Arizona State defense takes a beating in loss at Washington State
The Arizona State defense has had its issues all season. That didn't change early but the Sun Devils redeemed themselves a bit in the second half of a 28-18 loss to Washington State Saturday afternoon in Pac-12 play at a frigid Martin Stadium.
The contest was not all that close as the Sun Devils (3-7, 2-5) trailed 28-0 and 28-6 going into the fourth quarter. Two touchdowns late in the game, one coming with seconds left, made the deficit respectable.
ASU, which gave up more than 500 yards in last week's loss to UCLA, surrendered 356 yards, 291 of that coming in the first half. Nakia Watson rushed for 114 yards and quarterback Cam Ward threw for another 219.
But ASU performed admirably in the second half, keeping the Cougars off the scoreboard and limiting them to 65 yards in the second half. The Sun Devils also had two fourth-down stops and three sacks which kept the game from getting completely out of hand.
Getting off the field on third down has also been an issue defensively and Washington State converted just 5 of 14 tries, with all five of those conversions coming in the first half.
With the win, Washington State (6-4, 3-4) became bowl eligible for the seventh time in eight years while the loss meant ASU could not get bowl eligible. The Sun Devils needed to win their last three games to do so.
Illness, injuries linger
The Sun Devils were affected by a flu bug that ran through the defense last week as they prepped for UCLA. DT Omarr Norman-Lott did not play and NT Nesta Jade Silvera was limited.
Those two returned but the bug lingered and today it was the secondary that was most affected as starting corner Ro Torrence, the team's best cover corner, and Isaiah Johnson, who was not a starter but whose role has grown, did not make the trip to Pullman.
Making matters worse, senior linebacker Kyle Soelle, who leads the Pac-12 in tackles and ranks fifth nationally, missed the game with an upper extremity injury while right guard LaDarius Henderson missed his fourth straight game with a broken bone in his hand that required surgery.
The game itself presented challenges in the injury department too. Center Ben Scott went down in the first half and did not return, leaving snapping duties to Ben Bray who has seen little playing time and weakening the team in a position where it had already lost two of its top six linemen.
Defensive end Anthonie Cooper left the game on two different occasions. Connor Soelle, getting more playing time with the loss of his brother, was knocked from the game momentarily, as were safety Khoury Bethley and wide receiver Giovanni Sanders. Sanders did not return.
Jones back at QB
Sometimes a change in quarterback can bring a new jolt of energy but other times it fails to make a difference. Emory Jones had moderate success after coming in for Trenton Bourguet, who departed with a leg injury.
Bourguet completed just 3 of 10 tries for 26 yards and had an interception that the Cougars converted into a touchdown that gave the home team a 21-0 lead, He went down hard after a blindside sack on ASU's first offensive series.
He remained in the game for four series but Jones was finally called upon with 7:43 left in the second quarter.
Jones, who started the first seven games, ended up 15-for-23 for 186 yards and two touchdowns, the scoring play coming on a 47-yard strike to Jalen Conyers in the third quarter.
The Sun Devils had another trip to the red zone in the fourth quarter, working the ball to the 7. On a fourth down play, Jones overthrew an open Elijhah Badger in the end zone.
Recap: ASU football loses Pac-12 Conference game against Washington State
Targeting call costs a player
The personnel situation was bad enough going into the game and getting worse as the game progressed.
Then the Sun Devils lost their long snapper John Ferlmann to, of all things, a targeting call in the first half. ASU was punting after a 4th-and-8 and Ferlmann made the tackle on the punt returner.
The play was reviewed and the targeting call was upheld, spelling the end of the day for the Phoenix Boulder Creek product. Sophomore Gage King took over for him and there were no snapping miscues the rest of the day.
It was only the second targeting call this season, the first coming against B.J. Green in the upset of Washington.
Up next
The Sun Devils will host their last home game when Oregon State comes in for a Homecoming game set to kick off at 12:15 p.m.
Last season the Sun Devils lost to the Beavers 24-10 in Corvallis.
Reach the reporter at Michelle.Gardner@gannett.com or 602 444-4783. Follow her on Twitter @MGardnerSports.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football falls to Washington State as defense crumbles
