Arizona State Football Can Recover From Brutal Season Opening Loss

The Arizona State Sun Devils had a rough go coming out of the gate Saturday in Houston. The Texas A&M Aggies gave them everything, and quite frankly, they couldn’t handle it. Probably the most-hyped up season opener ever for ASU, the Sun Devils walked onto the field the No. 15 ranked team in the nation. They left battered, beaten and unranked. The Sun Devils are absent from this week’s AP Top 25 Poll, and rightfully so after that performance.

Arizona State was beaten in all five major aspects of the game: offense, special teams, defense, coaching and recruiting. The offense couldn’t get the ball moving. With Kalen Ballage being sent home from what has now been diagnosed as mono, it let the ball reside in the hands of quarterback Mike Bercovici and running back Demario Richard. Berco was sacked nine times to go along with 14 allowed tackles for loss. The Sun Devils only created two plays over 20 yards and were held to their third fewest total yards (291) under coach Todd Graham. They had no answer for the Aggies’ pass rush and they played scared.

Defense actually played admirably for nearly the entire game, aside from broken coverage on a 66-yard shovel pass to Christian Kirk. They gave the Sun Devils a chance despite the miserable offensive display. After a fumble inside their own five, the Sun Devil defense held the Aggies to three. They intercepted a pass deep in enemy territory, only to see it turned right back over on the following play. But, that long touchdown catch-and-run was the only play over 30 yards allowed by the defense. Kudos.

Special teams blunders…again. Special teams have been a poison to this team for years, and it was no different on Saturday. Miserable tackling led to a 79-yard touchdown run by you guessed it, Kirk. This was the sixth return touchdown for an opponent against the Sun Devils in three seasons. They did everything they could at every possible chance to lose all momentum, whether it was bad punts, allowing big returns or plowing into the punter. It was a dreadful performance.

Something has to change on the coaching front the Devils. Saturday just didn’t work. There were too many small plays, too many sacks and not enough D.J. Foster. They played the game as if they still had the mobile quarterback under center. While Bercovici moved fairy well under pressure, he’s a QB who needs to display his arm strength and there were no plays called to do so.

The worst part about Saturday was that Arizona-native Kirk was the deciding factor, racking up almost 300 total yards. Kirk came out of Scottsdale’s Saguaro High School as the state’s best player and most-recruited five-star athlete. Saturday he displayed his Arizona tattoo and proved his worth, unfortunately in the wrong colors.

All that negativity aside, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Devils. There is just a lot of work that needs to be done before the season really gets tough. This was an excellent gut-check for the team. It’s better to do it early than late, right Urban Meyer? They were exposed and embarrassed by a defense that wasn’t expected to do anything this season. Although the Aggies proved Saturday they might be the most underrated team in the country, Arizona State proved they might be the most overrated. But at the end of the day, it was only game one against a non-conference foe. It’s not over for the Sun Devils, but they have to make the major adjustments they need to stay afloat. They are now back under the radar, a place they obviously feel more comfortable.