Prior to the Baylor game, most of Arizona State’s fans' complaints centered on the offensive side of the ball. Now, that attention is likely to turn to the defense.
ASU’s defense had almost no answers for Baylor’s offense, particularly on third down. That part of the defense hasn’t been a concern for ASU under defensive coordinator Brian Ward, but it was exposed in the blowout 55-19 loss to Baylor on Oct. 3.
Baylor finished the game 9-for-15 on third downs, with multiple explosive plays. The Bears had gains of 27 yards, 19 yards and 11 yards on third downs, just in the first half alone. At one point, Baylor was 8-for-11 on third-down conversion attempts.
Coming into the game, ASU was allowing opponents to convert 30% of their third downs — tied
for 27th in the NCAA. But that was nowhere to be seen against Baylor. The unit looked completely different.
With 9:29 left in the third quarter, ASU students started to file out of Mountain America Stadium in Tempe.
“We couldn’t create a pass rush,” coach Kenny Dillingham said. “If you can’t create a pass rush — they were getting the ball downfield because you can’t create a pass rush — you’re not going to be good on third-down defense. Then, you gotta give them credit. They throw some nice back shoulders too. They made some plays on one-on-one situations."
Dillingham emphasized the need to create a pass rush and what his team is doing to start it.
“As a coaching staff, we gotta evaluate that, what we’re doing to create a pass rush," he said. "You gotta impact the quarterback. He wasn’t impacted in the game, got into a good rhythm. The wideouts were playing well, and they got into a rhythm with him.”
ASU finished the game with two sacks and five quarterback hurries.
There were also plays of 63 yards, 32 yards, 25 yards, 17 yards and 15 yards, all coming in the first half as well. Missed tackles were left all over the field. There were wide-open holes for Baylor’s offense, both in the running game and passing game. Baylor had 496 yards of offense by the end of the third quarter. The Bears finished the game with 564 yards.
It was part of a dismal night on defense for ASU, which allowed the most points in a game since the 59-23 loss to Arizona in 2023.
Linebacker Owen Long said it isn't on one person or position group.
“It just obviously wasn't good enough tonight," Long said. "Not a good feeling right now. I don't know exactly what to say specifically. I have to go back and watch the tape, but including myself and everyone else, we’ve got to find a way to get better. So it starts right after this, tomorrow. Just find a way to get better. We just have to get back to work and find exactly what's going on.
"But it's on everyone. It's not just one person. Everyone's got to do a little bit better. It’s just feeling the vibe in the locker room already. We just have to find a way to keep getting better.”
Was there any hangover from the long overseas trip to London two weeks ago, followed by the bye week? Maybe. ASU’s journey to London for the Kansas game was 10,518 miles, making it the longest trip of the 2026 NCAA season for any team.
But Dillingham thought his team was mentally prepared for the game.
“I’m still getting a feel for this team," he said. "Every team has different energy. Some are very passionate, emotional. Some, that’s not really their deal. I’m getting a better feel for what this team’s 'play good' is. But I thought we were fine going into the game. I liked our energy, our focus, our week of practice, and that’s the disappointing thing. I gotta figure out why that didn’t translate.”
There will be a lot of soul-searching after the performance, which also took place in front of a large crowd of high school recruits that ASU brought in. There were a handful of Golden Ticket recipients at the game.
This is one of the lowest points of the Dillingham era since the 2023 season, when the Sun Devils were just trying to hang on with a depleted roster in Dillingham’s first season on the job.
“It was an atrocious game,” Dillingham said. “We can either point the finger at who was wrong, or we can all take extreme ownership and fix it. The blessing and the curse of it is we've lost games poorly before, and we've bounced back from those games. I think our guys are gonna respond great."
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @RLSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State's third-down defense struggles mightily in Baylor loss
