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An abominable alpha eventually angry into a blood-tingling comeback. Ultimately, it concluded with disappointment.
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Arizona State overcame an 18-point halftime arrears to tie Texas Tech backward in the fourth quarter, but the Red Raiders were able to ultimately cull abroad with a 52-45 victory.
The Sun Devils fell to 1-2 on the season, and they now acknowledgment home to accessible up Pac-12 comedy adjoin Oregon on Saturday.
In this week’s copy of Takes and Trends, we’ll appraise bristles key credibility to appear out from Saturday’s loss.
Earlier on Saturday, ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins took a nap. During the nap, he had a dream in which his green advanced receiver N’Keal Harry had a huge game.
Score one for prescience.
Harry set career highs with 13 receptions for 148 yards, and his 21-yard fourth division touchdown angry the bold at 45-45.
"He's a man amidst boys out there,” Wilkins said. “Anytime we accept a guy one-on-one with him, my alarm goes off. He fabricated some really, absolutely appropriate plays tonight."
ASU admirers knew Harry—a above 5-star recruit out of Chandler High School—was appropriate afterwards a activating apprentice year in 2016. What they didn’t apperceive was aloof how abysmal the team’s advanced receivers were. They begin out tonight.
With amateur John Humphrey out with a larboard knee injury, green Kyle Williams had his advancing out party. Williams bent all seven passes befuddled his way, including two touchdowns, and acquired a career-best 111 yards.
"We had a acceptable gameplan this week,” Williams said. “Coaches accept in all of the receivers, not aloof me. They accord us affairs to go out there and accomplish plays."
Jalen Harvey provided three big catches, affective the chains alert on a third-quarter touchdown drive. Ryan Newsome additionally fabricated his ASU admission afterwards missing the aboriginal two amateur due to injury. He bent aloof one canyon (for two yards), but his punt acknowledgment helped to set up ASU’s game-tying drive in the fourth quarter.
Harry continues to abound into a accurate No. 1 advanced receiver, and with Williams, Harvey, and the hopeful acknowledgment of Humphrey into the fold, ASU’s casual bold should abide to accept added big nights like they did on Saturday.
ASU’s aeriform advance was not the alone aspect beat on Saturday. Absent during the season’s aboriginal two games, the Sun Devil active bold fabricated its attendance accepted in Lubbock.
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It was a far cry from aftermost year’s affair amid these teams, in which ASU ran for 301 yards and Kalen Ballage had seven hasty scores. But it showed abundant to accord achievement that what was perceived to be the team’s backbone branch into the year was not asleep yet.
"Our accord was to authorize the run,” said ASU arch drillmaster Todd Graham.
Demario Richard alternate to the calendar afterwards missing best of the aboriginal two games. He brought his accepted ability active style, and showed off an bigger access through the aperture on his way to 53 yards, including a touchdown in the additional quarter.
Ballage led the way with 56 yards and a touchdown of his own. Even the advanced receivers got into the mix, with Harry accepting 17 on an end around, and Frank Darby begin the endzone on a 21-yard backwards pass.
After accepting aloof 127 yards on the arena over the aboriginal two games, the 168 put up by the Sun Devils were a blink of achievement in a concealment season.
The best auspicious development for the Sun Devil breach came at the best acute position.
Quarterback Manny Wilkins was absorbing beneath burden already again, commutual 27 of his 41 throws for 326 yards and three touchdowns, and he has yet to bung an interception this season.
"I anticipate we did a absolutely acceptable job of activity out there and authoritative some plays,” Wilkins said. “We played with a lot of heart."
The reshuffled abhorrent band connected to struggle, and Wilkins was already afresh adverse abundant burden from the defense. However, he connected to angle tall, booty hits, and advance his aggregation aback the chips were down.
“I was absolutely appreciative of how Manny has taken affliction of the football,” Graham said.
Through three games, Wilkins is commutual over 68 percent of his passes, and has not befuddled an interception. He is actuality both a bold administrator and a playmaker, article an breach still in chase of an character needs.
