ASU football should be embarrassed by its showing on Friday night against Arizona.
In the Territorial Cup, the biggest game of the season for the Sun Devils, the team responded by playing its worst game in recent memory, losing 56-35.
There really is not a good excuse that ASU can use, and to his credit, head coach Todd Graham wasn't looking to make any Friday night after the loss.
“No excuses, but that was very, very difficult to watch,” Graham said. “We let our university down, let our program down… Just absolutely didn’t show up at all defensively. You can’t play that bad and make up any excuses. We just played atrocious.”
The Sun Devils were supposed to win this game. They were road favorites and came into the game with a better record.
Arizona, on the other hand, came into the game winless in the Pac-12, with its only goal to win the Cup and play spoiler on the Sun Devils' bowl game hopes in the process.
The Wildcats did just that, and now both teams will be sitting on the couch during bowl season. ASU will have a better record at 5-7, and even with the win, Arizona will sit at 3-9.
But despite the records, it's clear that Arizona is the better football team. The Wildcats won head-to-head in blowout fashion, and racked up 511 rushing yards in doing so.
Those 511 yards are an Arizona record and a dubious stat for ASU.
The Wildcats had almost no resistance when they ran the ball.
It all started on the third play for scrimmage when Wildcats redshirt sophomore quarterback Brandon Dawkins ran basically untouched for a 71-yard touchdown.
Dawkins was not the only Wildcat who had success on the ground, as running backs Samajie Grant and Zach Green combined for 302 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
.@samajie_grant was in his bag tonight for @ArizonaFBall
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) November 26, 2016
He earns the @OpusBank #12Best Moment of the Territorial Cup! pic.twitter.com/g8JBVQ7xNQ
Most of the dashes looked something like that. An Arizona player bursts through the line and quickly realizes that he'll score because there are no Sun Devils to be found in the middle of the field.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Earlier in the season, when the fans and the media were coming down on ASU for its atrocious pass defense (which by the way will finish as the worst in the country), the Sun Devils would always boast their great run defense.
Well, much like ASU's bowl aspirations, the great run defense went out the window during the Territorial Cup game to the tune of 511 rushing yards for Arizona.
But what's most astounding to me is how ASU lost to a team that threw eight passes and only completed three.
How does a team complete three throws in one game win by 21 points? Oh wait... I know how. That team allows 511 rushing yards.
I think I've said this already, but wow, what an atrocious display of football.
Serious question: Was that the worst game in ASU history?
— Matthew Tonis (@Tonis_The_Tiger) November 26, 2016
He might be right. The Sun Devils had been smacked before, that's not the issue.
It's that they did not show up for their rivalry game. You know, the game that every football team at any level has circled on its calendar before the season starts. The game that football teams are supposed to be extra hyped up for.
Based on that game, I don't know if ASU knew it was a rivalry game. Who knows, maybe the Sun Devils forgot. Maybe a Territorial Cup win and a trip to a bowl game didn't mean much to them.
Arizona played like there was something on the line, while ASU played as if it were a spring practice.
Coaches and players alike should comprehend what a slop fest that was.
Speaking of coaches, plenty of blame has been placed on Graham, since it's clear that he did not have his team fully prepared for the Territorial Cup. Add on a six-game losing streak, and many fans have pondered if a change in leadership is needed.
ASU fans, do you want current football coach Todd Graham to be fired?
— Mark Harris (@Harris_Mark7) November 26, 2016
With ASU's recent performance, its hard to argue with that sentiment. The team has gotten significantly worse over the past two seasons, and this game is the icing on the cake.
Say what you will about Graham this season, but those two straight ten win seasons in 2013 and 2014 still count, so that should help his case.
It will be interesting few days to see what happens, but if Graham stays, he will be on the hot seat and he will have high expectations next season.
But as for right now, expect Graham and the rest of the disheveled Sun Devils to be licking their wounds in the offseason, and for good reason: ASU got completely dominated by a bad team in one of the worst performances I've ever seen from a football team.
