Sun Devils blown out by Bears in return to Mountain America Stadium
Coming off the bye week, it was no secret that the Sun Devils would be in for a challenge against a much improved Baylor defense. Turns out, it was the Bears offense that was firing on all cylinders, leaving no doubt in a 55-19 thumping.
One of the few bright spots in the game came on the connection late in the second half between Cutter Boley and Omarion Miller, a 30 yard touchdown pass just inside the two minute timeout. After having his impact minimized in the last two games, Miller found his stride and broke out for an 85 yard performance, second only to Reed Harris' 125 yards for his third 100-yard receiving game of the season.
Boley's passing totals were respectable, posting his second 300-yard game of the season. What did the Sun Devils in on offense was inefficient play on the Baylor side of the field. Not many games will be won when a team only has three red zone attempts. Settling for field goals from Carson Smith on two of those attempts only compounds the issue, while a turnover on downs late in the third can be chalked up to desperation. A further two field goals on stalled drives outside the red zone represent missed opportunities to sustain drives opposite the fast-paced offense of the Bears.
Defensively, this is a game that Brian Ward would rather forget as soon as possible. Baylor's offensive line broke the Devils' defensive front time and time again, paving the way for 244 yards of rushing offense for the Bears and highlighted by touchdown runs of 63 yards and 75 yards from Ryelan Morris and Caden Knighten respectively.
Where Arizona State failed in the red zone, Baylor capitalized, converting 7 of their 8 attempts for points. Additionally, Baylor not only won the turnover battle by a 2-0 margin, but turned both of those turnovers into touchdowns.
All of this can be summed up by saying this loss represents a tie for the worst home margin of defeat in the Kenny Dillingham era. Both prior 36 point losses came in the maligned 2023 season; a 49-13 loss to Oregon on November 18th and a 59-23 loss a week later in the Territorial Cup.
It's safe to say that there will be a lot of soul searching in the next week. Arizona State will stay at home and welcome in Hawaii in the final non-conference game of the season on October 10th.
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