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Few gave the Arizona State Sun Devils much of a chance of pulling off the upset. They were coming off an embarrassing loss at Utah, while Texas Tech has been a juggernaut, steamrolling every opponent in its path.
But the Sun Devils (5-2) put forth perhaps their best game of the season by beating No. 7 Texas Tech 26-22 at Mountain America Stadium on Oct. 18.
Texas Tech's previous low in points this season was 34 points. It has defeated every opponent by 24 points or more and registered a convincing win over a Utah team that ASU had just gotten manhandled by.
The game marked the fourth sellout in as many home games for the school.
Got off to a good start: After the manner in which ASU lost last week at Utah, the last thing the Sun Devils could afford was getting off to a slow start. Alas, ASU actually led for much of the first half. It got three Jesus Gomez field goals, the first coming with 1:43 left in the first quarter. That marked the first time this season Texas Tech trailed in a game.
Penalties were few: The Sun Devils had only two for 10 yards in the first half and ended up with five for 32 in the game. They came in averaging 60.83.
The defense redeemed itself: The defense was shredded last week, an anomaly from its usual standard. But the Sun Devils played with passion and played hard, physical football. They held a team that came in averaging 47 points and 558 yards total offense to 22 points and 276 yards. Texas Tech had just 13 total yards in the third quarter.
Settling for field goals. Again! The red zone issues have been much talked about, and again, they proved to be a big factor. ASU's field goal drives ended at the 23 ( got as far as the 17), the 30 (got as far as the 28), and the 7 (had first-and-goal at the 4). The first half ended with ASU up 9-7, but the Sun Devils left a lot of points off the board. Then in the fourth quarter, ASU got stopped at the 6 and had to rely on Gomez for a fourth field goal that gave ASU a 19-7 lead.
ASU played without several key players: running back Kyson Brown, offensive lineman Ben Coleman, linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu, and safety Xavion Alford, most notably. Coleman started the season at center but moved back to guard in last week's game against Utah, in which he got hurt. Wade Helton, who moved to center in his place, was injured in practice this week and did not play. Former walk-on Makua Pule made his first career start in place of Helton at center.
Arizona State remains at home to host much-improved Houston (6-1, 3-1) at 5 p.m. at Mountain America Stadium. Houston is one of the surprise teams in the Big 12 this season and is coming off a 31-28 win over Arizona, the difference being a walk-off field goal by Ethan Sanchez. The Cougars were just 4-8 last season.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State vs Texas Tech takeaways
Continue reading...
But the Sun Devils (5-2) put forth perhaps their best game of the season by beating No. 7 Texas Tech 26-22 at Mountain America Stadium on Oct. 18.
Texas Tech's previous low in points this season was 34 points. It has defeated every opponent by 24 points or more and registered a convincing win over a Utah team that ASU had just gotten manhandled by.
The game marked the fourth sellout in as many home games for the school.
What went right
Got off to a good start: After the manner in which ASU lost last week at Utah, the last thing the Sun Devils could afford was getting off to a slow start. Alas, ASU actually led for much of the first half. It got three Jesus Gomez field goals, the first coming with 1:43 left in the first quarter. That marked the first time this season Texas Tech trailed in a game.
Penalties were few: The Sun Devils had only two for 10 yards in the first half and ended up with five for 32 in the game. They came in averaging 60.83.
The defense redeemed itself: The defense was shredded last week, an anomaly from its usual standard. But the Sun Devils played with passion and played hard, physical football. They held a team that came in averaging 47 points and 558 yards total offense to 22 points and 276 yards. Texas Tech had just 13 total yards in the third quarter.
What went wrong
Settling for field goals. Again! The red zone issues have been much talked about, and again, they proved to be a big factor. ASU's field goal drives ended at the 23 ( got as far as the 17), the 30 (got as far as the 28), and the 7 (had first-and-goal at the 4). The first half ended with ASU up 9-7, but the Sun Devils left a lot of points off the board. Then in the fourth quarter, ASU got stopped at the 6 and had to rely on Gomez for a fourth field goal that gave ASU a 19-7 lead.
Personnel
ASU played without several key players: running back Kyson Brown, offensive lineman Ben Coleman, linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu, and safety Xavion Alford, most notably. Coleman started the season at center but moved back to guard in last week's game against Utah, in which he got hurt. Wade Helton, who moved to center in his place, was injured in practice this week and did not play. Former walk-on Makua Pule made his first career start in place of Helton at center.
Up next
Arizona State remains at home to host much-improved Houston (6-1, 3-1) at 5 p.m. at Mountain America Stadium. Houston is one of the surprise teams in the Big 12 this season and is coming off a 31-28 win over Arizona, the difference being a walk-off field goal by Ethan Sanchez. The Cougars were just 4-8 last season.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State vs Texas Tech takeaways
Continue reading...
