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After an embarrassing loss at USC last week, Arizona State will look to get back on track versus UCLA in a crucial Pac-12 South game.
The Sun Devils are regrouping after a 41-20 loss at USC last week in which the defense struggled. USC quarterback Sam Darnold threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns and running back Justin Davis ran for 123 yards and a touchdown. In total, USC out-gained Arizona State 523-303 and the Trojans held the Sun Devils to a season-low 75 rushing yards.
Arizona State got off to a good start, getting a field goal on their opening possession and only trailed 7-6 after the first quarter. The second quarter is when the game turned, as USC outscored ASU 20-0 and quarterback Manny Wilkins left the game with an injury. Brady White went on to finish the game and in a limited sample, finished with 80 passing yards and a touchdown.
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White will look to lead the Sun Devils offense with Wilkins out. They battled all summer for the starting quarterback position, in which head coach Todd Graham said was a close competition. White will look to get the Sun Devils receivers more involved in the offense, as the offense finished with only 19 receptions with Tim White leading the team in receptions and yards with seven catches and 84 yards.
A problem with the Sun Devils offense is the running of plays that go east-to-west opposed north-to-south. There were a lot of screen passes along the sidelines, and ASU couldn’t get any meaningful gains on those plays. Expect Graham to be a bit conservative with Brady White considering this will be his first career start, but as the game progresses, expect the Sun Devils to throw the ball deep.
While the offense struggled to get going vs USC, the defense was just as poor. Darnold had a field day against the Sun Devils’ secondary as the cornerbacks were getting beat constantly. This was the defense’s worst game as they struggled to make any tackles and couldn’t put any pressure on Darnold. It allowed Darnold to sit comfortably in the pocket and go through his reads.
A key in this game will be for the defensive line to get pressure on UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen. Rosen had his best game of the season last week vs Arizona, finishing with 350 passing yards and four total touchdowns, leading the Bruins to a 45-24 win.
Arizona State upset No. 7 UCLA last year 38-23 thanks to the defense’s strong performance. They held the Bruins to 62 rushing yards and forced a Rosen interception. The defense will hope to duplicate last year’s success by putting pressure on Rosen and making the Bruins one-dimensional on offense.
Prediction:
UCLA 38, Arizona State 27. While the Bruins offense is not as potent as last year’s team, Arizona State will struggle to score points because of Brady White’s inexperience. The Sun Devils will heavily rely on running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage so they don’t put White in position to make bad throws or mistakes. UCLA will have success versus ASU’s secondary, leading to more game-changing plays.
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