Kenny Dillingham gets his first Pac-12 win

TEMPE, Ariz. — Kenny Dillingham and the Arizona State Sun Devils welcomed in the Washington State Cougars for homecoming 2023. Coming into the game both teams have been struggling with a combined 0-6 record in their last six games. 

Washington State is coming off a 38-24 road loss at Oregon and ASU is coming off a 15-7 loss at Washington.

Kenny Dillingham and Arizona State take on WSU

Washington State won the toss and somewhat surprisingly elected to receive the ball to open the game. Their decision was justified by quarterback Cameron Ward as he led a beautiful touchdown drive to begin the game.

The opening drive was capped off by a few third-down conversions and even a tush push on a fourth and short. Ultimately, Ward punched it in himself with a three-yard touchdown to open the game’s scoring.

After last week’s subpar performance at Washington, the Sun Devil offense was determined to have a better performance at home against the Cougars.

To start the game there was a lot of diversity in the play calling from Dillingham. The first play of the game was a run by DeCarlos Brooks for a gain of three. This won’t be the last time you hear his name tonight.

The drive also included catches from tight end Ryan Morgan and receiver Troy Omeire. Both of those catches occurred on a third down improving the third down numbers for Arizona State.

The third down conversions fueled an eventual touchdown run by DeCarlos Brooks. Early on the offense was clicking due to the number of players that were touching the ball.

With two quick scores on the board from both sides it would appear to be heading for a shootout, however, the defenses had other plans.

Defensive stands

On the ensuing Cougars drive the Devils’ defense forced a punt after great coverage from the secondary on third down. After a crucial stop on defense, quarterback Trenton Bourguet looked to lead another masterful drive to give ASU the lead.

DeCarlos Brooks proceeded to play hard running the ball for a gain of nine on the first play of the drive. Slow and steady would be the name of the game on this drive as the Sun Devils took their sweet time going down the field.

The Cougars’ defense attempted to give ASU points with a costly roughing the passer penalty but the drive stalled out.

Dario Longhetto attempted a 50-yard field goal but missed it short, and right.

With good field position after the missed field goal, the Cougars had a golden opportunity to retake the momentum and the lead right back. However, Brian Ward and the Arizona State defense had other plans.

As the Devils’ defense has done all season they shut down the drive before it even started. The defense forced a three-and-out and the offense was back on the field before they could even blink.

Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils strike

On the first play of the drive, Bourguet hit Elijhah Badger for a gain of 14 and he fueled the drive. The next play Badger caught yet another one and made some slick moves for another gain, this time 26 yards. On this drive alone, the offense had three plays of 14 yards or more, easily some of their biggest plays of the season.

Capping off a great drive with a touchdown run yet again from DeCarlos Brooks, his second of the game.

Coming into the game it was known that Washington State was not going to back down despite their record. On the ensuing drive Ward had a gritty look on his face and looked ready to face the challenge ahead.

Washington State strikes back

Ward led a masterful drive down the field in a short two minutes and 27 seconds to tie the game quickly. The drive was capped off by Ward running it in from 11 yards out to tie the game at 14.

Early on it seemed like the defenses would rule the night but a sudden change lit up the scoreboard. The scoreboard operator would be busy for the remainder of the half seeing both offenses score touchdowns.

For the Sun Devils, running back Cam Skattebo scurried down the sideline for a gain of 66 and an instant red zone opportunity for the offense.

Ultimately, Skattebo was rewarded for his hard work by punching it in to give ASU the lead again.

As I mentioned, lots of points would be scored to end the half and it was Cam Ward’s turn to show off his skills again. Ward started off the ensuing drive by hitting lead receiver Kyle Willaims for a gain of 39. The drive would be over in a flash as Ward threw a touchdown dime to Lincoln Victor tying the game late in the half.

The drive took a speedy 1:29.

ASU ends their field goal woes

With only 40 seconds left in the half ASU got the ball back and had two timeouts to spare and Dillingham elected to be aggressive to end the half.

