The Arizona State football team had a tough return home. After not playing at Mountain America Stadium in more than a month, the Sun Devils (2-2, 1-1) were throttled by Baylor, 55-19.
It was the most points ASU has given up in a game since allowing 59 to Arizona in the final game of the 2023 season, while the 36-point deficit was the biggest since that same game, when it lost 59-23.
Against Baylor, the Sun Devils trailed 21-3 but were able to cut into the deficit before the half and trailed 24-13 after 30 minutes.
But Baylor took the third-quarter kickoff and went 77 yards in nine plays to extend its lead to 31-13. It only got worse from there for coach Kenny Dillingham and his team.
The fourth-year head coach took ownership of the abysmal showing
afterward.
“The solution is in the fundamental skills," he said. "Why are they not hitting, and why are we not on the same page? And what are those fundamental skills?"
Dillingham rattled off more questions concerning his team.
"I think it was more the fundamentals of the football game," he said. "We didn't do very well, and that starts and ends with me.”
What went wrong
Missed tackles: The Sun Devils had been solid in making the first stop. But not in this one. The Bears got a lot of extra yardage. Baylor's first score came on a 63-yard run by Ryelan Morris, most coming after safety Lyrik Rawls whiffed on a tackle attempt. On another play, with Baylor up 14-3 and the Bears facing a third-and-10, Dawson Pendergrass ran for 12 yards, breaking at least two tackles. It was that kind of night for the defense.
Failure to establish the run: The running game has always been a staple, even under the previous coaching regime. Think Eno Benjamin, Rachaad White, Xazavian Valladay, Cam Skattebo. That looked like a strong suit when the season began, with several backs looking capable of contributing. And yes, the offensive line is always part of the equation. But ASU managed just 99 yards on 30 attempts (3.3 ypc).
Cutter Boley struggled again: Boley threw for 304 yards, but that is misleading because he wasn't efficient. Much of the yardage also came in garbage time with the Bears comfortably ahead. He missed some easy throws and looked off-balance, especially in the first half. He finished 25-for-43 with one touchdown and an interception.
Lost the turnover margin again: The Sun Devils have lost the takeaway game in three of four contests. The only game in which they have forced more turnovers than their opponents was the win over Kansas in London. The turnover count in this one was 3-0 against ASU. There was a fumble by Omarion Miller after a catch that led to Baylor's first touchdown of the game. The second was an interception on a bad throw by Boley early in the third quarter. The third was a late fumbled kickoff return.
Late-down issues on both sides: ASU was just 4-for-15 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down. Meanwhile, the Bears were a solid 9-for-15 on third- and fourth-down conversions.
What went right
Kicking was solid: Carson Smith made four field goals. His first was from 46 yards and put the Sun Devils up 3-0. It was his longest of the season. He is 6-for-6 on the season. He is also 14-for-14 on extra-point kicks.
Few penalties: It was a clean game for both teams. ASU had called for one penalty for 15 yards, that being a pass interference call on Rodney Bimage in the second quarter. Baylor had three for 37 yards.
Personnel notes
Tight end A.J. Ia and guard Siosaia Lapuaho made their first career starts. ... Starters missing the game due to injury included tight end Khamari Anderson and guard Wade Helton. Those are in addition to three players who sustained season-ending injuries before the first game: DL My'Keil Gardner, LB Zyrus Fiaseu, and DB Nigel Pringle ... DE Emar'rion Winston was playing against his old team and recorded one tackle in a reserve capacity ... Team captains for the contest were LB Owen Long and C Tana Alo-Tupuola.
Grades
Offense (D): The Sun Devils managed 409 yards — under their average of 426 — but a good chunk of that came after the visitors had put the game away. Four players factored into the rushing total, led by Cardae Mack and Kyson Brown with 34 each. Reed Harris caught seven passes for 125 yards, giving him 100 yards or more in three of the four games. The offensive line gave up three sacks.
Defense (F): This was perhaps the worst game ASU has played on defense in the last three seasons. The Sun Devils gave up 564 yards and allowed Baylor to convert nine of 15 third-down attempts. They didn't tackle well, so the Bears were gaining considerable yards after contact. The pass rush was not effective, so D.J. Lagway had a clean pocket much of the night. LB Owen Long had a team-high 14 tackles, while LB Martell Hughes had eight. There were two sacks but no takeaways.
Special Teams (C-): Kicker Carson Smith was the bright spot, going 4-for-4 on field goal attempts with makes from 46, 32, 36, and 40 yards. Punter Nick McLarty averaged 40.7 yards on three kicks, with none downed inside the 20. Jaren Hamilton had three kickoff returns for 47 yards, with a long of 28, but he fumbled one away in the fourth quarter. The coverage teams didn't give up anything of note.
They said it
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham on his message to the fan base: “If you think anyone is more frustrated than me, you’re wrong. I'm the number one most frustrated person there is, clear number one. I don't think there's somebody probably even close to the level of frustration, but I can try to do something about it, and I think that was my message to the guys. It was an atrocious game, and we can either point the finger at who was wrong, or we can all take extreme ownership and try to fix it."
ASU quarterback Cutter Boley: “We got in our own way tonight. I was sloppy with the ball in the first and second half. I made a few poor decisions that put us behind the ball, and things like that can’t happen to good teams."
ASU linebacker Owen Long: "It just obviously wasn't good enough tonight. Not a good feeling right now. I don't know exactly what to say specifically.”
Up next
The Sun Devils will host Hawaii (1-4, 0-3) at 7:30 p.m. MST on Oct. 10. The game will air on FS1. Hawaii lost to San Jose State 20-16 in Mountain West Conference play. Hawaii totaled 438 yards in total offense but had 85 yards in penalties and turned the ball over twice.
ASU is 5-2 all-time against Hawaii. The most recent meeting was in the 2006 Hawaii Bowl, which Hawaii won, 41-24.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State delivers blueprint for defeat in loss to Baylor
