Under dark clouds and a dreary battle in the rain, hope for a comeback dwindled for Arizona State on the road at Husky Stadium. The last time the Sun Devils were down 14-0 in the first quarter was two weeks ago against Washington State, and that game quickly spiraled out of reach. As the first half progressed, a repeat performance looked likely as the poor weather intensified and both teams engaged in a slugfest in the trenches.
Passing the ball became an impossible option by the end of the third quarter. Faced with no other option, ASU embodied its identity as a run-first team and became a run-all offense. That meant turning to the team’s best playmaker, junior running back Rachaad White.
The best option in ASU’s playbook has almost always been a call that puts the ball in White’s hands. That notion couldn’t have been proven more true during ASU’s 35-30 win over Washington. White relished in the workhorse role and delivered in the game’s final hour.
Toting the ball on 32 attempts for 184 rushing yards and two touchdowns, White became unstoppable down the stretch. White also led ASU in the receiving game with five catches for 53 yards, in total accounting for 63% of ASU’s scrimmage yards. His explosive performance came just a week removed from his eruption against USC, a career-high game where White slashed his way to 202 rushing yards, a touchdown hat trick, and Rose Bowl Player of the Week honors.
“That’s what he’s all about,” offensive coordinator Zak Hill said after the game. “That’s what makes him great. He wants to be there, he doesn’t want to come out, he wants the ball and to give it to him more.”
In the aftermath of the gloomy atmosphere, White continued to exuberate sunshine. The humble ball carrier never wavered in his glass-half-full mentality, and it resulted in a game he believed was his personal best.
“I like playing in the rain,” White smiled as he toweled off at the podium during a postgame press conference. “That’s probably the best win in my entire life, in all honesty.”
Washington quenched ASU’s efforts to provide a spark for most of the first half. The downpour was ceaseless. But with White on the field, no matter the condition, magic was inevitable.
In the second quarter, White stretched down the sideline and reeled in a pass by his fingertips, somehow managing to plant his left foot in the turf as he tumbled out of bounds. A replay review confirmed White’s heroics, and Jayden Daniels capitalized with an 18-yard touchdown strike to a wide-open Curtis Hodges up the seam.
Aside from the touchdown, Daniels had a rough outing throwing the ball, as one would expect from any quarterback trying to target receivers in a rainstorm. Throwing for just 90 yards on 10 of 16 passing, the third-year signal-caller saw one of his third-quarter passes ricochet off the drenched gloves of Ricky Pearsall into the belly of Washington safety Alex Cook. ASU was noticeably more conservative testing the Huskies through the air from that moment on, but that didn’t impact Daniels’ confidence to execute the game plan.
“One thing I know about (Jayden) is he’s a competitor, and he got so much poise,” White said. “I haven’t seen it in nobody. I think I got poise, but he’s different.”
ASU handed the ball off on 73% of its offensive plays. In the fourth quarter, ASU rushed 24 times in the fourth quarter and only passed twice. The game-clinching drive, a gritty 20-play drive that ate up nine minutes of game clock, was a brilliant display of tenacity from the Sun Devils. The offense was forced to respond to adversity down to the final play.
“Man, that was a grind,” Hill reflected, shaking his head in a show of relief.
White converted on 4th-and-1 with a hard-fought push on ASU’s 46-yard line. But on the next play, a hold by Curtis Hodges nullified a 30-yard scamper by quarterback Jayden Daniels. White even had a touchdown nullified later in the same set of downs by another hold, with left tackle Kellen Diesch found guilty of overdoing it in the backfield. In total, the offensive line had five penalties for 34 yards.
ASU rebounded with its first third-down conversion of the game, an 18-yard reception on a wheel route by White, after striking out on its previous nine chances. The offense marched downfield from there. On 2nd-and-Goal, Daniels slipped and sloshed his way to the right side, regaining his balance as Washington’s linebackers encroached upon him. Daniels spun forward and dove for the goal line, earning ASU the lead.
“I was so tired, to be honest,” offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson laughed. “I was looking at the defensive linemen look at me, trying to act like I wasn’t tired.” The starting left guard for ASU promptly demonstrated how he disguised his fatigue from Washington’s front, holding his breath in a tight-lipped expression as he stared intensely ahead. “You just got to fight, and you got to finish. Like coach Joe (Connolly) said, those are those dominators, those 20-rep squats we do in the offseason. It all came out right there.”
The defense forced Washington to punt after a three-and-out. ASU’s methodical ground attack resumed, but the success came in small quantities at first. White had to win a new set of downs for the Sun Devils on another fourth down, barrelling into the mess of purple and gold uniforms and converting by a hair. Daniels then took advantage of the exhausted Washington front and ripped off back-to-back first downs.
Once again, White was called upon to find pay dirt. And despite running behind an offensive line that had been sapped of its maximum effort, the Sun Devils managed to block long enough to open a lane for the dagger in their backfield.
“That felt amazing,” Henderson said. “Just knowing that you can run the ball every time and get the yards, it’s an amazing feeling. That’s what complete domination feels like, and I love it. As an offensive lineman, if we can do that every game for the rest of my life, I’d be so down for that.”
“Running behind these guys is awesome,” White said, beaming at Henderson on the left side of his teammates. “No matter what’s going on, we’re always communicating. These guys love me; I love them. It’s just an awesome feeling on the game-winning drive to run the ball.”
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