Sun Devils offense goes silent in 2nd half, falls inches short to Stanford

The Arizona State Sun Devils offense went silent in the second half in Saturday afternoon’s 15-14 road loss to the Stanford Cardinal.

After ASU put up 14 points and 211 total yards on six drives in the first half, quarterback Emory Jones and Co. sputtered to just 144 total yards and no points in the final 30 minutes of the ballgame.

“Honestly, I think the playcalling was just a little different in the second half,” Arizona State WR Elijhah Badger told reporters postgame. “I have no clue, I just did my job.”

The Sun Devils came just inches away from a game-winning field goal attempt in the dying seconds, but Badger’s one-handed catch at the one-yard yard line on fourth down was recalled incomplete upon review.

Emory Jones should have led Elijhah Badger more inside. Allow your star WR to adjust to the ball without needing to use one-handed acrobatics. The clock stops on a first down, so no need to hug the sideline.

Huge missed opportunity to build a win streak for Arizona State. pic.twitter.com/mknL7dAMBF

— Cole Topham (@HamAnalysis) October 22, 2022

“I thought I was in fully,” Badger said. “I thought I really scored at the time the way my momentum was moving. But yeah, I thought I was in.

“At first I didn’t even know they were replaying it because that’s how much I thought I was in,” he added. “But at the end of the day, I wasn’t.”

ASU kicker Carter Brown also missed a 42-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter that was on target but fell short for just his second miss of the season.

Badger had a career day for the Sun Devils, pulling in six grabs for 118 yards and a score.

“They played a little different, they bracketed,” he said of Stanford’s second half adjustments. “I’m pretty sure they bracketed some plays when I went into slot and outside receiver, they’ll bracket the safety or whoever is inside the corner.”

Jones finished the ballgame with one touchdown and one interception to go along with 227 yards on 14 of 25 passing (56%).

Defensively, the Sun Devils didn’t allow a touchdown and garnered four sacks and one interception after coming into the ballgame with only three sacks on the season.

“I think our kids played until the last whistle like I asked them to,” interim head coach Shaun Aguano told reporters postgame. “We weren’t efficient enough on offense. Our defense did a great job keeping them out of the end zone. 15 points (allowed) should win football games.

“Am I disappointed? Yes, I’m very, very disappointed.”

UP NEXT

Arizona State travels to Boulder, Colorado, to take on the Buffaloes next Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

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