ASU established the run game but Washington took halftime lead

ASU football wanted to establish the run early against Washington.

“We want to run the football,” offensive coordinator Rob Likens said Tuesday. “That’s what we do. I don’t want to be a guy that throws the football 50, 60 times a game.”

They did that, giving Eno Benjamin the ball on the first eight carries of the game — including the entire first drive — as ASU ran 11 times on the first 12 plays.

Benjamin scored a touchdown to give the Sun Devils a 7-0 lead and finished the first half with 78 yards on 18 carries.

“I think the that thing we really did well this week – we ran the ball more consistently,” Edwards said. “I think that’ll help us with these last eight games that we have to play.”

But while ASU was getting moderate gains rushing the ball, Washington averaged 10 yards per play in the first quarter. After the Huskies attempted a trick play to start the game that ended in a Chase Lucas interception, quarterback Jake Browning stopped fooling around.

He went 6-for-7 with 110 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone as Washington accumulated 150 yards on just 15 plays during that frame.

Washington only faced one third down in the first quarter and just four in the entire half.

ASU couldn’t infiltrate the backfield. Not only did they not have a sack, the Sun Devils didn’t get a single quarterback hit in the half. The only time they touched Browning was when Malik Lawal grabbed a hold of him as he saw space and attempted to run the ball.

The Sun Devils’ first tackle for loss came with 5:38 left in the half, a crucial play that helped force Washington into a field goal that kept the game at one possession.

That seven-yard tackle for loss seemed to be the first time ASU stopped the run game.

Running back Salvon Ahmed had consecutive carries of eight, 14 and 11 yards early in that drive, and Myles Gaskin added 8- and 10-yard carries.

At the end of the half, Washington averaged 5.4 yards per carry on 20 attempts.

With all that said, ASU held Washington to just three points in the second quarter.

While the Sun Devils didn’t score in that frame, they put up 10 points in the first half; a feat, considering they only scored 13 in the win last year.

Plus, ASU went 5-for-10 on third downs. The team was just 3-for-11 last week against San Diego State.

But quarterback Manny Wilkins was unable to inflict damage in the passing game. He didn’t complete a pass further than 10 yards, finishing the half 6-for-11 with 32 yards.

Wide receivers N’Keal Harry and Kyle Williams each had a pair of receptions and combined for 19 yards.

Offensive lineman Casey Tucker got injured and limped off the field in the second quarter. It was unclear at halftime if he would return.

ASU trailed Washington 17-10 at the half.

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