His aggressiveness was gifted with Dario Longhetto hitting a 51-yard field goal to end the half.

The kicking unit has struggled recently and finally had some light shown on them with that kick. ASU went into the half up 24-21 looking to write off previous second-half woes.

Second Half

As much as everyone was enjoying the offensive explosion in the first half, it was dialed back a little bit in the second half.

After kicking the field goal to end the half, ASU immediately got the ball back to start the second half. The Sun Devils looked to take an early stranglehold early in the third.

Once again, the theme of the night was getting the ball to as many different players as he could and it continued to work.

The first drive showed how many different playmakers ASU has despite their lack of success.

1. Badger caught a pass for a gain of 11
2. Troy Omeire caught a pass for a gain of 11 
3. Geo Sanders caught a pass for a gain of 23
4. Swinson caught one for a gain of 15

All of that led up to an Elijah Badger jet sweep touchdown from six yards out.

Not only did the Devils score, but they proceeded to take six minutes and 34 seconds off the clock. That is by far one of the longest drives the ASU offense has had all season.

Early in the second half, the Sun Devils took a 31-21 lead.

As fun as points are in football the defense has to show up at some point in the game and that is what happened for the remainder of the third quarter.

Arizona State’s defense stands their ground

On the next Cougars drive, BJ Green came up with a massive sack on third down to force a punt.

ASU would do the same on their next drive going three and out and a Skattebo pooch punt.

As it has so many times, the Skattebo pooch punt worked to perfection landing all the way on the Cougars 26-yard line.

The defensive battle would be short lived and fireworks would take over the rest of the night.

The offensive display returns

With the Cougars down by 10 they needed to get some offense going quickly or it would slip away from them. As mentioned, the Cougars never give up on a ballgame and tonight was no different. Ward took the Cougars’ offense down the field looking to cut it to a one-possession game.

He did just that, but not in the variety he was looking for.

On a third and two from the ASU 14, defensive coordinator Brian Ward dialed up a double safety blitz that shook Cam Ward. Before Cam Ward could even blink the Devils’ defense was in the backfield forcing an incomplete pass.

After a failed attempt on third down the Cougars had to kick a field goal. Dean Janikowski would nail a 31-yard field goal to cut it to 31-24.

With the Cougars cutting it to just a one-possession game the Sun Devil offense needed to find its legs… they found them and then some.

Arizona State’s offense puts in their best performance of the season

Dillingham cooked up some great plays for Bourguet to easily execute and march down the field. That march did not take long as tight end Jalin Conyers caught a 50-yard pass from Bourguet putting them in the red zone.

Not long after, Brooks punched in another touchdown. His third of the night.

The last time an ASU had a player with three rushing touchdowns in a game was Xazavian Valladay against Colorado last season.

The Devils took a two-touchdown lead with only half the fourth quarter remaining.

Once again, Washington State would not go down lightly, even if it seemed bleak. Ward led a great drive into ASU territory which was capped off by a 15-yard catch by Isaiah Hamilton.

On a third down and six from the ASU 13 the Devils’ defense was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty after a late hit against Ward. Dillingham and the fans were irate with the penalty call but it could not be taken back.

However, despite the favorable call, the Cougar drive would stall and they would be forced to kick yet another field goal.

As he has done so many times, BJ Green sacked Ward to force the Cougar offense off the field.

Both offenses disappeared for the remainder of the game despite coming close to scoring.

The defenses finally wake up

The Cougars had to go for it on a fourth and goal from the ASU three to attempt a comeback. The defense had other plans forcing an incomplete pass and subsequently icing the game.

After a run of nine from Skattebo all that was left was victory formation. Arizona State won 38-27.

Dillingham collects his first Pac-12 win as a head coach and improves to 2-6 on the season.

Looking ahead

As for the Cougars, they drop their fourth straight game for the first time since 2014.

ASU will travel to Salt Lake City next week to take on the Utah Utes, 11 a.m. local kick on the Pac-12 network.

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