Arizona State vs Oklahoma State: What went wrong?

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State sputters and stumbles in the second half to a 27-15 loss against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. It’s Kenny Dillingham’s first loss as the head coach for the Sun Devils. ASU led at halftime but was outscored 17-0 in the second half. So what went wrong?

Arizona State lost to Oklahoma State, what went wrong in the second half?

This is the second consecutive week where Arizona State has come out of the locker room after halftime incredibly flat. This time there was no haboob, no thunderstorm, no delay, and no excuses.

The offense

The biggest issue in the second half was the offense. Arizona State got shut out in the second half, and it seemed like they couldn’t get anything consistent going. In the second half, the Sun Devils averaged 3.4 yards per play, compared to averaging 5.4 yards per play in the first half.

Overall Arizona State only had 105 total yards in the first half. The playcalling lacked the same variety it did in the first half. It felt like every play was either an inside run or a deep ball. Dillingham also dialed up a couple of wildcat plays again but didn’t have the same success.

On one third-and-one in the fourth quarter, the ASU called a direct snap to Conyers. Same playcall they used on third and short in the first half, but a different result. Conyers was stuffed for a loss of a yard. Then the Sun Devils turned it over on downs.

That was the story of the half, coming up short. Arizona State also missed some big opportunities. The biggest was an Xavier Guillory drop on a deep slant. Guillory was wide open and had a lot of running room. Had he hauled in a perfect pass from Jaden Rashada, he would’ve been off to the races.

Instead, it bounced off his hands and he immediately put his hands on his helmet, frustrated. A touchdown turned into a punt, just like that.

Missed opportunities, and points left off the board. That won’t be a successful recipe in a future Big 12 matchup like tonight.

The defense

Brian Ward’s defense overall had a nice showing. They spent a lot of time on the field, thanks to some short drives by the offense, but they had several big plays. Oklahoma State only had 305 total yards, which isn’t a high number. The defense was particularly strong in the first half, holding the Cowboys to zero rushing yards. BJ Green basically rented an apartment in the backfield.

But unfortunately, the defense doesn’t evade all of the responsibility for the loss. Ward’s unit was extremely good on 90% of the snaps in the game. It’s the other 10% that killed them.

OSU had zero rushing yards in the first half. In the second half? 113. That’s a very stark difference. It wasn’t realistic to expect ASU’s defense to keep the Cowboys at zero, but a 113-yard difference is pretty eye-opening. The reason for that total? Big plays.

Oklahoma State had two rushing plays that combined for 65 yards. Ollie Gordon II ripped off a huge 31-yard carry on OSU’s opening drive of the half, setting up the go-ahead touchdown. Jaden Nixon exploded for a 34-yard carry into the red zone, leading to an Oklahoma State field goal.

The Sun Devil defense was great, except for giving up a backbreaking big play every now and then. Of OSU’s 305 yards, 166 of them came from just eight plays.

The Arizona State defense can be one of the best in the conference, and Brian Ward is a great coach, they just need to tighten up on the chunk plays.

The outlook from here

It’s easy to be upset as an Arizona State fan right now. The second-half collapse was disheartening to watch. The good thing is, it’s Week 2. Head coach Kenny Dillingham and his new staff have a lot of figuring out to do. But they still have the chance to turn things around.

Arizona State isn’t postseason-eligible. They could’ve won every game this season and not have anything to show for it. The goal now is for Dillingham to establish a new culture, and build a future. The Sun Devils have one more non-conference matchup, next Saturday against a pretty good Fresno State team.

After that it’s Pac-12 play, and for the last time. Dillingham and the Sun Devils will have a chance to play spoiler, and they will also welcome arch-rival Arizona to Tempe on the final week of the season. There’s still a lot of opportunities for Arizona State, and the season is far from over.

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