To say last night was strange would be a major understatement. A quiet and calm first half saw Arizona State begin to pull away as the clock struck zero. What happened afterward had everyone needing an extra pair of clothes.
The Sun Devils hosted the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at the newly named Mountain America Stadium. This was the first game for ASU in the Kenny Dillingham era and it did not go as planned.
The first half of Arizona State vs. Southern Utah
Southern Utah received the ball first and it was a chance for new defensive coordinator Brian Ward to show what he can do. Immediately Ward and the ASU defense flexed their muscle by shutting down Southern Utah on their own side of the field. Southern Utah gained just one first down on the drive and punted.
It was then time to see Jaden Rashada make his first collegiate start on his 20th birthday. A typical first play from ASU was a screen pass to Cameron Skattebo for a gain of four yards. Kenny Dillingham and his offense slowed Rashada into his first game. It wasn’t long after that Rashada showed why he was a highly touted recruit out of high school. Rashada connected with receiver Melquan Stovall for a huge gain of 33. The Devils continued to march down the field scoring off a Skattebo rush.
After the Devils scored, both teams struggled to find their footing resulting in a punt for both teams on their subsequent drives.
It was not long after that Southern Utah would respond with a score of its own. After transfer Clayton Smith was ejected from the game the Thunderbirds pulled some tricks out of the bag. Southern Utah ran a double pass for a large gain resulting in a goal-to-go situation. Shortly thereafter, the Thunderbirds punched it in the endzone courtesy of a run by Targhee Lambson.
After the score, ASU settled in on both sides of the ball. On the last two Southern Utah possessions in the first half, they totaled only 26 yards. BJ Green and Dashaun Mallory had huge first halves on the defensive line for the Sun Devils.
As for the offense, they settled in as well scoring on their last two drives of the half.
Rashada connected with receiver Xavion Guillory for a huge 47-yard touchdown followed by a quick fade route to Troy Omiere. Blink and all of a sudden the Sun Devils go into the locker room up 21-7.
Then things got interesting.
The longest halftime in Arizona State history (probably)
As halftime approached, a large dust storm approached Mountain America Stadium and the surrounding areas.
All fans were told to evacuate the stadium and seek shelter. The dust storm was followed by a strong thunderstorm, which caused an even further delay. After all was said and done the delay lasted around three hours with the game resuming at approximately 11:30 local time.
Despite lightning and dust, the game was going to finish.
The second half after the delay told a completely separate story from the first half.
The second half struggles for the Sun Devils
The first five total possessions of the second half resulted in punts for both sides. To say that both teams came out a little flat would be an understatement.
After the game, Dillingham mentioned that delays like this happen, but you cannot lose your focus when it is time to go. Both teams had to go through the delay and things like this happen from time to time.
After a rusty start to the half, the scoring drought was lifted courtesy of the Thunderbirds. Southern Utah quarterback Justin Miller marched his offense 70 yards down field resulting in a 17-yard touchdown to receiver Zach Mitchell.
On the next play of the game, ASU returned the kickoff all the way to the Southern Utah 6 following a penalty, following one of the strangest kick returns you’ll ever see. Elijhah Badger at one point was laying on top of a defender, before getting up and running for more yards. After a few holding penalties on the Sun Devils, they wound up settling for just three.
As the clock struck midnight (and 3 a.m. on the East Coast), so did the Thunderbirds’ motivation. After giving up the field goal they punted, but kept fighting down the stretch. After somewhat of a promising drive ASU had a punt blocked by Southern Utah, which resulted in a touchdown. George Ramirez, an Arizona native, for Southern Utah collected the football and made it just a three-point game.
As the intensity picked up late in the game Southern Utah had cut the lead to just three with ten minutes remaining.
The Sun Devils elected to keep throwing the ball in the fourth quarter and wound up going three and out. Not ideal.
Southern Utah had a chance to take the lead with less than five minutes left but the ASU defense came up clutch. The Thunderbirds gained just 18 yards on their final drive and their hopes of the upset were just about finished.
Rashada and the offense still had some work to do, needing to gain a few first downs as Southern Utah still had some timeouts remaining.
The two-headed backfield of Skattebo and DeCarlos Brooks ran through the Thunderbird defense leading ASU to its first victory of the season.
Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham’s thoughts on the game
After the game, Dillingham compared the two halves of the game. “The first half I think we played as good of a first half…. We played really clean in the first half,” Dillingham said. He then commented on the second half. “There’s no excuses, we’ve gotta come out and play better in the second half.”
The Sun Devils got their first win of the season, and the Kenny Dillingham era in Tempe, 24-21 over Southern Utah.
Arizona State will try to go 2-0 next week as Oklahoma State comes to town.
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