(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
Chalk the first tally into the win column for Todd Graham and his Sun Devils, but it wasn’t what any follower of Sun Devil (or college) football would have expected. The 35-21 victory was one that ASU will have to learn from, considering New Mexico will give them a very similar look offensively.
The theme for a majority of the game for ASU was missed opportunities, most of them coming in the second half. Their first drive after the intermission was evident.
Once the offense got into the redzone, two dropped passes from redshirt senior wide receiver Devin Lucien along with one from redshirt junior tight end Kody Kohl kept six points off the board. Sophomore running back Demario Richard also stepped out of bounds at the one before crossing the goal line.
The series ended with an interception in the endzone.
Another series in the third quarter in which the Devils made it inside Cal Poly’s 20 ended in an even more bizarre disappointment, with junior kicker Zane Gonzalez missing a 28-yard field goal attempt.
“A couple slip-ups in the red zone, that’s something that we can work on,” Bercovici said. “But all in all, I think we punted one time which is a huge improvement, and I think we’re really excited about every week getting better and better.”
An undeniable reason of why Cal Poly was able to hang in this game for so long was how relentless they were running the ball up the middle. In the first half alone, Cal Poly’s fullback duo of sophomore Joe Protheroe and redshirt sophomore Jared Mohamed racked up 146 yards on 26 carries.
“We started off pretty good, and then we just had people just not taking their assignments,” Graham said. “You have to be disciplined and take the dive, the quarterback, and the pitch, and we could not get our ends to close to the dive.”
The interior defensive linemen only had seven tackles combined in the first half, and that showed with the way the Mustangs ran the ball up the middle. Graham and redshirt senior linebacker Antonio Longino also emphasized the fact that the cut blocking was causing problems for the Sun Devils.
“They’re not that physical,” Longino said. “That’s why they’re cut blocking, they’re not that physical.”
Plenty of Sun Devils on the defensive side of the ball found themselves on the sidelines from this style of play, including junior defensive lineman Villami Latu and sophomore safety Armand Perry.
At the end of the day, a touchdown catch by Kohl and a handful of explosive plays by redshirt junior wide receiver Tim White helped the Sun Devils seal the deal.
“I love Tim,” Graham said. “How he has responded, you know he had a hurt hand, and he’s just been incredible. He’s going to be a great player for us and a dynamic guy.
White played in his first game as a Sun Devil after spending a lot of time limited in practice due to a hand injury. He had a 59-yard jet sweep and a 19-yard catch in the same drive, as well as a 4-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter to put the nail in the Cal Poly coffin.
“It’s a win, I’ll take all the ugly wins we can get.” Graham said.
An ugly win is still a win, but the challenge is just getting started as the Sun Devils prepare to take on another triple option opponent in New Mexico on Friday, Sept. 18.
