EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern coach Randy Walker paused to gather his emotions, and then he delivered a straightforward message with the kind of passion he claimed his team was lacking.
"While I can't see what happened on a particular coverage or why we missed a tackle or why we didn't pick up a blitz, I'm pretty astute at seeing into people's eyes and what's within," said Walker, nearing the boiling point at a lively postgame news conference. "And that's where I'm as concerned and upset about anything as I've ever been here."
He probably didn't get many arguments after the way Northwestern played Saturday.
The Wildcats had ample chances against an ASU team that looked prone to a second-half collapse, yet they couldn't avoid their second straight loss to open the season. What's worse is this one hurt even more than last week's double-overtime loss at Texas Christian.
Walker lamented over two fumbles and a pair of muffed punts his team was unable to recover. He had no explanation for a failed fake punt that again turned Northwestern senior Brian Huffman into the scapegoat.
"I know we left four balls laying on the ground," Walker said. "They fumbled the ball, too. We didn't get any. You need to find a way to get one. Maybe they just got to them faster than we did. I don't know."
Responsible for some of the breakdowns in the secondary, Northwestern senior cornerback Marvin Ward echoed his coach's anger.
"When you look out there on the field and you see a bunch of blank faces, you even question as a player," Ward said. "We got the hype in the locker room, and it wasn't there on the football field."
Huffman's botched fake epitomized Northwestern's problems.
With Northwestern leading 7-3 in the second quarter, Walker wanted Huffman to attempt a 45-yard field goal but was forced to send the punt team onto the field after a delay-of-game penalty.
Walker figured he could retain momentum with a fake. The only problem was that junior Chris Horton snapped the ball before his teammates were ready, leaving Huffman out to dry.
Huffman tried to salvage the play by hiding the ball behind his back, but ASU sophomore Jordan Hill threw him down like a rag doll. The Sun Devils scored on the ensuing possession and took the lead for good.
The Wildcats were without three starters on defense, including All-Big Ten candidate Loren Howard. Translation: Take them deep and try to break the bank.
Ward got burned on a slant route when ASU junior wide receiver Derek Hagan scored his first touchdown, and sophomore safety Bryan Heinz was left in the dust when Hagan found the end zone again before halftime.
Northwestern junior cornerback Jeff Backes was the victim on the backbreaking score ae a 30-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Andrew Walter to sophomore wide receiver Terry Richardson that gave the Sun Devils a 24-7 lead with 8:56 left in the third quarter.
Walker discounted the notion that ASU's physical play on defense affected his team's psyche, even though Northwestern senior Noah Herron saw limited action in the second half after taking the brunt of a helmet-to-helmet hit with senior defensive tackle Jimmy Verdon.
"I didn't think it was earth-shattering," Walker said. "Those look a lot more spectacular than they really are."
For Walker, what was earth-shattering was the lack of assertiveness that became contagious.
"We need to quit waiting for someone else to make a play," he said. "I don't think you go out and look for big plays. I just think you fly around and play 100 mph, and something good happens. We didn't play like our hair was on fire."
Reach the reporter at Brian.gomez@asu.edu.
