ASU middle linebacker Owen Long read the run play and worked his way through the middle of the offensive line. But Baylor's freshman running back Ryelan Morris bounced left and turned up field.
He charged up the left hash mark, using his speed to split cornerback Rodney Bimage Jr. and strong safety Lyrik Rawls, who crashed into each other after whiffing on the tackle. Morris went untouched the rest of the way for a 63-yard touchdown. He was gone before Long knew where he went.
It was the first touchdown of the game at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday, the first of many blows the ASU defense would endure before crumbling in the 55-19 loss to Baylor.
"It just obviously wasn't good enough tonight," Long said. "Including myself and everyone else, we just have to find a way to get better."
The vibe was drastically different after their last game.
Long, a junior, was on top of the ASU football world when the Sun Devils returned from London. He recorded 12 tackles, nine solo, a forced fumble and a game-sealing interception. The efforts earned him the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week and Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Even the defensive linemen benefited from his success.
Hyrum Vaeono, the 305-pound sophomore, scooped up a fumble and rumbled down the right sidelines for 77 yards in London. It was a big play for ASU, but even more so for the Lawrence, Kansas, native against the school that didn’t recruit him.
"One of our linebackers came flying down. I happened to be right there," Vaeono told reporters after the game. "Big man's dream. I didn't make it all the way, though."
Vaeono said he'd "never been that close."
That linebacker was Long.
His performance in the 24-17 win over Kansas was validation for the belief he's one of the best linebackers in the country.
He could've stayed with Colorado State and racked up accolades in the Pac-12. But Long left Fort Collins, Colorado, in search of higher level competition. He craved a stage that matched his ambition.
He's found it in Tempe, with coach Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils.
"Some people have the instincts to make plays," Dillingham said about Long. "He's one of those guys that have the instinct to make plays, and he's one of those guys who prepares at such a high level that he's a step ahead of everybody."
But Baylor offered a different challenge. This time, his efforts weren't nearly enough to prevent the visiting Bears from steamrolling the Sun Devils' defense with 564 total yards.
Saturday, Long experienced how being a middle linebacker at this level can also mean nightmares like the one ASU lived in its second home game of the season.
The Bears torched the Sun Devils in the air and on the ground. Baylor's quarterback DJ Lagway threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Baylor receiver Gavin Freeman caught seven passes for 115 yards. Morris rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Running back Caden Knighten needed just six carries to get 84 yards and a touchdown.
READ MORE: Baylor routs ASU behind Lagway's career day
Long, who sits in the middle of the defense, said they still have work to do.
"We can't get complacent," Long said, who totaled a season-high 14 tackles, seven solo.
He continued, "I don't think anybody quit. ... There's just a lot of things we got to fix."
Complacency doesn't seem to be Long's style.
His 151 total tackles last season at Colorado State was the most in the nation. The versatility he showed against Kansas and his significance to the Sun Devils' defense proved his abilities translate up — even in the vaunted Big 12.
He came to Arizona State with hopes of being pushed to his full potential. His challenge now is to help the Sun Devils put the blowout behind them against Hawaii next week in Tempe.
"One loss in this conference isn't going to change anything at the end of the year," quarterback Cutter Boley said after the Baylor game. "One loss in this conference is nothing. We still have everything we want to accomplish ahead of us."
Dillingham said in his press conference after the Kansas game that toughness was a core value of his program and their motto is "smart, tough, the ball, the team."
One of the reasons he snatched up Long from the portal was how much his mentality and approach models what ASU culture is about.
After getting blown out by Baylor and coming off the high of Kansas, all of his smart and tough will be needed.
"You do your job, and a lot of times that leads to you being on the football," Long said. "When we get out there, we go play as hard as we can. ... that's our job as linebackers."
Edited by Alex Swift, Carsten Oyer and Sophia Keeling.
Reach the reporter at cfleduc@asu.edu.
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Camille LeDuc is a part-time sports reporter at The State Press. She has worked previously with The Express Newspaper at Las Positas College. This is her first semester with The State Press.
