ASU football struggles in Holiday Bowl shocker vs. Texas Tech
SAN DIEGO – This changes things a little.
For most of five months, Arizona State turned in a storybook season. Well, it wasn’t storybook so much as it was just a riveting ride. Instead of folding in the second half of the season, the Sun Devils won seven in a row. Instead of fighting for bowl eligibility, they won the Pac-12 South and advanced to the conference championship game.
Monday’s Holiday Bowl wasn’t the Rose Bowl. But it was a sign that the Rose Bowl is out there for this program. That the Sun Devils under coach Todd Graham is headed in the right direction. ASU’s 37-23 loss to Texas Tech doesn’t change that, it just removes some of the shine from an otherwise successful season.
Forget the final score. Focus on the effort. Perhaps it was the Rose Bowl disappointment, coming so close only to lose in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Perhaps it was the loss of Marion Grice, one of college football’s top play-makers.
Or maybe it was simply overlooking what appeared to be an inferior opponent. Texas Tech, after all, entered without a win since before Halloween, losers of five in a row.
“I’m very embarrassed for our program,” Graham said. “As coaches, we didn’t have our guys ready to play.”
Whatever the reason, No. 14 ASU clearly lacked something against the Red Raiders, who improved to 8-5. Wasted was an opportunity to post an 11th win for just the sixth time in program history. Shortly after the Pac-12 title loss to Stanford, ASU made that its goal. One last win for the seniors, one last chance to leave their mark.
It sounded good, but it carried little weight. The Sun Devils – who finished 10-4 – never were really in the game, certainly not physically and maybe not mentally. They had obstacles. Grice, out with a foot injury, missed his third consecutive game. ASU also played without senior defensive tackle Davon Coleman, who tied for the team lead in quarterback sacks, because of a violation of team policy.
At the same time, however, Texas Tech had similar challenges. Quarterback Baker Mayfield transferred after the regular season. Co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie took another job. Coach Kliff Kingsbury started Davis Webb – who had started five times this season – and the freshman ripped apart a defense that started seven seniors.
“Everybody was picking them,” Kingsbury said. “They were one of the top 15 teams in the country. We knew that sentiment going in and the kids responded well. They felt it all week. It was a celebration of Arizona State – and it should’ve been – but we wanted them to know that we were here, too.”
Webb – the game’s offensive MVP -- completed 28 of 41 for 403 yards and four touchdowns. (No one had passed for more than 320 yards against the Sun Devils all season.) Tight end Jace Amaro caught eight passes for 112 yards. Overall, the Red Raiders totaled 484 yards. They converted 9 of 16 third downs, including 7 of 8 in the first half.
ASU had trouble keeping up, mostly because it didn’t take advantage of their scoring opportunities. In the first half, the Sun Devils, trailing 13-3, forced a fumble on a kick-off, giving them possession at the Texas Tech 27. Four plays later, however, ASU had to settle for Zane Gonzalez’s 31-yard field goal.
But at least the Sun Devils got points off that drive. At the end of the first half, they drove 75 yards to the Texas Tech 1 yard line. With time running out, junior quarterback Taylor Kelly was sacked for minus-6 yards.
“I’ve got to be smarter in that situation and just throw it away,” Kelly said.
The quarterback then rushed for no gain. Instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock on third down, ASU – with no timeouts -- rushed out freshman Gonzalez, who missed a 24-yard field goal.
“That’s poor management on our part,” Graham said.
The Sun Devils trailed 27-13 at halftime, which wasn’t bad given their performance. They even started the second half strong, putting together their best scoring drive, Kelly rushing 44 yards to pull ASU within 27-20.
But Reginald Davis returned the ensuing kick-off 90 yards, putting momentum back on Texas Tech’s side, where it never left. It was the simply the latest special-teams error for the Sun Devils, and after the game, Graham seemed fed up.
“We have a lot of things to work on (with) special teams – that will be dealt with immediately,” he said. “That has killed our team.”
Kelly passed for only 125 yards, but he rushed for 135, the first 100-yard game of his career. Foster, filling in for Grice, rushed for 132 more. But overall ASU’s offense lacked the explosiveness it had displayed for most of the season.
In the third quarter, Kelly missed senior Kevin Ozier on a slant route that likely would’ve gone for a touchdown. In the fourth, sophomore Rick Smith dropped a touchdown pass that would’ve brought ASU to within 37-30.
“I want to thank those seniors,” Graham said of a group that includes defensive tackle Will Sutton, tight end Chris Coyle, center Kody Koebensky and linebacker Chris Young. “They’re special to me. I told them that I felt like we let ‘em down today and obviously didn’t do a good job of preparation, but those guys have been unbelievable.”
No comments:
Post a Comment