ASU Football: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly vs. USC

What a fun night in Tempe.

Sun Devil families traveled from near and far to visit their sons and daughters at Arizona State University and saw a beautiful campus, ate some good food, participated in some fun activities and had a great weekend. And a football game was played.

Now I may sound negative about a win against USC. Now some of you may ask “But Henry, you said that if the Devils could beat the Trojans they’d be a shoe in for the Pac-12 Championship!”

Yes, I know. I said that the Trojans were the roadblock that was keeping the Devils from appearing in the Pac-12 championship game. What I didn’t account for was them going from an above average team to a program without an identity in a span of a few months.

So yea. ASU won, but there isn’t much to be thrilled about. Let’s get into the good, bad, and ugly.

The Good - Rally Fox and Rachaad White

Rally Fox has always been here, he was just waiting for the right moment to make his debut. He knew there would be a sold out crowd, and he proved that he was more elusive and better at evading defenders (or security guards) than any player who was donned up in maroon and gold on Saturday.

Herm Edwards and his staff should look into recruiting Mr. Fox, their offense could use a spark.

But wait! They got a spark back. Rachaad White returned from injury, racked up 202 rushing yards on 28 carries, scored three touchdowns, and added another 35 yards through the air. White is the one guy on this Sun Devil team who can strike fear into the hearts of opposing defensive coordinators, and showed just how important he is to this team.

He’s the best player on this team. By far.

The Bad-ASU’s Football team (Not Rachaad White)

145 receiving yards. Who had that much?

Oh did Ricky Pearsall play well? Did LV Bunkley-Shelton have a breakout game? What about Bryan Thompson?

No to all of the above. ASU combined for 145 receiving yards. My broken record-esque ranting continues. These receivers are incapable of getting open and catching the football. These past two years nobody has gotten better, no receiver has separated himself as a difference maker, and this team can not move the ball unless God (whoops I meant Rachaad White) is playing.

The Ugly-ASU athletics

But there was a sold out crowd? Fans were excited? The Devils won! Who cares.

ASU doesn’t sell out games unless it is A. Family weekend or B. The Territorial Cup. Driving around Tempe on Saturday was the first time I had seen fans excited and eager to tailgate and have fun before the games. It was exciting!

The truth is, fans here don’t have any reason to care. There’s no pride or ASU tradition now that fans feel obligated to carry on. This team hasn’t been in the top-15 since 1996 (Herm will be the first to tell you) and they have shown nothing except that they are content with meddling and miring in mediocrity.

So you beat a 4-5 team with an interim head coach and two below average quarterbacks. Who cares. See you next week.