Coach Todd Graham complained at practice the week before Saturday's game at New Mexico about the amount of attention paid to ASU football's record in road games. The performance ASU put on in Albuquerque might quiet them for a while.
The Sun Devils hadn't won a non conference road game since 2006, when they beat Colorado, before it moved to the Pac-12. Three of ASU's losses last season came away from Tempe. Yet, Graham took his young bunch of Sun Devils on the road and dominated a team they should dominate.
Yes, there were some scares and mistakes, but there's no denying 58-23.
Junior running back D.J. Foster had 270 all-purpose yards and was the first ASU player with more than 200 rushing yards in a game since Delvon Flowers in 2001.
Four other Sun Devils joined him with touchdowns of their own, to match Foster's one. ASU even successfully ran a two-point conversion play that resulted in redshirt senior De'Marieya Nelson completing a pass to sophomore kicker Zane Gonzalez.
Still, it wasn't perfect, and New Mexico exposed some flaws, especially defensively. It was clear the Lobos weren't Weber State from the get go. That's what the triple-option does: it is the "great equalizer" of talent. If unprepared, inexperienced or sloppy, the triple-option can expose a defense, even when the New Mexico Lobos are playing the No. 17 ASU Sun Devils.
Starting three true freshmen, the Sun Devils' youth was apparent at times. With redshirt freshman James Johnson and freshman Armand Perry in the lineup, ASU was making some bad reads on the option and not covering its assignments. So, Graham substituted redshirt junior Jordan Simone, who then took over the game on defense. He finished with seven total tackles and was seemingly everywhere on the field.
The ASU defense looked good with Simone in the game — the defense didn't give up a point in the second half — but in the first half it looked vulnerable against a New Mexico team that won just three games last season.
For whatever weaknesses the defense showed, the offense looked every bit the opposite. Graham liked the way the offense clicked later in the Weber State game, and the momentum continued into New Mexico. The Lobos defense ranked among the bottom of the country last season, making the showing slightly less impressive, but the offense seemed to be on a roll all night.
The Sun Devils utilized all their depth in the backfield in every aspect of the game. Freshman running back Kalen Ballage scored two touchdowns on six touches. Foster and freshman Demario Richard were both all over the field, Richard capping off his night with a 46-yard touchdown run. Redshirt junior Jaelen Strong only had 43 yards, and ASU still scored 58 points, more than enough to make up for any defensive flaws.
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
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