The Sun Devils fell to No. 5 Washington 15-7 Saturday night but battled with a strong defense and an offense that continues to struggle to generate points.
After a lengthy scoreless period, ASU held the lead over the Huskies until junior Mishael Powell’s 89-yard interception return put Washington on top in the fourth quarter. The game extended Washington’s record to 7-0, and the Sun Devils suffered its sixth-straight loss.
“Our guys are playing solid to good football. We’re finding different ways to lose, and I gotta find a way to remove that," head coach Kenny Dillingham said.
ASU’s defense held Washington to 288 offensive yards, their lowest total yardage since the 2021 season. ASU finished the game with 341 total yards but only capitalized in the endzone once, highlighting the team’s offensive stagnation.
Junior running back Cam Skattebo scored the only Sun Devil touchdown in the second quarter. Skattebo had 51 total rushing yards, 12 short of redshirt junior running back DeCarlos Brooks, who surpassed him with 63 rushing yards, returning as a spark after being injured for weeks.
Redshirt junior quarterback Trenton Bourguet said having Brooks and Skattebo fresh was helpful for the offense.
“It’s awesome to have two running backs that are very versatile, that can do everything, catch the ball in the backfield, and run hard,” Bourguet said. “They did a great job. The line did a great job creating some big holes against them.”
Bourguet started again for ASU at quarterback, completing 26 passes out of 47 attempts. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jacob Conover saw time on the field for one play after Bourguet appeared to have hurt his ankle late in the fourth quarter. Conover scrambled for three yards, but the gain was called back because of a holding penalty. Bourget jumped back in for the next play.
Dillingham cited another strain on the offense: the lack of linemen for field goals prevented the team from executing them. Down the stretch of the game, ASU was unsuccessful on two field goal attempts.
However, Washington failed to score an offensive touchdown all night due to the Sun Devils’ persistent defense. Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Penix Jr. was contained to 275 passing yards, his career low at Washington, and gave up four turnovers forced by the ASU defense.
Redshirt junior linebacker Caleb McCullough led the defensive effort with eight tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Redshirt junior defensive back Ed Woods followed behind with six tackles and a forced fumble.
“We already knew what the game plan was, and we knew what their tendencies were, so just going out there and having as much confidence as we need to have and just knowing that we’re a great defense,” redshirt senior defensive back Shamari Simmons said.
Simmons also had a tackle and an interception.
Despite not getting the wanted results, Dillingham said the team is developing the right culture in the locker room and will continue to compete and buy-in.
“When we learn how to win, we’re gonna be a really, really dangerous football team,” Dillingham said.
The Sun Devils return home to prepare for its next home matchup against Washington State (4-3) on October 28.
Edited by Alfred Smith III, Walker Smith and Shane Brennan
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