ASU defensive backs Kweishi Brown and Lloyd Carrington chase down Oregon State running back Terron Ward during the Sun Devils' 35-27 loss at Reser Stadium on Saturday night. (Photo Courtesy of Justin Quinn/Daily Barometer)Fresh off of a loss that took control out of its hands, the ASU football team had to assess what happened in its 35-27 defeat to Oregon State. The Sun Devils had an opportunity to control their own destiny all the way to the inaugural College Football Playoff, but the loss to the Beavers eliminated almost any chance they had.
Coach Todd Graham took responsibility for the loss, saying that his team was not prepared enough for the game.
"The question is did you get them ready, why weren't we prepared," Graham said. "Well we thought we were prepared. We prepare like we always prepare and you can analyze it all you want, but the bottom line is we didn't respond well. I didn't respond well. Like I told the players, I called the players in and I took responsibility for it, just like I will with our fans, I didn't respond well. I got frustrated."
Graham said that he apologized to his players for his part in the loss.
"I apologized to our players for how I responded," Graham said. "I ask them to do things with class and character and obviously I didn't respond that way. I feel the same way towards our fans."
One thing Graham did not account for was how much the weather would play into his team's psyche, but he did not pin the loss on that.
"Obviously we knew exactly the situation we were going into," Graham said. "I think I probably, from the elements to how things went... It was obviously cold. I did not think that would effect us. Evidently it did."
Since the loss to UCLA on Sept. 25, the defense was able to cut down on "critical errors," but Saturday, ASU gave up three long touchdowns because of them.
"It was the perfect storm on all of them," Graham said. "We had somebody make a critical error up front on both of (the rushing touchdowns) and then we had a linebacker make a critical error and then we had a DB make a critical error. We just looked slower in how we were doing everything we were doing."
Video by Stefan Modrich | Assistant Sports Editor
Graham said he was frustrated with the play of his defensive players, which resulted in a bad call on his part on the go-ahead touchdown.
"We were winning 27-21 and it's third down and we'd been 100 percent off the field the entire night and because they had come back and scored on us and we were struggling to score on offense," Graham said. "But you're still winning and you don't have to take those kinds of chances and it's okay to do the things that we do, but I did something we hadn't done, tried to do something new, so that was a really bad call. I made a bad call."
Graham said that, in the end, it just wasn't the Sun Devils' night.
"We just didn't play to the level that we're used to and you have to give (Oregon State) a lot of credit," Graham said. "I think there are a lot of factors that were in it, but it just wasn't our night. We didn't play well. We didn't respond well. I didn't respond well as a leader and I told the players that. There's a certain standard to which we do things and as a leader I fell short on this one."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
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