ASU Football: UA Wrap-Up
By Mike Slifer
In what turned out to be a thrilling Territorial Cup, the ASU Football team came up short in Tucson. The loss places ASU third in the PAC-12 South behind Arizona and UCLA. A victory would have given them first place and a shot at Oregon in the PAC-12 Championship game next weekend.
The injuries sustained by the Sun Devils in this game surely did not help. Halfway through the first quarter, center Nick Kelly went out with an injury and never returned. Kelly was the anchor on that offensive line all season. Stephon McCray was his replacement. Overall, McCray handled his duties just fine. But you have to wonder what would have happened when ASU had the ball inside the 1 yard line. If Nick Kelly was there instead, would ASU have scored a touchdown, rather than turning it over on downs? Then, the captain of the defense, Laiu Moeakiola went out in the first half as well. ASU fans will remember how this defense played without Laiu in the lineup versus when he is not. He makes a big difference. Finally, safety Jordan Simone, who is ASU’s leading tackler. was scratched from the lineup right before kickoff. He apparently injured his shoulder in pre-game contact warm-up drills.
But every coach and any true football fan will tell you that injuries cannot be an excuse for losing a game. In the end, the UA team made plays and ASU didn’t. The offense started the game disastrously with a sack/fumble that was returned for a touchdown on ASU’s first possession. (None of the injured players affected that play) The ASU defense gave up big plays while trying to get pressure on Arizona QB Anu Solomon. First, Damarious Randall cut in front of a receiver to pick it off, but missed, giving up a 75 yard touchdown play. (this is the second time Randall has done this) The defense also looked confused in the third quarter when UA running back Nick Wilson took a routine outside zone hand off and turned it into a 65 yard touchdown scamper. (much like Oregon State two weeks ago). It doesn’t matter who is hurt or who is healthy, you just can’t allow plays like that.
Then, of course, there is the ASU quarterback situation. Starter Taylor Kelly was struggling to make throws. He was also ineffective as a rusher and had no escapability in the pocket. So, back up Mike Bercovici was inserted late in the third quarter when ASU was down two scores, 35-21. Berco engineered a scoring drive, pulling ASU to within 7, but then turned around the very next possession and threw a costly interception. UA turned that into seven points. Bercovici then led ASU on another touchdown drive making the game 42-35. His last drive to tie the game ended with 4 incompletions. Game over.
Devils in Detail feels bad for both ASU quarterbacks. Taylor Kelly has been the face of this program for three years. His class, character, grit, toughness, unselfishness and talent have made him the poster boy for ASU Football. His much-anticipated senior season was derailed by an injury in game three and he has never really recovered from that. He could have led ASU to a masterful finish to their season, but it was not to be. The pin inserted in his foot has kept him from being the quarterback he once was.
On the other hand, Mike Bercovici was thrown into the fire against Arizona and came up short. After sitting the last 5 games and presumably not getting a whole lot of reps with the starters, he was put in this emotionally heated rivalry game on the road with three minutes in the third quarter, down by 14 points, on the 10 yard line. That’s a lot of pressure. As a quarterback, he came up short, but his effort was valiant and exciting. He almost pulled it off.
ASU Football fans will argue about whether putting Bercovici in the game at that juncture was the right move or not. That argument is interesting, but is probably moot. The ASU offense needed to do something. Devils in Detail would argue that if the ASU staff was contemplating such a move, they probably should have done it at halftime. However, at halftime, the score was tied. So, why make a change? Again, it’s an interesting argument.
Devils in Detail will break down this game some more throughout the week.