There were a litany of issues that plagued ASU football in its loss to Oregon, but true freshman quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole was not the main problem.
The stats will suggest that Sterling-Cole lost the game for the Sun Devils, as he threw three interceptions, including two late in the game that sealed the deal for the Ducks.
But, in reality, it was the defense that did not put the team's young quarterback in a position to succeed.
The defense allowed Oregon to easily score in the first half, which forced Sterling-Cole to pick up the pieces and try to come back and win.
I know the defense is dealing with injuries, but the way they are playing is just getting sad. Oregon was playing with a freshman quarterback as well and the Sun Devils let him march up and down the field.
Justin Herbert tied @WinTheDay's single-game record for passing yards. Watch every completion. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/akMmH9blDO
— GoDucks (@GoDucks) October 30, 2016
Is anyone really surprised that the Sun Devils let that happen? Justin Herbert is a freshman quarterback for the Ducks, and he just tied the team's single-game record for passing yards.
Another week, and another terrible defensive performance — with no end in sight.
But hey, at least ASU has some shiny helmets!
If you blame this loss on Sterling-Cole, then you are pinning a loss on a true freshman quarterback playing in a hostile environment whose only crime was not scoring 50 points.
We need to remember that Sterling-Cole was never even supposed to play this year. He came into fall camp as the fourth-string quarterback and was forced to play because of unfortunate quarterback injuries.
That's not to say Sterling-Cole was fantastic, because he made plenty of bad plays. I can't count all the times he overthrew receivers, and that goal line interception he tossed was terrible. Sterling-Cole made the terrible mistake of staring down his man on that play — something that he'll correct in the future — but it's to be expected considering his inexperience.
But Sterling-Cole did his best, and he left it all on the field. Many of those interceptions came when he was attempting to lead the team back into the game.
If nothing else, Sun Devil fans at least know that Sterling-Cole could be molded into a viable starter in the future.
As for this year, ASU has tough sledding ahead with its next two games at home against Utah and on the road versus Washington. Those would be tough games if regular starter Manny Wilkins was there, and they look even worse if ASU has to rely on Sterling-Cole once again.
I'll say this: The offense with Sterling-Cole has shown an ability to compete and move the ball against WSU and Oregon, so maybe Sterling-Cole quarterbacking the team in those games won't be as bad as people would think.
But the defense has still underperformed, and with the way they've played, it might not matter who lines up under center.
Reach the reporter at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.
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