sun Devil player, but instead, a coach – as offensive coordinator Zak Hill threw out his back prior to ASU’s trip to Los Angeles. Because of a lack of mobility, Hill called plays from the press box.

“Now the big question is after that performance I said, ‘what are you going to do? Is your back better?’ Edwards said of his conversation with Hill. “He said, ‘yeah, a little bit,’ but I said, ‘it can stay hurt if you want. Go back up there if you want.’

“We’re debating what he’s going to do, but he’s probably going to be in the box. He can see a little bit different, now he can’t touch the quarterback as much, but I thought (assistant coach) Trey (Anderson) did a good job.”

The passing attack was explosive Saturday night, averaging 22 yards per completion. All that offensive success in the passing game for junior quarterback Jayden Daniels helped the Sun Devil signal-caller earn Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.

“Jayden was focused. He was really focused in on this game. It meant a lot to him for a lot of different reasons.” Edwards said of Daniels 13 for 19 passing performance for 286 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. “It was fun to see him, and I know after every series I visited with him, and you could just tell he was dialed in.

“(Hill’s gameplan) was one of giving Jayden a couple of options at the line of scrimmage to see certain looks. It’s one thing to get into the right call; it’s another to execute it… Jayden was very accurate throwing the ball down the field.”

On a short week, Arizona State will return to Tempe for a matchup with Stanford, fresh off an upset of then No. 3 Oregon. Gone are the days of Stanford controlling the line of scrimmage and dominating the game in the trenches. The Cardinal have the worst rushing defense in the Pac-12 and the second worst rushing offense in the conference. Still, Edwards complimented the Sun Devils opponent ahead of the short week showdown.

“They’re a football team that never panics,” Edwards said of the Cardinal fresh off their upset win of the Ducks. “They just keep their poise, and they kept their poise in that game, especially in the fourth quarter. I’ve always told our players – when you’re in the arena; there is a different mindset you have to have than the folks that aren’t in the arena.

As the Sun Devils stack wins – dating back to last year ASU has won six of its last seven – Edwards said the magnitude of contests will increase.

“The game never gets bigger. It’s the same amount of time; it’s just a different place. Every game is a big game because it’s the only one you can play, and it’s the only you have an opportunity to win,” Edwards said, drawing on his experience working for ESPN to show some empathy for media hype around games. “If you win, it’s important because you know the next week somebody’s gonna say, ‘oh, this is a bigger game.’”

After missing the trip to Los Angeles due to an undisclosed injury, Edwards said he thinks safety Evan Fields should be able to suit up for Friday night’s contest with the Cardinal. Edwards said the veteran safety was “right on the edge” of playing against UCLA.

Kickoff times for games the weekend of Oct. 16 was released Monday morning. With Arizona State slated to take on Utah in Salt Lake City at 7 p.m. PT, and this Friday’s matchup with Stanford kicking off at 7:30 p.m., the Sun Devils will play seven consecutive games with 7 p.m. or later kickoffs.

“That’s just an excuse,” Edwards said. “We know we’re going to play the majority of our games at night. That’s just how it works. It’s a long wait; I know that. You get used to it. We’re used to playing at night, and that’s what you do.

“It’s the players. Can the players recover? I think our guys are used to playing at night as well --but this is a short week. You’ve gotta deal with it.”

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