By: Hudson French
Arizona State played their second-straight home game against Oklahoma State, losing to the Cowboys 27-15. Mountain America stadium was announced to have almost 43,000 fans in attendance for the stadium blackout.
Though they have completely different makeups, the two teams played evenly throughout. The Sun Devil defense broke out as B.J. Green, the junior defensive lineman, led the way with two sacks, including one where he draped starting QB Alan Bowman’s back during Oklahoma State’s 3rd drive.
“There was never a point in the game where we didn’t feel like we were gonna win,” said a dejected Green following Saturday’s loss.
ASU faced a unique challenge on both sides of the ball. On defense, it was Oklahoma State’s quarterback situation. Just like last week the Cowboys played all three quarterbacks: Alan Bowman (who started the game), Gunnar Gundy, and Garret Rangel.
Bowman had the best day, going 11/16 with 113 yards, but both Gundy and Rangel found paydirt with one touchdown each. Gundy and Rangel combined for just 50 passing yards in the 2nd half as Shamari Simmons made his presence felt with 10 tackles.
For the ASU offense, they faced a unique three-safety look from Oklahoma State. OSU inputs a “monster” safety to help eliminate deep strikes down the field. Jaden Rashada went 16-29 with 167 yards, one touchdown and one pick. Coach Kenny Dillingham believed the offensive game plan was good, but they should’ve adjusted.
“It’s our job to adjust if things aren’t working. Even if we think it’s the best thing, we have to be more creative to be successful throughout the entire football game.”
This game appeared to be a step forward in ways for the defense and their ability to create pressure. For the offense, a little regression as they did not score in the 2nd half. With the deep threat clearly in the arsenal, Rashada and Dillingham’s offense will look to complete different types of drives going forward.
Looking forward, ASU will have to fill more shoes on the offensive line, as Emmit Bohle went down in the first quarter with an apparent leg injury. Rashada faced lots of pressure towards the end of the game, resulting in forced throws.
Isaia Glass, Ben Coleman, Cade Briggs, and Aaron Frost are other offensive linemen who did not play due to injury.
Next week, the Sun Devils stay at home against Fresno State for another night game with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
Quote of the Week: “Don’t worry about the results right now… If you stay true to the process, the results will happen.” – Kenny Dillingham on advice Mike Gundy gave him
Featured Image via House of Sparky