Two games in, Arizona State’s most valuable player has been the backup kicker. Sophom*ore Cristian Zendejas isn’t even on scholarship, yet in filling in for injured starter Brandon Ruiz, he has provided an unexpected boost, and at this point that might be the best thing you can say about this football team.
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Wait!
The punter. Michael Turk has been good, too. Strong leg and all.
From there, however, ASU has problems, mostly on offense. The Sun Devils on Friday night needed four field goals from Zendejas to pull away from lower-level Sacramento State, winning 19-7 in one of the sloppiest games at Sun Devil Stadium in a while.
ASU’s execution was a mess. Early in the second quarter, the Sun Devils dropped a pass that would’ve led to a touchdown. On the next play, they lost a fumble at the goal line. Later, they lined up in the red zone and snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head.
Perhaps worst of all: A 68-yard touchdown was nullified because of a careless blindside block. (Give senior receiver Brandon Aiyuk credit for owning it. “That’s just bad football on my part,” he said.)
“I told the quarterbacks, ‘I’ve been doing this for 30 years; I’ve never seen anything like that,’” offensive coordinator Rob Likens said. “But we got to get it fixed. We were always just one guy away from doing something right.”
The upside is ASU is 2-0. But the hard truth is the weakest part of the schedule is over, and it was far from easy. Next week the Sun Devils visit Michigan State, their final nonconference contest before Pac-12 competition starts. This will get difficult in a hurry.
“It’s a win, and we’ll look at it that way, but we have a lot of work to do,” coach Herm Edwards said.
Some of this was predictable. After ASU’s Week 1 win over Kent State, much was made over the Sun Devils playing 25 true and redshirt freshmen. The program promoted it on social media because it sends an encouraging message to recruits. “Come to ASU. We play the best regardless of age.” While that might be great for the future, it’s not ideal for the present. And right now, it’s showing.
This is a program still under construction.
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For the second week in a row, the offensive line struggled. Center Dohnovan West was solid last week against Kent State, but he struggled against Sacramento State. (There’s a reason he was the only true freshman in the country to start last week at one of the game’s most difficult positions: It’s difficult.) But it’s not just West. ASU’s veterans struggled against Sacramento State as well, a reason the Sun Devils didn’t reach the end zone until late in the fourth quarter.
Freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels was fine, completing 17 of 27 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown. But ASU has yet to show it can run the ball, and that won’t hold up in conference play. Junior Eno Benjamin — a second-team preseason All-American — rushed 24 times for 69 yards, but 33 came on one carry. He was hit in the backfield several times. Of ASU’s 66 offensive plays, nine went for loss.
“I’m as anxious as you guys are to watch the run game and (see) what happened there,” Likens said. “Because I thought we had some favorable looks to run the football into, and it just didn’t happen.”
Already without starting center Cade Cote because of a broken foot, the Sun Devils lost redshirt freshman right guard Jarrett Bell (for the entire second half) and senior right tackle Steven Miller (for the final minutes) with injuries. While their status for next week is unknown, ASU doesn’t have the depth to overcome much adversity up front.
“We’re not going to get any new players,” Edwards said. “We’re not going to get any new coaches. We’re just going to keep practicing. If we have to do less to help us offensively, then we’ll do less. But we have to control the line of scrimmage. You can’t play offense on your heels. … You change the line of scrimmage — it’s hard. Hard to run the football, hard to throw the ball. It’s hard to do everything, and that’s what it looked like.”
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Likens said he needs to figure out simply what ASU does well. If the Sun Devils can’t run the ball like they did last season, fine. They’ll have to find another way to move the ball. “Who are we?” Likens said.
ASU has hope with its defense. While the offense struggled, the Sun Devils kept Sacramento State — which put up 77 points in last week’s win over NAIA Southern Oregon — out of the end zone for three quarters. The Hornets (1-1) pulled within 12-7 midway through the fourth quarter, but Daniels found Benjamin over the middle for a 72-yard catch-and-run score to put the game out of reach.
Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales was bothered that ASU even needed the insurance score. Entering the season, he knew the defense would have to play at a high level until the offense found its way. Against Sacramento State, he said the defense provided that type of resistance for all but five minutes. Not good enough. The unit has work to do.
Everyone does.
“We have to get better at running the football, regardless of who we play,” Edwards said. “Because that sets up who we are. That kind of sets up our personality. We’re not a drop-back football team. We’re not built to do that. We’re going to get some things corrected.”
(Photo of Benjamin: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
Doug Haller is a senior writer based in Arizona. He previously worked 13 years at The Arizona Republic, where he covered three Final Fours and four football national championship games. He is a five-time winner of the Arizona Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow Doug on Twitter @DougHaller
