The good, the bad & the ugly in Arizona State's ugly loss to Baylor

In a 55-19 blowout loss to Baylor, there are few positive takeaways, considering that Arizona State was favored to win the game, but there were some.

The Good

Sixth-year kicker Carson Smith made all of his kicks, going four-for-four on field goals, with a long of 46.

Arizona State had one penalty all game, a pass interference call on junior cornerback Rodney Bimmage Jr. Penalties have plagued the Sun Devils this season.

The Bad

The Sun Devils pass defense struggled, allowing 320 yards. The most they allowed since last year’s Sun Bowl, when they allowed 327 against Duke. The most they allowed this season was 235 against Kansas.

The rush offense spurted only 99 yards on 30 carries. This is the fewest they had since last year against Houston, where they managed 98 yards on 21 carries. The fewest they had this season was 115 at Texas A&M.

They averaged 3.3 yards per carry. Sixth-year Marquis Gillis and junior Jason Brown Jr. struggled, with Gillis going 22 yards on six carries and Brown Jr. with four yards on four carries. Freshman Cardae Mack played well, with five carries for 34 yards.

Punting struggled as a whole. Senior Nick McClarty averaged 40.3 yards per punt, with one of his three punts being returned for 13 yards. Arizona State’s yards per punt has improved by just over 2.5 yards per punt this season.

Arizona State struggled to finish drives when around Baylor’s 20-yard line. Seven drives finished inside the Bears’ 30-yard line, with only one as a touchdown. An Omarion Miller fumble hurt the Sun Devils on their third drive, which was a microcosm of the game.

The Ugly

Arizona State’s rush defense was abysmal as it allowed 244 yards on 36 attempts. The most the Sun Devils allowed this season was 179 on 41 plays against Kansas. This is the most since they allowed 276 on 42 attempts last year against Utah.

The Sun Devils struggled on third-down defense. They allowed nine first downs on 15 attempts. Three were touchdowns for Baylor. The Sun Devils often had the Bears in good spots on third downs at 7.3 yards to go. They allowed seven conversions of seven or more yards.

The defense got mowed down by Baylor’s offense. Baylor’s average time of possession on its drives was only 2:12. Big plays allowed Baylor to move the ball quickly. The Bears had 11 plays of 15 yards or more and six of 25 yards or more.