Emptying the Notebook: Arizona State 68, Texas Tech 55

Zach Barnes was out for this game, who was apparently back in Lubbock with some sort of knee issue.
Also out was D’Vonta Hinton, who apparently dressed, but did not play, which is why we saw so much of Brayden Stringer and Luke Stice for this game. Sure could have used that fire hydrant of a linebacker last night I think.
I thought for sure that the recovery of the Arizona State onside kick would be a harbinger of how Arizona State thought that they wouldn’t be able to keep up, but ended up not to be accurate.
I wrote within the first quarter that defensive coordinator David Gibbs was daring Watkins to make a play, giving to him as much as he wanted and Watkins took advantage of it. It ended up being a decision that would seemingly haunt this defense for the entire game, but honestly, I don’t think the defense had any answers otherwise. Dual threat quarterbacks may be especially problematic for this team.
I did think that when the defensive backs did play press coverage, they looked better, but you realize how dependent the defensive backs are on the defensive line to create some pressure and bad throws. The other aspect to this is that SFA’s quarterback was pretty terrible and probably didn’t give this team an indications as to what they actually are. I still don’t know, there were times that D.J. Polite-Bray and Theirry Nguema played well, sticking with receivers and being step-for-step with them, but there were other times where they just looked overwhelmed. Again, the defensive line didn’t do them any favors.
I’m still pissed about the sequence of events with the Polite-Bray strip, fumble recovery and near touchdown had it not been for a Breiden Fehoko late hit on the quarterback.
Arizona State played a terrific game of keep-away in the second half, possessing the ball for a total of 18:52, while Texas Tech only had the ball for 11:08.
Arizona State was 9 of 16 on third downs, while Texas Tech was 6 of 13. It was uncharacteristic for Texas Tech to be below .500 last year, but I again go back to the importance of DeAndre Washington on those third downs last year.
I did think that both Jordyn Brooks and Malik Jenkins played well, as did Luke Stice. I hate that Brooks hurt his shoulder late in the game and I hope it’s not serious, but Brooks also had 2 TFL. And Luke Stice was making effort plays, it seems like linebacker isn’t natural to him, but it’s not for lack of effort, he’s giving it all.
The defensive line, despite ASU running the ball 53 times, weren’t big contributors, especially the interior. Breiden Fehoko only had 2 tackles, 1 being a TFL and Ondre Pipkins only recorded 1 tackle. I’m sure they were double teamed to an extent, but Kris, Williams, Kolin Hill, Gary Moore and Lonzell Gilmore didn’t light things up from the defensive end positions. Arizona State’s plan was not to hang onto the ball for Watkins, he got rid of the ball quickly.
There were 11 players that caught a pass yesterday, of which Cameron Batson and Jonathan Giles had 9 receptions each. This week, I’ll pay particularly close attention to the catch rate for these guys (it’s on Football Study Hall) and see who is catching what’s thrown to them and who isn’t. I have my suspicions but I’ll wait until later this week.
10 total rushing attempts by a running back. That’s a real number.
Texas Tech and Arizona State were both perfect, 6 for 6 for Arizona State and 5 for 5 for Texas Tech, in the red zone.
Texas Tech scored touchdowns on 8 of 15 possessions.
Texas Tech’s average field position was their own 20 yard line and Arizona State was their own 32. That’s sorta significant.