The Sun Devils marched into Cincinnati looking to extend their win streak to three heading into the bye week, but flawed decision-making and an inability to stop the run saw the Bearcats score 24 unanswered points on their way to a 24-14 homecoming game victory.
The defining moment of the game came in the fourth quarter, as the Sun Devils drove down the field to set up a field goal attempt for sophomore Ian Hershey to bring the score to 24-17. With 5:58 left in the fourth quarter, Hershey hooked a 48-yard field goal to the left as Cincinnati proceeded to run down the clock to 1:50 before ASU got the ball back.
Had Hershey made the field goal, Sims and the offense could have had the opportunity to put together a game-tying or game-winning drive with under two minutes left. Hershey got a second chance with 50 seconds left to bring the score to within one possession but booted a nearly identical 41-yard field goal that also hooked left in the same way. Dillingham declared post-game that heading into the bye week, the team will attempt to find a new kicker by any means necessary.
“The kicking game is atrocious,” Dillingham stated. “If you can kick and you’re at Arizona State, email me. We’re going to have kicking tryouts on Monday. I’m dead serious. We’re going to put it out on our social media on Monday, and we have to find somebody who can make a field goal.”
Hershey came into the year as the starting placekicker but was replaced after he struggled to get his kicks elevated enough to avoid blocks. Redshirt freshman Carston Kieffer split kicking duties with Hershey, hitting four of his five extra points and missing his lone field goal attempt this season.
“We’ve missed five kicks in the last three games,” Dillingham noted. “We’ve gotta find someone who can kick the ball and give Kieffer more chances as well. But first and foremost, we got to find more guys and try to get somebody else with us that can kick. It’s still 100% on me that we’re not kicking well.”
Since the departure of kicker Dario Longhetto last year, the kicking for ASU has been shrouded with question marks. Kieffer and Hershey were the two prime candidates, with graduate transfer Parker Lewis as someone who could potentially be in the mix but, to date, has been regulated to kickoffs. The kickers, as a whole, have gone 7-13 on field goals and 24-26 on extra points.
“It’s my job to fix it,” Dillingham recognized. “We’re struggling to fix it with our roster right now, so if that’s the case, we gotta try to fix it another way. What we’re trying to do to fix it is not working, and like I said, we’ve missed five kicks in three weeks. That’s not good football.”
ASU failed to convert the two fourth downs attempted, needing less than two yards to pick up a first down both times. A screen pass to Skattebo was halted for a seven-yard loss on the first fourth down, and the second was a handoff to Skattebo out of the shotgun formation. Both times, the analytics were in ASU’s favor, but the Cincinnati defense stonewalled the Sun Devils.
“We wanted to be aggressive knowing they were good on offense,” Dillingham mentioned. “They were 11th in the country at the time of possession coming into this game, and we wanted to try to mitigate that by being aggressive on offense. Obviously didn’t get it done, and too many drives stalled from the 40–50-yard line for us.”
The third-down situations didn’t help the offense either. The Sun Devils went 4-for-12 with an average yardage to gain of 6.2 yards. At one point, the Sun Devils were 0-for-7 on third downs but gradually picked it up as the second half progressed.
“They won the downs that mattered,” Dillingham recognized. “When that happens, you have to tip your hat to the opponent, look at yourself and the staff, and say, ‘What can we do better?’ We’re 5-2 at the bye, and let’s get healthy for this last stretch.”
Senior quarterback Jeff Sims received the start in the wake of redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt’s absence, as it is undefined when Leavitt will return after the bye. The Sun Devils have struggled to stay healthy, particularly on defense. Sophomore cornerback Javan Robinson exited the game in the first half with a shoulder injury and was on the sideline in a sling. Junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliot also had a concise stint in the medical tent but returned to play shortly after.
“Other than Sam, it’s just bumps and bruises,” Dillingham proclaimed. “Everybody has bumps and bruises at this time of the year, and we just have to get our bodies fresh and ready to roll for this last five-game run. Javan hurt his shoulder, but we don’t know exactly what it is. We think we know, but I don’t want to comment on it until we get the tests that we need to get done.”
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