Fork Report: Following two big wins, ASU blown out at home by No. 21 USC

TEMPE, Ariz. — The funny thing about expectations is that they can change, sometimes several times in the midst of a season. Case in point: the 2017 Arizona State Sun Devils.

Prior to the season, ASU had no expectations, except to be bad. Then, after back-to-back wins over Washington and Utah, expectations heightened. And now, expectations may have come full circle.

With an opportunity to move into first place in the Pac-12 South, the Sun Devils laid an egg. On Homecoming, it should be noted.

Outplayed from the start, ASU lost a 48-17 decision to the No. 21 USC Trojans in front of a sold-out crowd at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday night.

Sam Darnold passed for three touchdowns, Ronald Jones rushed for two touchdowns and Tyler Vaughns had two receiving touchdowns.

All that offensive talent propelled the Trojans to their third straight win over the Sun Devils.

USC (7-2, 5-1) scored on its first possession and four more times in the first half to jump out to a 31-3 lead.

Meanwhile, ASU (4-4, 3-2) was limited to a pair of Manny Wilkins touchdowns — one passing and one rushing — in its 14 total possessions.

It was a mismatch on the field and in the final stats as well.

USC outgained ASU 607-357 with a 341-79 rushing edge. Jones accounted for 216 of those yards on the ground as he averaged 12 yards a carry. Darnold was 19-of-35 for 266 yards, throwing two of his three touchdowns to Vaughns, who finished with a season-best 126 receiving yards.

The Sun Devils offense never was able to get into a rhythm; only 15 first downs, 1-of-12 on third down and six 3-and-outs. Wilkins (17-of-29 for 259 yards) was sacked six times.

THE GOOD

When in need of a play on offense just find No. 1, N’Keal Harry. In the first quarter, it was 2nd-and-10 at the ASU 2, and Wilkins dropped back to pass from his own end zone. He rolled right and threw the ball upfield. Harry out-jumped the defender and ran to the USC 28 for what was a season-long 70-yard pass play.

Three times the Sun Devils defense sacked Darnold in the first half. Christian Sam got him twice, while D.J. Calhoun dropped him once; the latter coming on the first play of the game for a 10-yard loss. In addition to the two sacks, Sam had a game-high 12 tackles, including seven solo, and a forced fumble in the first half.

Sandwiched around halftime, the Sun Devils scored 14 straight points to make it a ballgame, at least momentarily. Kyle Williams caught a 47-yard Hail Mary touchdown to end the first half, while Wilkins had a one-yard touchdown run to begin the second half; the latter pulled ASU to within, 31-17 at the 11:30 mark.

THE BAD

For the first time since Stanford, and for only the second time all season, the opponent scored on its opening possession. Darnold marched the Trojans down the field, completing a 32-yard pass to Deonta Burnett for a touchdown and 7-0 lead at the 11:27 mark of the first quarter. The 32-yard pass play was the longest allowed by the Sun Devils in two games. Darnold, by the way, was 5-of-6 for 78 yards on the drive.

Three possessions later, a 42-yard pass play (for touchdown, of course) became the longest allowed by the Sun Devils in two games. Darnold’s second touchdown, which put USC in front 14-3 at the 2:35 mark of the first quarter, was aided by a pair of 15-yard personal foul penalties on Tashon Smallwood. He was flagged for a late hit on the quarterback and then on the very next play for illegal use of hands to the face.

An issue earlier in the season for the Sun Devils defense resurfaced in the first half: Allowing the big play. USC recorded five plays of 30-plus yards. The longest was a 67-yard touchdown run by Jones, who at halftime had 120 yards on 14 carries. That’s an 8.6 yard per carry average. Also, Darnold through two quarters was 14-of-25 for 217 yards. ASU had held its last three straight opponents to under 200 yards passing.

STAT OF THE GAME, part 1

131: In losing a third straight to USC, the Sun Devils have been outscored by a combined 131-51

STAT OF THE GAME, part 2

5: Of the Sun Devils’ 10 penalties, five were personal foul penalties, including three on Smallwood; ASU entered the game as the least penalized team in the Pac-12

HE SAID IT, part 1

“We got to start doing something offensively,” head coach Todd Graham told Derek Hagan on the Sun Devil Radio Network at halftime, prior to the Hail Mary play was ruled a touchdown. “We just played a very poor first half. Getting stupid penalties.”

HE SAID IT, part 2

“We played very, very poorly. They whipped our butt. We just didn’t show up and play,” Graham said postgame.

NOTED

Harry started his 20th consecutive game, and he has at least one reception in every one of those games.

Dasmond Tautalatasi was ejected (targeting call) from the game at the 6:02 mark of the second quarter.

Kalen Ballage played sparingly; he didn’t see his first offensive snap until the first play of the third quarter.

One-time Sun Devil players Mike Bercovici, D.J.Foster and Jaelen Strong were spotted on the sidelines.

Scouts from nine NFL teams, including the Cardinals, plus the IFL’s Arizona Rattlers were in attendance.

UP NEXT

Another home game.

For the first time since Weeks 1 and 2, ASU will play a second straight game at Sun Devil Stadium when Colorado visits Tempe on Saturday, Nov. 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning two hours earlier on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

Colorado (2-4, 5-4) won last season’s meeting, 40-16, on the way to capturing the Pac-12 South Division title. It marked the Buffalo’s first-ever victory in the series, which dates back to 2006.

Overall, ASU leads 7-1, including 4-0 at home, where they have scored 48-plus points in three of those four meetings.

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