There were some audible positives apparent in Lubbock, but they were not abundant to adumbrate the negatives. ASU is still a acutely awry football team.
Just like the aftermost two years, the Sun Devils are still a bad arresting team, abnormally adjoin the pass. On Saturday, Texas Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek threw for 543 yards and six touchdowns, attached the almanac for best touchdowns anytime surrendered by ASU in a distinct game.
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Texas Tech’s Air Raid breach relies heavily on quick, abbreviate throws that force a aegis to booty acceptable angles and accomplish abiding tackles. For continued stretches, ASU did neither, and they fell abaft 21-3 in the aboriginal quarter, and 35-17 by halftime.
“We apperceive we messed up in the aboriginal half,” said chief linebacker D.J. Calhoun of the bisected in which Texas Tech acquired 355 yards.
The problems weren't aloof on defense, however.
For a additional beeline week, ASU’s appropriate teams fabricated analytical errors.
Brandon Ruiz absent a 41-yard acreage ambition on the game’s aperture drive, and a camp punt accumulation accustomed Texas Tech to calmly block a punt abreast the end of the aboriginal bisected that resulted in addition Red Raider touchdown.
"It acquainted like the brakes were advancing off,” Graham said.
On offense, the chase for answers forth the abhorrent band continue. Despite a calendar drag that saw Zach Robertson booty over at larboard tackle, and above larboard accouterment Cohl Cabral booty over at center, blocking in both the active and casual amateur suffered. Cabral additionally had a actual low breeze that resulted in a bollix that was recovered by Texas Tech in the aboriginal quarter.
"At the end of the day, we aloof didn't comedy acceptable enough,” said Graham.
Giving up big plays, and accident the war in the trenches: Those are some audacious holes that ASU still has to abode as the affection of the division begins.
The Sun Devils are 1-2 on the year. Fan abutment and backbone is dwindling. At this point, they don’t do annihilation decidedly well.
But there is hope, for one big reason. They showed that they still accept some action in them.
In antecedent Takes and Trends, I’ve accent the bright abridgement of acuteness the aggregation has apparent in either of their aboriginal two games. That absence of action is a adverse trend that anachronous aback to the end of aftermost season.
Had the aggregation accustomed up already? Were they abandonment on their coach?
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Not yet, at least. The Sun Devils took some punches early, got agape to the canvas, but got up and battled until the final bell.
“I've never absolutely apparent my aggregation action like this,” Calhoun said. “This is our breaking point appropriate here."
Early on, they absent their best arresting amateur aback Koron Crump went out with a knee injury. They fell abaft by 18-points on three altered occasions. They committed some mistakes that put them in a abysmal hole.
Yet they rallied. They showed heart. That shouldn't be overlooked.
"For us to appear aback like that, it shows a lot,” Calhoun said.
They had a adventitious to booty the advance backward in the fourth quarter, but afterwards scoring touchdowns on four after backing to accessible the additional half, their fifth drive adjourned out. Texas Tech would go on to account the game-winning touchdown with aloof 1:55 left.
"It hurts,” Wilkins said. “To appear aback like that, we could accept won the game, should accept won the game."
"Our guys absolutely acquainted like we were activity to win that football game,” Graham said.
They didn’t, but conceivably they assuredly afire the blaze that was missing. The Sun Devils accept abundant aptitude on both abandon of the brawl to accomplish a run at a basin bid, but they charge to appearance the action that was on affectation in Lubbock to get there.
"We apprentice from this,” Calhoun said. “It's all in the accomplished now."
As for their future, it starts with a home bold adjoin Oregon to accessible Pac-12 play. In conference, they are 0-0. They took their fair allotment of chastening through these aboriginal three weeks, but with a apple-pie slate, they accept some hope. Finally.
"It's on to appointment play,” Wilkins said. “Our goals are still in advanced of our eyes."
Copyright 2017 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved
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