Eight turnovers and three quarterback changes among injury challenges both leading up to and in the game kept the Arizona State Sun Devils (1-2) from scoring in a 29-0 loss to the Fresno State Bulldogs (3-0) on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium.
The Bulldogs took advantage of the opening possession, taking only eight plays to score a touchdown. Fresno State’s first drive tallied 75 yards over 3 minutes and 35 seconds.
Fresno State continued to lead the stat sheet in yardage and time of possession with 350 total yards compared to Arizona State’s 250, 104 of which yards the Sun Devils didn’t have until the fourth quarter.
“I’ve never in my career been involved in a game like that,” Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “I literally can’t even explain how that’s even possible, but we’re getting it fixed. I’m gonna get it fixed. That’s a guarantee.”
Statistically, the Bulldogs beat the Sun Devils in the majority of categories, most notably earning 15 points off of eight turnovers from Arizona State and scoring on 6 out of 7 red zone attempts, whereas ASU was held scoreless on its one trip to the red zone. The offensive execution as a whole was subpar in all facets throughout the duration of the game.
“We have to be more consistent with where the ball needs to go,” Dillingham said. “We should be able to see from the sideline exactly what’s going to happen before it even happens.”
On the opposite side of the ball, the Sun Devils’ defensive effort was as good as could be expected given the number of turnovers. The defensive unit showed resiliency against Fresno State redshirt sophomore quarterback Mikey Keene, who completed 39 of 42 passes for a total of 281 yards and two touchdowns.
In one of multiple solid stands, ASU’s defense took power away from Keene and his offense in the first quarter during their second possession thanks to a sack from redshirt junior centerback Ro Torrence, which forced the Bulldogs to settle for a field goal. The defense later forced six more field goal attempts, four of which were successful.
This wasn’t the only time Torrence sacked Keene as he continued to push through the pocket in the second quarter, forcing another 30-yard kick from Lynch. With eight turnovers for the game, holding Fresno State to 29 points was no easy defensive battle.
“Our defense fought hard and battled eight turnovers, giving up 29 points,” Dillingham said. “That’s remarkable, to be honest. When you have eight turnovers, and you give up 29 points. I mean, it’s just one of the most incredible things I’ve ever been a part of. And if we would’ve just punted on offense, we probably would have had a better football game.”
The aggressive defensive approach paid off given the ability to limit Keene’s efficiency. Torrence and redshirt junior defensive lineman Prince Dorbah, each had two sacks, three of which were proceeded by field goals from Fresno State.
At one point, the defensive line forced back-to-back sacks from Dorbah and redshirt senior safety Shamari Simmons, holding the Bulldogs to 8 plays for 0 net yards. However, Fresno State sophomore kicker Dylan Lynch continued to put points up.
“Credit to the defense coaching staff and then Ro making the play,” Dillingham said. “It’s one thing to be there and call the right thing. It’s another thing to execute and make the play, and Ro kept getting that done.”
While the defense held the Bulldogs at two touchdowns and five field goals after eight turnovers, the Sun Devil offense struggled to hold back Fresno State’s defensive line from the pocket.
Jadan Rashada, the true freshman who started ASU’s first two games, was unavailable due to injury, the Sun Devils started redshirt junior Trenton Bourguet. Bourguet had an unfortunate start to the game with an interception to Fresno State redshirt senior center back Carlton Johnson on the third play of the first quarter. This series continued into Arizona State’s second-game possession with an out-of-the-pocket struggle from Bourguet that ultimately led to an injury, pulling him out of the game.
The Sun Devils quarterback woes didn’t end there as sophomore Drew Pyne stepped in after Bourguet but was sacked on his first play in the game, from which he fumbled the ball for a recovery from Fresno State.
Pyne was sacked two more times in consecutive plays in the second quarter, the last ending in another fumble return for the Bulldogs. In addition to his fumbles, Pyne threw two interceptions before getting replaced by redshirt sophomore Jacob Conover.
Conover had the most passing yards of the Sun Devil quarterbacks at 89 yards, 10 yards less than Pyne and Bourguet combined. But he suffered similar challenges of a sack, two interceptions and a fumble.
In addition to the loss of two quarterbacks in-game, the offensive line struggled with injuries forcing a conservative approach late in the game.
“If we had one more injury, we couldn’t practice,” Dillingham said. “That’s just the reality of how it is, we won’t have a scout team to practice.”
The ultimate outcome as well as the number of injuries caused frustration to not only the coaching staff but the players as well.
“This is football,” redshirt senior defensive back Jordan Clark said. “That’s a risk. That’s the risk whenever you put on your helmet and you strap your pads up. The mood around the team is next man up.”
The coaching staff felt that the team had a good understanding of their competition due to film review, but the execution on the field was lacking.
“We’re trying to get guys to play hard, to play with passion and care, and like I told them in the locker room, how we played is unacceptable on one side of the ball,” Dillingham said. “It’s the worst I’ve ever been around in my entire career. That effort in the intent was in the direction that we’re trying to go, and the situation we’re in is not ideal, but who cares? We got to find a way.”
The Sun Devils will open conference play and wrap up the season’s first homestand against the University of Southern California Trojans on September 23 at Mountain America Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 MST.
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