The final score doesn’t always tell one the entire story of a game. It will simply tell you what the clock read when it hit triple zeroes at the end of the fourth quarter. Sometimes, those numbers and names associated with them will tell you everything you need to know.
Through Arizona State’s first seven games of the season, their six losses, with three of them coming by one score or less, the main takeaway from the scorelines would suggest they were awfully close to getting back in the win column. No one preached just how thin the margin was than their head coach. Throughout this past week of practice, Kenny Dillingham could be heard in team huddles loud and clear.
“We’re this close,” Dillingham would say. “We are this freakin’ close!”
What had kept the Sun Devils from reaching the finish line in each instance was something the final score on its head wouldn’t tell you. In their previous seven games this season, ASU had a cumulative second-half point differential of -65, being outscored in the back 30 minutes, 104-39. These second-half woes included three periods in which they couldn’t muster a single point, which contributed to three blown halftime leads.
Under a full moon, though, as they say, weird stuff happens. Whether it was an aberration or the turning of a corner, ASU encapsulated the spirit of Halloweekend and put the “Saturday scaries” on its opponent. Entering their first home game following the bye, Arizona State put together a 60-minute performance at last, as the Sun Devils (2-6, 1-4 Pac-12) stopped their six-game losing streak with a 38-27 win over Washington State (4-4, 1-4).
“Today, we put together a somewhat complete game,” Dillingham said. “Defense didn’t play as good as they have in the past, but it doesn’t matter because they won the moments. In football, it’s about those big moments that win or lose games. Today, we made those moments, and we won those downs.
“We always put together a first half,” Tre Brown noted. “This game was one where we wanted to put together a whole game. We went in (at halftime) and told the guys we needed to finish and just do our 1/11th. Making sure we executed every play and the score shows.”
While the Sun Devil defense had been the one constant positive in a season where so much has gone wrong, it didn’t start that way on Saturday. Having been the driving force in their upset bid on Washington last week, ASU struggled to contain Cam Ward and a high-powered Cougars offense at first, as it allowed 21 points in the first half, only the second time this season Brian Ward’s unit had surrendered that many in the front 30 minutes.
Following halftime, the script flipped, and ASU found their frequent fearsome form, holding a top-40 scoring offense in the nation to six points and zero touchdowns. Surprisingly, the team didn’t point out any halftime adjustments to sway the momentum, but rather their perseverance in the gameplan set.
“We were really unwavering in what we were trying to do and what our assignments were,” BJ Green emphasized. “I’ll give credit to Tre for keeping us focused on what we needed to get done. We gotta get down and play again. That’s one thing that kept us focused throughout the game. We still gotta get back there. The more we attack the quarterback, the better things that happen.All credit to everybody behind us. They get us lined up. All we gotta do is go.”
Unlike Mill Avenue, there would be stop signs to halt the go of the ASU rushers. Having much of their offensive success this season attributed to Ward’s mobility and a wall-like offensive line, the Cougars would be faced with 14 QB hurries, while ASU got home for three sacks, two of which came in the second half.
“Our D-line was eating tonight,” Brown exclaimed. “I gotta give it to them. Our D-line was eating tonight. Helped us a lot on the back end, too.”
Dillingham repeated these words but with a much higher praise.
“I don’t know of a better place to play defensive line in the entire country than in this scheme.”
What hammered home the stout Sun Devil defense on Saturday was a goal-line stand in WSU’s final drive of the game, which held ASU’s two-possession lead for good. It was this stop that not only highlighted the Sun Devils second-half improvement but also its ability to step up in the game’s crucial moments, as Dillingham said.
“We won the situations,” Dillingham explained. “We won third downs in the second half, and we won the low red zone battle. Two drives, give up three points, that’s a win. That’s what happened to us in the week prior. That’s winning the moments that matter. That’s winning football.”
Not only defensively, but ASU played winning football on offense as well, after not having done so pretty much all season. Having struggled so mightily and having it emphasized on a national stage last week in Seattle, quarterback Trenton Bourguet said the team’s recent shortcomings ultimately would aid them in not only the offense’s 38-point explosion on Saturday but the well-rounded game the entire team put together.
“It hasn’t been easy these last three weeks, really the whole season,” Bourguet made note of. “We were right there, and finally, to play a game all three phases, there are mistakes that we can improve on, but to see special teams have that big field goal at the end of the first half, offense to be able to drive down to get us into field goal position, defense at the end of the game to stop them in the red zone, it’s just awesome to see everything work together. It’s the start of something special.”
What had hindered ASU the most in their close losses was their inability to find a rhythm on offense. While injuries, especially on the offensive line, could take some of the blame, an ineffective run game wasn’t necessarily helping matters. That weight came off quickly on Saturday, though, as Cam Skattebo and DeCarlos Brooks tore the ground up with a season-best 235 rushing yards. While much of their work was done in the first half, the passing game carried the torch in the second, with Elijhah Badger and Jalin Conyers both contributing heavily to 126 yards gained through the air. For Bourguet, the offensive diversity was due in credit to the coaching staff and the scheme put together.
“To have so many offensive masterminds on the field in Coach Dilly, Coach Baldwin, Coach Aguano, Coach Mohns, everybody on the offensive side, they put their two cents in,” Bourguet noted. “And to see them all work together and find different ways to get the ball in playmakers’ hands, it makes it easy for me.”
With the revamped game plan, Bourguet succeeded under center throughout the night. While his stats were more gaudy in the first half, Bourguet tightened up on his efficiency in the second, completing eight of his nine passes for 126 yards, in comparison to his 11/17 effort for 148 earlier. It was his command of the Sun Devil offense, along with some electric plays made on the skill positions, that allowed ASU to score 14 second-half points, courtesy of rushes by Brooks and Badger, for just the third time this year.
For Dillingham, the defensive effort in backing up the best offensive performance of the season showed a much-welcomed sign of improvement. While he believed the game plans had been in place on both sides of the ball, Dillingham complimented the execution of his players as the main reason why ASU finally pulled one out.
“It’s not the scheme,” Dillingham emphasized. “The scheme didn’t win the game. The players won the game. The execution won the game. The effort won the game. Everything goes to those guys. I couldn’t be prouder of those guys. Executed at a high level. Gave elite effort and were unselfish.”
For all the progress that ASU made in its first victory in nearly two months, though, it only makes the team want to keep taking those strides with just four games left in the season.
“This is one step forward,” Bourguet noted. “We don’t wanna get too high on it right now. Watch film, get ready for next week.”
“We all did everything,” Green added. “It all came together.”
“Feels great,” Dillingham said proudly. “Good for our guys to see if we play complementary football, we can win football games. Getting better every week. I can say that with confidence. It may not show it all the time; there may be some bumps, but we’re still getting better.”
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