Khalil Tate was sharp in the first half, completing 12 of 16 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns – and he might have had a third if Cedric Peterson had been able to corral a fastball in the end zone in the first quarter. The second half was a different story – 9 of 23, 85 yards – and the fourth quarter featured two turnovers that ended up costing Arizona the game. Third-and-10 from the UA 25 nursing an eight-point lead is not the time to force a pass downfield. It’s unclear who was at fault on the fumbled exchange with J.J. Taylor; Tate declined to discuss the play.
Three tailbacks played, and all produced. Taylor rushed for a game-high 144 yards on 28 carries. Gary Brightwell had 36 yards on four rushes, including a 35-yard touchdown. Freshman Darrius Smith (three carries, 12 yards) again looked like a future starter. But … the fumble. Was it Taylor’s fault? Again, it’s unclear. However, there’s no disputing that Taylor has put the ball on the ground too often this season (six fumbles, five lost). It’s the one hole in his game that needs to be repaired.
Shawn Poindexter tied the school record with his 11th TD reception – one he flat-out stole from ASU cornerback Kobe Williams – and led the team with six catches for 99 yards. Shun Brown had five receptions for 76 yards. Tony Ellison had a pair of touchdowns. The grade would be higher if not for a couple of balls that could have been caught but weren’t. We referenced the Peterson one earlier. On the final drive, Stanley Berryhill III had a shot at a touchdown. It would have been a difficult catch, but he has made similar ones.
The Wildcats averaged 5.4 yards per carry – a full yard more than the Sun Devils. Tate got sacked twice but wasn’t constantly under duress. Arizona failed to convert a key third-and-3 in the fourth quarter. But in modern football, third-and-3 is not a rushing situation; that’s more about play-calling than the line’s inability to open a hole. All things considered – injuries, lack of experience, etc. – this makeshift unit outperformed expectations.
The good: The front helped limit ASU tailback Eno Benjamin to 80 yards, more than 50 yards below his season average. The not-so-good: Benjamin broke free for three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score from 22 yards out. The unit didn’t get credit for a sack, a case of bad luck and poor awareness; Jalen Harris hit Manny Wilkins behind the line of scrimmage, but the ball skipped forward and was recovered by the Sun Devils. Tony Fields II had a team-high eight tackles, including one TFL. PJ Johnson had two TFLs, one of which resulted in a safety.
This unit performed well under trying circumstances. Starting cornerback Lorenzo Burns was out because of an injury, forcing former safety/linebacker Troy Young to make his first career start at corner – opposite walk-on Azizi Hearn. Additionally, safety Chacho Ulloa made his first career start in place of Scottie Young Jr., who had to sit out the first half because of a targeting foul. Wilkins threw only one touchdown pass, a 58-yarder to Brandon Aiyuk, who got behind Demetrious Flannigan-Fowles; UA coach Kevin Sumlin said there was a miscommunication on the play. ASU star receiver N’Keal Harry had just four catches for 55 yards. Promising freshman Christian Young, who subbed in on passing downs, had a team-high two pass breakups.
Josh Pollack made a career-high four field goals. Unfortunately, the one he missed, from 45 yards, would have won the game. Dylan Klumph averaged 49.3 yards on three punts, including a field-flipping 57-yarder in the third quarter. Troy Young tackled Harry for a 5-yard loss on that play. Taylor returned ASU’s post-safety free kick 66 yards. Brown averaged 14.3 yards on three punt returns. Lucas Havrisik had six touchbacks in eight kickoffs but did hook one out of bounds. The other one that landed short was low and returned for 37 yards.
Many UA fans would say the staff deserves an “F” because of what happened in the fourth quarter. But you can’t ignore the first three. Arizona dominated the game, held Benjamin mostly in check and limited Harry despite missing several key defensive backs. The game flipped in the fourth, largely because Sumlin and his staff went into bleed-the-clock/prevent mode way too early. Starting at the 13:05 mark, Arizona ran the ball eight straight times. The defense backed off, giving Wilkins time to throw and/or room to run. Even the decision to run on third-and-10 to set up the 45-yard field-goal attempt was questionable at best. The first three quarters weren’t flawless either. Sumlin wrongly chased points early by going for two-point conversions when he didn’t need to.
