Sun Devils Defense Fails Down Stretch
For 15 minutes it seemed like the Arizona State defense would prevail, forging a defensive wall to stop the Wisconsin Badgers offense. Rallying the offense to answer the call and ultimately win the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. An exciting comeback to end the season for the Sun Devils.
Unfortunately, like many Las Vegas visitors, winning is often unlikely. The same is said for ASU which fell 20-13 to Wisconsin.
The victory for the red and white clad Badgers was no doubt done on the back of running back Braelon Allen. The 17-year-old freshman sliced through the Sun Devils defense in the first half, rushing for 101 yards. On his first carry, moved through the ASU defense for 11 yards before topping that with a 43-yard dash.
Trailing 20-6 at the half, the Arizona State defense had to step up and give the offense a chance. For the most part they accomplished that. In the third quarter, the Badgers had no yards.
Wisconsin ran only 10 plays in the quarter. Sun Devils defensive linemen B.J. Green II disrupted Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz with two sacks for a total loss of 22 yards.
The dominant Badger running back who slashed through the Sun Devil defensive line in the first half, stalled out in the third quarter, earning only 13 yards. In the second half ,Allen was held to 3.5 yards per carry compared to 8.4 in the first half.
“I feel like all year defensively we were a good adjustment team at halftime,” linebacker Kyle Soelle said. “We came out and knew what they wanted to do and we did what we were supposed to do in that second half but unfortunately came up short in that first half and I think that affected us in the long term."
Despite the defensive effort it wasn’t enough. In the fourth quarter, ASU defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce's defense allowed Wisconsin to eat up the final 9:57 of the clock on an 18-play, 90-yard drive.
“I told them you ran out of time,” head coach Herm Edwards said. “I said our season ... when you look back at it, we had some bad quarters and some games and we had a bad first half and second half not so bad.”
As much as the third quarter was a valiant effort, it was all just a little too late. The production from Allen in the first half was enough to help seal the loss for ASU. Wisconsin scored once in the second half.
“I’m proud of them, I told them what you guys have gone through this season. I said I wouldn't take any other team but you guys to be quite honest,” Edwards said.
The loss does not fall solely on the Sun Devils defense. The offense was stifled throughout the game and had to settle for field goals or punts. Quarterback Jayden Daniels spent most of the night scrambling and making impressive passes but ultimately the offense was unable to take advantage of the opportunities handed to them in the second half.
In the first half, the Badgers had two 10-play drives that ate up a significant amount of time. Wisconsin won the possession battle, holding the ball for 32:01 compared to 27:59 for Arizona State.
Arizona State defensive back Timarcus Davis had a stellar night, leading the team with nine total tackles along with an interception that led to an ASU score.
The Sun Devils fall to 15-17-1 in their bowl-game history. Under Edwards, the maroon and gold have won one of their three bowl appearances.
“You can go every game and say a couple bad halves and a couple bad quarters whatever it may be and that's why we sit with the record we have. If we clean those things up, we have a chance,” Edwards said.
The Sun Devils completed their regular season as one of the top defenses in the Pac-12, allowing 329 yards per game which was second best in the conference. Wisconsin entered the bowl game as the second best rushing offense in the Big Ten with an average of 215 yards per game.
The Sun Devils end their season with an 8-5 overall record and 6-3 in the conference.
