Dillingham takes blame off Alford for ASU’s 4th-and-13 blitz call against Texas

Blame Arizona State’s Peach Bowl loss to Texas on a number of things: A non-call that could have been targeting, ASU’s terrible start or Sam Leavitt’s game-sealing interception.

Most would put it on the defensive play-call in the first overtime, with the Sun Devils leading 31-24 and Texas needing to convert a fourth-and-13.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham and defensive coordinator Brian Ward dialed up what looked like a Cover 0 blitz. It not only failed by giving the Longhorns a first down but ended in a 28-yard touchdown.

Dillingham took the blame for the call after the game, but he used a post on X Friday to take heat off safety Xavion Alford for his role in the play, which proceeded a quick second-overtime touchdown that allowed Texas to walk it off, 39-31.

“I want to reiterate my postgame comments about the 4th down call (that) I called. I wanted to bring essentially 0 blitz that plays out like (Cover 4) … our safety (Alford) is taught to catch intermediate routes bc the ball should come out fast,” Dillingham wrote.

“He did exactly what we coached. That play is 100% on me (and) not him, and I want to make that 100% clear. We would not have been in this position without ‘X’ … he was one of the instrumental pieces to this season and program!”

I want to reiterate my postgame comments about the 4th down call, I called. I wanted to bring essentially 0 blitz that plays out like cov 4, our safety @100YARDLANDLORD is taught to catch intermediate routes bc the ball should come out fast. He did exactly what we coached. That… https://t.co/aDXNWbI6qt

— Coach Dillingham (@KennyDillingham) January 3, 2025

Alford, a Texas transfer, appreciated that sentiment from his head coach.

LOVE THIS MAN TO DEATH. FOREVER RIDING WITH HIM. ALWAYS HAS MY BACK NO MATTER CIRCUMSTANCES. GIVE EVERYTHING I HAVE AND THEN SOME FOR HIM. I APPRECIATE YOU COACH. AND I CAN PROMISE YOU ONE THING.

WE WILL BE BACK. https://t.co/gv7MMUf7YC

— X̾a̾v̾i̾o̾n̾ ̾A̾l̾f̾o̾r̾d̾ (@100YARDLANDLORD) January 3, 2025

Did ASU call the wrong play on 4th-and-13 against Texas?

Alford had taken some criticism because of how he flew up to make a stop at the first-down line. But he was not the only Sun Devil in coverage against receiver Matthew Golden, nor the only Sun Devil put out of place by the play-call and the coaching.

The chess match appears to be lost by ASU with what Texas had set up.

After the game, Dillingham said the idea was to get into the look of an all-out blitz and drop a couple of players into coverage. The ASU coach said Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers reacted to the apparent blitzes late and checked into max protection with a true blitzer coming up the middle.

“… I didn’t have the ability to get out of it,” Dillingham said. “That’s on me. We left our guys iso’d into Cover 0 into a max-pro there. I got to go into that game with an ability to get out of that call.

“There’s a lot of things I got to do better to help our guys to win the football game. That’s one of the many things as I reflect, I’ve got to be better. Our guys played good enough to win. Our guys battled good enough to win. And this game’s 100% on me.”

Watching the play again, it looks like Arizona State went all-out at stopping a pass at the sticks or in front of it.

Matthew Golden used a ‘Dino’ Stem to beat Arizona State’s man coverage on the 4th & 13 play.

He takes a few steps like he has a Corner route before breaking back to the Post. Sold it perfectly. Quinn Ewers deserves praise for checking into max protection vs the 0 blitz, but… pic.twitter.com/KdAuh8QQfv

— Cole Topham (@crtopham_) January 2, 2025

That left Texas in a good spot for two reasons:

1. It allowed the Longhorns to pick up just one extra pass-rusher with a numbers advantage against the blitz that came up the middle. That gave Ewers the pocket to get off a clean pass.

2. Texas sent three receivers well down the field, leaving two Sun Devils operating between the line of scrimmage and first down marker, eating up space where no offensive players were. ASU still had a 4-on-3 advantage on the backend, but Golden’s route lost his defender, Shamari Simmons, and let him easily get behind Alford going the other direction.

Hence, Dillingham’s post to absolve Alford of doing the wrong thing.

ASU didn’t sell out on a blitz. It sold out on predicting a pass at the sticks at risk of letting things get over the top. They did, and that was just about ballgame.

Follow @kzimmermanaz