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Arizona State might have been in trouble Thursday night at Sun Devil Stadium had they played someone better than Southern Utah in the opening game of the football season.
But then that’s the point of scheduling Southern Utah in the opening game of the football season.
It gives you an opportunity to look bad, win and then learn.
If Arizona State is as good as it thinks it is, then its performance Thursday will be good in the long term for the Sun Devils. They won, 41-14, but did so in a manner so sloppy that coach Herm Edwards will have no trouble getting his players’ attention.
BOX SCORE: ASU 41, Southern Utah 14
The game was full of teachable moments for the Sun Devils, including some that made you think corporal punishment should make a comeback.
There’s a tendency to attach too much significance to these types of games. Good teams can look bad early in the season. ASU didn’t play well and might return to practice next week with the proper attitude adjustment.
“It was bad football,” Edwards said, and no one who watched would disagree.
Edwards blamed it on his team being too excited, too amped up for the first game of the year. He said could see it coming during the week, but kids being kids, the 67-year-old coach couldn’t do much about it.
“You just have this gut feeling of, ‘what is this going to look like?’” Edwards said. “Because you don’t know. You kind of think you know but you don’t know. It was bad.”
Edwards blamed the seven penalties in the first quarter and the numerous mistakes on special teams on over-exuberance. If he’s right, then the Sun Devils can work with that. That can be coached, and Edwards and his staff should have an attentive audience this week as they prepare for UNLV.
If he’s wrong, then it’s going to be a very long season in Tempe.
The game was ugly to watch, and it will be ugly for the Sun Devils to review in the coming days.
“If I’m being honest, I feel like we played sloppy on offense,” said quarterback Jayden Daniels, who completed 10 of 12 passes before leaving the game in the third quarter with leg cramps. “Going forward, we can’t beat a team with this many penalties.”
The first quarter lasted an interminable 50 minutes. ASU committed seven of its13 penalties in the period, made a couple of months’ worth of miscues on special teams, lost their best pass rusher, Tyler Johnson, to a targeting penalty, floundered on offense and led just 13-7.
From the moment the teams ran out of the tunnel, it was clear the Sun Devils were more athletic; it just took them some time to show it.
But they did. It was especially evident when they handed the ball to running backs DeaMonte Trayanum and Rachaad White, who combined for 96 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the first half.
By midway through the second quarter, ASU had rediscovered its offensive identity, which is going to be handing the ball to two NFL-caliber running backs working behind an experienced offensive line.
It just took the Sun Devils awhile to get there. Along the way, there were some strange coaching decisions.
For instance, the Sun Devils ran a nifty trick play in the second quarter, with Daniels tossing the ball to receiver Ricky Pearsall, who threw to tight end Curtis Hodges for a 29-yard gain that led to a touchdown.
But why run a trick play against Southern Utah and allow everyone else on your schedule to see it?
The same goes for two conversion attempts. Why show that much of your red zone offense to those who wish you ill will?
The defense had its lapses in the first half, too, but it functioned better than the offense. The Sun Devils came up with four turnovers, including two interceptions by linebacker Darien Butler. Both ended promising possessions by the Thunderbirds.
By halftime, ASU led, 28-7. The Sun Devils added a touchdown on their opening possession of the third quarter, missed the extra point, but it felt as if the rout was on.
But the Thunderbirds didn’t quit. The Sun Devils didn’t either, but they certainly seemed to downshift to a lower gear.
The result was a 27-point victory that didn’t begin to answer any important questions, such as: Are the Sun Devils good enough to make this season a special one?
They didn’t look like it Thursday night. It was one game, a season opener. But the Sun Devils aren’t going to win many games playing as poorly as they did Thursday night.
The Sun Devils acknowledged that afterward, and that bit of self-awareness should serve them well when the competition is better than an FCS team looking for a payday.
Reach Kent Somers at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @kentsomers.
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