ASU Football: First half analysis as Sun Devils lead Beavers

ASU football leads Oregon State 31-17 at halftime thanks to running back Eno Benjamin‘s 185-yard, two-touchdown performance.

After back-to-back challenging contests on the road, the Sun Devils came back to Tempe this weekend in a showdown against a struggling Oregon State team.

Here’s how they faired in the first half of tonight’s game.

Eno Benjamin with the ultimate field day

Many expected the Sun Devils to run the ball early and often against an Oregon State defense that has surrendered over 280 yards per game on the ground.

ASU offensive coordinator Rob Likens did exactly that as Benjamin had eight rushes in the first two drives of the game for 80 yards.

After the Sun Devils scored a field goal on their first drive, ASU found the end zone thanks to a 44 yard rushing touchdown from Benjamin.

The Sun Devils feature back finished the first quarter with 111 rushing yards on just 11 carries.

After the first quarter, Benjamin added a touchdown catch and a 47-yard rushing score to give the sophomore 179 rushing yards with over seven minutes remaining in the half.

Benjamin’s first half performance on the ground broke the ASU all time rushing record for rushing yards in a half.

Tough night for ASU’s rush defense

Despite a dominant performance from Eno Benjamin for ASU on offense, the Sun Devils defense struggled, particularly in the second quarter, to contain the Oregon State rushing attack led by Jermar Jefferson.

Jefferson finished the first touchdown drive for the Beavers with 100 yards on the ground on 15 carries for OSU. The freshman was also the one responsible for Oregon State’s first touchdown of the evening.

The Beavers then cut the ASU lead to seven thanks to another 42 rushing yards from Jefferson, including a 27-yard score through the heart of the ASU defense.

After leading the country in rushing defense after two weeks, Danny Gonzales’ team has struggled to contain the rush. In the first half of tonights game, those struggles continued against the Beavers.

The pass rush comes up big

Oregon State quarterback Conor Blount found himself on the ground twice in the first two drives of the game for the Beavers as the ASU pass rush was firing on all cylinders to start the evening.

Malik Lawal finished the first quarter with three tackles including a sack and a forced fumble that was recovered by Oregon State.

Merlin Robertson and Jalen Bates shared the second sack of the night for ASU, forcing a second fumble from Blount that was, again, recovered by the Beavers.

Strange night so far for Wilkins

With ASU marching up and down the field against the Beavers defense, Manny Wilkins found himself with only 10 completions for 79 yards and a touchdown pass.

With Benjamin rolling on the ground, Wilkins’ attempts to affect the game through the air were limited. Regardless, ASU may need a more affective and efficient performance from Wilkins if the Sun Devils want to finish off the Beavers tonight.