Arizona State and Baylor played a defensive struggle Saturday night, despite expectations of a high-scoring game. ASU’s three takeaways on defense didn’t lead to many points, but they kept the Sun Devils in the hunt.
After a back-and-forth fourth quarter, senior kicker Jesus Gomez drilled a 43-yard field goal as time expired to send the Sun Devils to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.
Here are three takeaways from Arizona State’s 27-24 victory over Baylor:
ASU defense stands tall
The Sun Devils’ offense provided little help, but the defense contained Baylor’s strong offense most of the game. While the defense allowed big plays on the perimeter against Mississippi State, this time defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s unit responded well and improved in its second road test.
Senior Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson had some success, but the Maroon and Gold got stops when the field shortened, holding the Bears to field goals.
Junior defensive back Keith Abney II snagged his first interception of the season late in the third quarter, and the Sun Devils also forced two fumbles.
ASU was stout against the ground attack again, with the lone exception of a 41-yard burst by Baylor’s Bryson Washington. Without the sophomore running back’s big rush, the Sun Devils held the Bears to just three yards per carry on the night.
“We’ve emphasised the ball, and it’s starting to show up,” coach Kenny Dillingham said. “We’re knocking the ball out, we’re punching at the ball, making game-changing plays. Keith Abney is a really good player. He was so mad at the (pass interference call in the second quarter), the rest of the game, I don’t know if he allowed a catch.”
Some of the negatives still exist.
Robertson routinely picked apart the middle of the field for big chunks. A pair of penalties downfield set up a Baylor score.
However, when the field shrank, ASU managed to keep the Bears in front of them, for the most part. It’s good to know that ASU can win a rock fight, which this game was for three quarters, with its defense leading the charge.
Sam Leavitt, offense struggle, but show improvement
Leavitt, once again, struggled to find a rhythm at the start of the game. He didn’t miss receivers at the alamring rate he did in Starkville, Mississippi, but he still failed to spot open targets with his eyes.
The ASU signal caller did a good job of extending plays with his legs again, but big plays through the air were available and missed. He hit one late in the game to sophomore receiver Derek Eusebio for 61 yards, which set up an important touchdown pass to junior wideout Jordyn Tyson. But Leavitt is still leaving too many opportunities on the field.
Against one of the Big 12’s worst run defenses, Arizona State did not rush for as many big plays as it might have hoped for.
ASU averaged 3.7 yards per carry, with junior running back Raleek Brown leading the way with 80 yards on the night. Leavitt’s wild scrambles helped add to the team total, but the Sun Devils likely expected more from their ground attack. They mixed in a healthy amount of jet sweeps that were not as prevalent in recent weeks, but struggled to get blocks on the edges.
That led to the Sun Devils being more reliant on the passing game down the stretch, which had its successes after a slow start. Leavitt spread the ball to seven pass-catchers, including three wide receivers, both a season-high.
Tyson led the receiving room again with seven catches and a score, while senior tight end Chamon Metayer tied a career-high set last week with six catches. Yet, the Sun Devils were just 6-of-17 on third downs.
“A game that you’re up 3-0 in the turnover battle should not come down to a game-winning kick,” Dillingham said.
Ultimately, a couple of big connections down field and the ability to slowly churn yards on the ground during the final drive helped the Sun Devils prevail. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of work left to do for this unit to reach its ceiling. ASU’s offense did more to hurt itself than the Baylor defense did all night long.
Penalties still a major problem
The biggest issue of all for Arizona State’s remains its lack of discipline and smart play. The Sun Devils had seven penalties for 70 yards, many of which sustained drives for Baylor, and ended their own.
A pair of holding calls cost the Sun Devils gains of 22 and 17 yards and put the offense behind the chains. ASU entered the game averaging nearly 61 penalty yards per game, tied for the 42nd most in the country.
The Sun Devils had eight penalties on the road at Mississippi State two weeks ago. Four of those were pre-snap penalties, which the Sun Devils cut down to just one against Baylor.
Bottom line, the penalties will catch up to the Sun Devils eventually, and they nearly did against the Bears. ASU won’t always be able to rely on such strong defensive play, so it’s a pressing issue that will need to be resolved in a short week before TCU comes to Tempe on Friday.
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