ASU Football: Halftime analysis as Devils, SDSU tied 14-14

At the half, ASU football is tied with San Diego State 14-14 as both offenses have shown flashes of brilliance so far.

After its first half on the road, ASU is in a 14-14 stalemate with San Diego State.

Quarterback Manny Wilkins was involved in both touchdowns, throwing to Brandon Aiyuk for the first one and running the second one in himself.

The first score for the Aztecs came as a result of a Juwan Washington touchdown run, and Ryan Agnew found Tim Wilson in the end zone with eight seconds left in the half for the latter.

Here are some takeaways from the first half:

Run defense is human after all

A week ago, ASU’s run defense was stout in the 16-13 win against Michigan State, limiting the Spartans to just 63 rushing yards. In the first half against SDSU, ASU showed it isn’t perfect allowing 119 yards on 21 SDSU rushes, including a 13-yard touchdown run by Juwan Washington.

The Sun Devil defense did, however, displayed flashes of brilliance early in the first quarter, with ASU allowing just 2.9 yards per carry on the first two drives of the game.

Washington entered the week as the nation’s fourth-leading rusher, so it isn’t unexpected that he’s playing well. ASU will just have to key in on him in the second half to lessen SDSU’s effectiveness on offense.

Benjamin struggling on ground again

Mirroring what ASU’s front did to opposing running backs the first two weeks of the season, Eno Benjamin‘s struggles in the backfield against Michigan State have carried over to Week 3. The sophomore rushed for just 21 yards in the first half, averaging 2.1 yards per carry.

Granted, SDSU came into the game with the sixth-ranked run defense in the nation, so less production out of Benjamin is expected. But if he continues to struggle to find holes, Brock Sturges and Trelon Smith may soon see more reps.

However, if SDSU’s front is as brutal in the second half, the running backs may still be able to find yards in screen pass situations.

Devils most effective in short passes

Similar to the first two games of the season, ASU’s offense was most productive in short passes in the first half.

The Aiyuk touchdown late in the first quarter was the result of a short pass in which he juked a defender, allowing him to reach the end zone. Benjamin, Harry and others also gained significant chunks of yards in the first half from screen passes and other short routes.

If the Sun Devils can continue to pick up good yardage on short passes and air it out long when unexpected, it could be hard to stop them in the second half.

Wilkins heated up in the second quarter

After a couple dismal throws in the first quarter, Wilkins played exceptionally in the second quarter.

In addition to his success finding receivers on short-yardage situations, he also completed two bombs to Frank Darby, both for more than 40 yards. Though he played well in both wins, Wilkins showed a little hesitancy in the first two games, but in the second quarter, he really found his groove.

Because of the stellar second quarter, Wilkins finished the half with 235 yards and a touchdown in the air.