There was a relaxed feeling Saturday night at the ASU-Eastern Washington game.
A win was all but guaranteed and the crowd was sparse at Sun Devil Stadium, but that didn't stop the ASU defensive line from showing up with business on its mind. With Eastern Washington only scoring two points on a safety, it was evident that Sun Devil junior defensive end Terrell Suggs and the rest of the defensive line applied just the right amount of pressure to senior quarterback Josh Blankenship.
"You can't fault anything they (the defense) did," ASU head coach Dirk Koetter said.
The Sun Devil defense held the Eagles to minus-13 rushing yards. Eastern Washington capitalized on only four of 16 third-down conversions and were forced to punt 10 times.
ASU's defensive line combined for 10 tackles and three sacks, while putting enough pressure on Blankenship to make him fumble the ball and throw an interception.
"The D-line just dominated," ASU senior linebacker Josh Amobi said. "All the credit goes to the D-line."
After a fumble on the opening kickoff, it was the defense's task to set the tone for the game. Eastern Washington went nowhere on its first possession, which ended abruptly when Suggs recorded his first sack that resulted in a 15-yard loss.
"Blankenship is a great quarterback," said Suggs, who led the defensive line with five tackles and marked the first three-sack game of his career. "We were blitzing everywhere, and it made him uncomfortable, and it was able to show other teams that our defense has weapons everywhere."
After a Sun Devil touchdown, the defensive line was back in action, causing Blankenship to throw an interception on the first play from scrimmage. The Eagles generated a mere 30 yards in the first quarter while holding the ball for 6:35.
Eastern Washington didn't fare any better in the second quarter, as ASU's defensive line continued to apply pressure. On Eastern Washington's sixth possession of the first half, Suggs marked another sack. ASU freshman defensive end Nick Johnson also contributed with a sack for a 3-yard loss during the same drive.
Suggs tallied his third sack of the game in the third quarter with the Sun Devils leading 28-2. ASU senior linebacker Mason Unck also marked a sack for an 11-yard loss.
With Blankenship still struggling late in the game, head coach Paul Wulff opted to put in freshman quarterback Erik Meyer, who didn't have much success.
"In the locker room, I said we need to consider this a shutout by our defense," Koetter said. "Eastern did a good job of protecting their passer, but our defense played well."
Reach the reporter at katie.crane@asu.edu.
