Valedictorian: Zane Gonzalez
It’s unfair to not administer at least a slight curve with respect to redshirt freshman Brady White making his first start, and later freshman Dillon Sterling-Cole making his first appearance in a college game to burn his potential redshirt as White joined redshirt sophomore Manny Wilkins and freshman Bryce Perkins (out for the season) on the list of injured Sun Devil quarterbacks.
But after averaging 200 yards per game on the ground through the first five weeks of the season, ASU put up just 79 rushing yards on 34 carries, one more attempt than the Sun Devils made in last week’s 41-20 loss at USC in which ASU was out-gained on the ground 157-75.
Before suffering his injury, White made some impressive throws, connecting often with redshirt senior receiver Tim White — ASU’s leading wideout with 123 yards on 11 catches. Six other Sun Devils caught passes from White, including freshman N’Keal Harry, who had one of ASU’s two touchdowns. Junior running back Demario Richard had the other.
This may seem strange to those who think the ASU defense is getting away with surrendering huge passing numbers (like the 400 yards sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen dropped on the Sun Devils) and finding a way to win by the skin of its teeth.
However, the Sun Devil front seven crushed UCLA in the trenches, and the Bruins finished with negative rushing yardage for the first time in 16 years, similar to the dominant effort displayed at the Rose Bowl last season.
UCLA finished with -1 rushing yards tonight. First time the Bruins have posted a negative rushing total since Sept 23, 2000 (-9 vs Oregon)
— Matt Cummings (@mbcummings15) October 9, 2016
At this point, there is no question that the secondary needs overhauling. Tackling issues again plagued the Sun Devils on the back end, as UCLA exploded for gains of 49 yards or more three times, as well as a pair of chunk plays for 25 and 32 yards respectively. ASU’s penchant for forcing turnovers proved vital in a tight game, unrelenting in its pressure on Rosen and eventually knocking him out of the game briefly. The hobbled version of Rosen that returned, especially on the last UCLA drive, was ineffective and ASU pounced on his tentativeness.
Senior kicker Zane Gonzalez set the FBS career record for made field goals with his 89th, passing Florida State’s Dustin Hopkins, and his three successful field goal tries proved to be the difference for ASU in its closest win of the 2016 season. Gonzalez was also a deterrent in the kick return game, allowing only one kickoff to be returned for 15 yards. Senior punter Matt Haack kept the Bruins inside their own 20-yard-line three times, and UCLA mustered just six punt return yards on the night.
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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