This game was a lot closer than what folks who just scoreboard watch care to acknowledge. The first half was a bore on our end, the offense was stinking up the end zone and Barkley couldn't get into a groove due to the aggressive pass rush and our young Oline getting a bit exposed. The run was non existent. Despite early mistakes, ASU wasn't doing anything special to win the game. That Vontaze interception was money, but overall I don't think he had a good game, he was getting duped when the running game got going in the second half.
Offense: Terrible first half, especially in the red zone. Left too many points on the field. The execution just wasn't there. Barkley wasn't hitting his spots, and the running game just wasn't there. In my opinion, CLK didn't call enough plays to establish the run. Second half was a tale of two quarters. The third quarter the team came out on fire, and Barkley was delivering. Calling the right plays, audibling and throwing the ASU defense off. It was running on full cylinders. Marc Tyler was running through some huge holes. When we went up 22-21, Sun Devil Stadium got really quiet, you could almost hear the "Ah **$%" coming out of ASU fans. Then the wheels came off, ASU scored, followed by a Robert Woods return (Damn kicker
), more of the running game, and finally Tyler's fumble,
. Completely swung the momentum of the game. Even then, another offensive drive was put together, again land in the redzone, then another TO. Barkley holding on to the ball too long instead of throwing it away. Too many mistakes to overcome, espcially on the road. Literally gave the game away.
Defense: Our defense isn't good, but the blame is two-fold. Some of it has to be laid on the coaching. ASU came in with a game plan, which was quick passes and the run game. In order for the Tampa 2 to work, pressure on the QB needs to be applied, and with these spread offenses in CFB the Tampa 2 just isn't working. No adjustments, big cushions so the defense will always be exposed under. Also tackling,
. The swing pass was money since ASU always managed to juke the first defender. Frustrating to watch. The run couldn't be stopped. Second half came, and no adjustments, same **$%. I know Monte is an NFL legend, but I don't know if the Tampa 2 is suited for the college game.
Officiating: It was awful, definitely favored the home team. !%###%+% calls and !%###%+% non calls. Watching it in the stands, you can see Nick Perry getting held all the time, including a Marshall run where Perry was held by the shoulder pads. When I re-watched it, it only confirmed the blatant holding. Good to see they were on point with their personal foul calls
Overall: Officiating wasn't the reason we lost the game, it was still disgusting though. Turnovers, bad tackling, no defensive adjustments was the recipe for disaster. This was a competitive game that got ugly real fast. Very dissapointing.