The Sun Devils trailed 24-17 on Saturday with less than a minute left when redshirt junior wide receiver Troy Omeire caught a touchdown pass that tied the game and electrified Mountain America Stadium.
However, with 18 seconds remaining, sophomore kicker Alejandro Mata knocked in a 43-yard field goal, resulting in a tough 27-24 loss that tugged at the heartstrings of Sun Devil fans hopeful of an upset victory.
"We’re sorry we let you down, but keep bringing that energy, that juice," starting quarterback Trenton Bourguet said in a message to the fans. "We’re right there and once we start getting those wins, it’s even gonna be better."
Despite falling to a 1-5 season record, the offensive bag of tricks from first-year coach Kenny Dillingham continues to deepen, as the offense tried several new formations and passing routes.
Bourguet took advantage of a crossing route to ignite the offensive effort with moderate success. He finished the game with 32 completed passes and 49 attempts, throwing for 335 yards,his second-straight 300-yard passing week.
In one of Dillingham's recent offensive creations, Bourguet was the center of a quarterback sneak that saw three ASU players lined up on the outside and a 3-2-3 formation on the inside.
Dillingham said the new formation stems from the team’s challenge running the ball in short yardage situations.
"We’re struggling, doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result isn’t the answer," Dillingham said, "It’s not conventional … But sometimes you gotta be creative."
The offense also utilized new players during the matchup, with freshmen offensive lineman Sean Na’a and running back Kyson Brown both making debuts. Despite not starting, junior running back Cam Skattebo continued to show his versatility. He acted as interim punter for one play and ran the ball in for a touchdown, garnering his fifth touchdown of the season.
Skattebo, who has been at moderate strength since the Cal matchup, still managed to rush 49 yards Saturday while the Sun Devils were mindful of his playing time.
With graduate punter Josh Carlson out due to injury, sophomore Ian Hershey stepped in to fill the role. Hershey punted a total 250 yards for the team in his season debut.
Defensively, the Sun Devils executed effectively in containing quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The Sun Devils recorded five sacks on Sanders and limited him to 239 yards, completing 26 passes out of 42 attempts.
Redshirt junior defensive lineman Prince Dorbah was a leader in the assault against Sanders, recording a career high 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles-for-loss.
Even though tonight’s game resulted in a loss, Dorbah remains grateful for his opportunity to play ball and will continue to put in the work.
"Personally, I come from a family where I’m the only person who’s gotten this opportunity to play college football," Dorbah said. "So I’ve told myself every day since I came here, I’ll take advantage of my opportunities."
ASU's defense finished giving up 295 yards in 72 plays, and the Sun Devils outgained the Buffaloes by almost 100 yards – another positive trend in back-to-back weeks as ASU outgained Cal in total total yards in the away loss last week.
Dillingham credits the team for playing winning football and encourages that they’re close to having it all come together.
"You don’t know when it’s gonna click," Dillingham said. "You get back to work and you compete to get better … The bamboo that nobody can see is going to grow, very simple. You just can’t see it, but the growth is happening."
The Sun Devils are now entering their bye week for the season, which Dillingham said the team will use to get healthy and continue their hard work at practice. The Sun Devils seek their first conference win of the season when they travel to meet Washington on Oct. 21.
Edited by Alfred Smith III, Sadie Buggle and Grace Copperthite.
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