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Arizona State thrashed by Texas Tech. What went wrong?
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- Arizona State thrashed by Texas Tech. What went wrong?
LUBBOCK, Texas — There was no upset this time.
The No. 9 Texas Tech Red Raiders dominated from the opening kickoff and throttled Arizona State 53-25 on Oct. 17 in Big 12 play at Galaxy Stadium. The win avenges a loss to the Sun Devils in Tempe a year ago, when both teams entered the contest ranked in the top 10 nationally.
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The first half ended with the host team up 43-10. It marked the most points ASU (3-3, 1-2) has given up in a first half since allowing Nebraska 63 in 1995.
Texas Tech (6-0, 3-0) scored on eight of its nine possessions in the first half, with the only possession it did not score being when it lost a fumble in the first quarter.
Coach Kenny Dillingham pulled Cutter Boley and started backup Mikey Keene in the second half.
"We were down 30. You gotta change something," Dillingham said. "You saw there was a spark there when he came in the football game. We moved the football. We were efficient. We took some sacks I didn't want to take, but I thought he had a great command and control when he was in, so I had to do something to shake it up."
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Dillingham did not say what his plans would be moving forward, as far as quarterback play. He said he would watch film again and evaluate all personnel.
The win gave Texas Tech a 4-3 lead in the all-time series, with the home team winning every game.
What went right
Mikey Keene played well: He entered to start the second half and moved the team down the field for a touchdown, which ended with a 2-yard scoring toss to Reed Harris. Keene went 25-for-34 for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Granted, Texas Tech was playing more conservatively and was a little softer in coverage, so ASU should have had more success moving the ball. He did give the team a boost in his first considerable playing time in an ASU uniform.
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What went wrong
ASU started poorly: Not only did the Sun Devils sputter offensively, but there were also procedural issues. There were two delay penalties and a personal foul call against Prayer Young-Blackgoat on a touchback, of all things. They trailed 21-0 before getting their second first down.
Overpowered on both lines of scrimmage: The Red Raiders finished with six sacks, and there were plenty of other times when Boley was bullied. On the other side of the ball, ASU struggled to get any pass rush whatsoever. When it did come with an occasional blitz, defenders in the secondary were exposed, and they got burned, giving up repeated big plays. ASU made just one sack, and that was by Julian Hugo in the closing minutes of the game.
Defense, defense, defense: The Sun Devils gave up 502 yards, including 232 passing yards by Will Hammond. Tackling issues continued. The most notable play came on the Red Raiders' first drive. Texas Tech faced a fourth-and-1 at its own 34, and Hammond looked stopped well behind the line of scrimmage, yet inexplicably ended up with a 4-yard gain.
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More turnovers:It marked the fourth time in six games that ASU has lost the turnover battle. ASU had two, both Boley interceptions. One was already mentioned. The other came with only 16 seconds left in the second quarter and enabled the Red Raiders to add a field goal on the last play of the first half.
Personnel notes
Offensive linemen Wade Helton and Tana Alo-Tupuola both returned to the starting lineup, with Helton moving from his usual right guard spot to center and Alo-Tupuola moving from center to right guard. Helton missed the last three games with a right leg injury sustained against Texas A&M, while Alo-Tupuola missed the Hawaii game for "personal reasons." Late in the game, Helton was pulled in favor of Mukua Pule. OT Suka Lokotui was injured in the second half and did not return. He had his right foot in a boot and was aided by a crutch at the end of the game.
Grades
Offense (D-):ASU managed 415 yards, not far off what it had been averaging. But 380 of that came through the air and after Texas Tech stormed out to a 43-10 halftime lead. Keene threw for 256 yards, while Boley threw for 124. Derek Eusebio had seven catches for 89 yards, while Harris had seven for 63. Most problematic was the rushing game, which managed only 35 yards. ASU went 5-for-14 on third down and 2-for-5 on fourth down.
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Defense (F): ASU gave up 43 points and 404 yards in the first half alone. The only takeaway was a fumble recovery by Rodney Bimage (forced by Jessiah McGrew). McGrew had a team-high 14 tackles. When a safety makes that many tackles, that's never a good thing. Bimage had nine from a corner spot, also not good.
Special teams (C): For the first time in a while, this was the least area of concern. Nick McLarty had three punts for an average of 43.3, and Carson Smith made his only field goal attempt, one from 30 yards. Texas Tech had a kickoff return for 27 yards and one punt return for 23 yards.
They said it
Keene: "I saw a team come out and punch us in the mouth, and we didn't respond too well, which is something that, as a leader on this team and the guys that have put all the work in in the offseason, that is the most disappointing part because we failed to respond when we needed to. I was proud of the way the guys came out in the second half and fought, but ultimately football is a bunch of X's and O's, but it's will too, and a pride that you have to take in everything that you do, and we didn't do that in the first half."
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Dillingham on not doing the things that have been instrumental to past success:"We gave up 300 yards rushing or something like that on the ground. You have to give them credit, but you have to be able to tackle. That's back-to-back Power 4 opponents that have done that to us."
Up next
The Sun Devils return home to host Kansas State on Oct. 24. The time has not yet been set. The teams last played in Manhattan, Kansas in 2024, with ASU prevailing 24-14. The Sun Devils have won six of the seven meetings.
Kansas State (4-2, 1-2) is coming off a 35-24 win over state rival Kansas.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State thrashed by Texas Tech. What went wrong?
