There was a lot of optimism going into this season. Despite the "so-called" sanctions that could cripple the program in the future, the Sun Devil football team would rise up against a very pedestrian Pac-12 Conference this year. Every team in the conference seemed to be underwhelming and this was their chance to take something which they haven't looked at in a long while: being on top of the Pac-12.
In two away games in the state of Utah, the Devils proceeded to forget logic and commit penalties that would stop drives or erase big plays. The undisciplined ways of ASU cost them the two games against the Utah schools (BYU, Utah).
Another problem is that the offensive weapons can not make the plays necessary to help the Devils. Jaylen Daniels, the quarterback recruited to bring the program to national recognition, has had a roller coaster tenure at ASU. The Utah game showed that he is trying to keep everything afloat. The poor guy is running for life as the offensive line doesn't give him enough time to enjoy a pocket presence. The receivers and the running game haven't separated themselves as a ranked team. The defensive unit is not immune from this. Their penalties and their constant situations where they give up big plays have cost the Devils.
On Saturday, ASU took a 21-7 lead into halftime around an emotional crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Utes were honoring two players who were killed within a year's time. The Sun Devils had decals for the fallen players on their helmets. If you watch enough sports, you know that a team that suffers from a tragedy uses emotion to carry a squad through adversity. The Utes were no different on this night. In the second half, Utah scored 28 unanswered points as the Devils saw their once promising season take a massive nosedive.
I mean, they can recover and salvage this campaign. If they don't, this could be their last chance since the NCAA is watching this program closely over allegations of illegal recruiting visits during the pandemic. It could be Herm Edward's last stand if the NCAA find this to be true.
The Sun Devils had a golden opportunity to capture the Pac-12, but may have lost it by tripping over their own feet.
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