ASU Football: Devils embarrass themselves in loss to USC

So, that went well.

What was looked at as an opportunity to get back into the national discussion as a contender in the Pac-12 South turned into an absolute disaster for the Arizona State Sun Devils, as they were plagued by mistakes in an absolute dismantling at the hands of the USC Trojans. Fans poured out of Sun Devil Stadium like an actual plague had manifested, with the final score showing 42-14.

It wasn’t as if the Devils didn’t have their opportunities early on. Despite Cody Kessler starting with a monster gain through the air, Kareem Orr was able to force his first interception of the season on that opening drive. Then, Demario Richard gashed the USC defense for a huge gain of his own before he later fumbled on that same drive. From there, it was all USC and the Trojans never looked back.

There was some hope going into Saturday night’s tilt that a stout ASU secondary would be able to at least slow down Cody Kessler. On that first drive, that appeared like it could be the case. But Kessler victimized the Devils and their penchant for blitzing, finishing the night with 375 yards passing and five touchdowns. With such a blitz-heavy defensive scheme, the Devils needed their secondary to take appropriate angles and exercise proper technique in order to properly combat it. They didn’t, and Kessler dominated as a result. JuJu Smith-Schuster was, predictably, dominant with five receptions to the tune of 103 yards and a pair of scores.

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That part doesn’t come as much of a surprise, though. The ASU defense had been suspect in the run game, and hadn’t really been tested in the pass, with back-to-back matchups against triple option teams heading into the weekend. While they were able to stifle the USC rushing attack, Kessler had an absolute field day.

Perhaps the most disappointing element of all of this is the fact that the ASU offense couldn’t find that rhythm that everyone had hoped they would. There were some flashes there, but every time the Sun Devil offense appeared to be gaining momentum, they made a crucial mistake that cost them dearly, ending the night with four turnovers. Richard had the ball knocked out by his own lineman on their first drive. Mike Bercovici fumbled on the USC 1-yard line. The Devils finished with four turnovers overall, including a trio of fumbles and a Bercovici interception. Zane Gonzalez missed a couple of field goals. Kody Kohl dropped a key pass when ASU had a chance to get back in it in the first half. A lot of things went wrong, as one expects with a final score like that.

There were some positives intermixed throughout what was a night full of overwhelming negative. Demario Richard played extremely well, averaging 9.4 yards per carry on the night. The Devils also only committed two penalties on the night overall. Mike Bercovici played extremely well in the second half, even if the game was decidedly in hand at that point.

From an ASU football perspective, though, one has to ask themselves that even without the turnovers and ill-timed mistakes, would the Sun Devils actually have had a chance in this one? Despite coming off of a loss, this was a simply a Southern Cal team that was superior in talent. Cody Kessler is one of the best in the nation. Smith-Schuster is an unstoppable force in the receiving game. They have the talent to spread the ball around on offense in a way that ASU could only dream of. As much optimism as we may have approached that game with on this site, there should at least be some acknowledgement that USC was clearly the superior team.

It’ll be interesting to see where the Sun Devils go from here, though. While they aren’t as good as USC, they are a much better team than the one that showed up on Saturday. We’ll talk at length about where they go from here throughout the week. It’s not an easy road in this very difficult Pac-12, but if you’re looking for any reason for optimism, remember that the Arizona Wildcats came out of the Pac-12 South with two losses last season. It seems far-fetched, but it’s a long season. A lot can happen.

Onto UCLA.

Randy Holt is the managing editor for Devils in Detail. You can follow him on Twitter @RandallPnkFloyd.

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