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ASU football: Three quick takes at the half against Southern Utah

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1 year ago

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BJ Green of Arizona State football has had a major impact was one of our takes. Now he's headed to the transfer portal.
H/T Anthony Chiu of Sun Devil Daily

TEMPE, Ariz. — In just the first half we’ve had two gorgeous deep passes from Jaden Rashada in his debut, a trick play by Southern Utah, a dust storm and so much more. Here are three quick takes from the first half against Southern Utah.

Three quick halftime takes

Jaden Rashada deserved the start

Jaden Rashada has had an almost perfect first half in his debut. The true freshman started the game with 3/3 for 44 yards, including a gorgeous deep ball to set up a Cam Skattebo touchdown. Rashada only built off of his opening drive success.

The California native finished the half 12/16 for 182 yards and two touchdowns. That’s good for a quarterback rating of 211.8. He added two more gorgeous deep passes. The best one being a beautiful dot to transfer wide receiver, Xavier Guillory.

A big reason for Rashada earning the start over Trenton Bourguet was his big play capability. That’s certainly been on display.

BJ Green has been dominant

The Sun Devil run defense has been stout (outside of a 21-yard carry in the second quarter) and a big part of that has been defensive lineman BJ Green. He racked up four total tackles and a QB hurry. Even on plays when Green hasn’t been the one to bring down the ball carrier, he’s had an impact.

Green’s ability to shed blockers and get into the backfield has been huge for the Sun Devils. He and fellow defensive lineman Dashaun Mallory have been key contributors to the Arizona State defense.

In the first half, Southern Utah ran the ball 21 times for a total of 61 yards. That’s 2.9 yards per carry. Take away a 21-yard carry for Braedon Wissler in the second quarter and that’s 20 carries for 41 yards.

The ASU run defense has been impressive, to say the least.

“Always Something University”

Arizona State has an infamous nickname, “Always Something University”. That name rings true tonight. Arizona State’s contest is currently delayed at halftime for a… dust bowl? Yup. With a few minutes left in the first half, winds picked up heavily and dust began blowing into Mountain America Stadium.

With five seconds left in the first half, Rashada hit wide receiver Troy Omiere on a goal-line fade for a touchdown. While the fans in attendance were either focused on the touchdown or trying to stay on their feet, the goalpost on the opposite end of Frank Kush Field was shaking. Our photographer Anthony Chiu was able to capture some of the dust.

The dust made the field almost impossible to see from the towering press box, and debris (including a handful of Chik-Fil-A bags) filled the stands. The celebratory fireworks pierced the dusty air and what may end up being the last cheers of the night echoed out.

At the time of this writing, the game is currently in a lightning delay with no sign of ending yet.

 

 

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Brendon Pricco attends the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State. He's the managing editor for Sun Devil Daily. Brendon also is a contributor to Spartan Shadows and Gator Digest.

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