Pac-12 South Still Very Much in Reach for Arizona State
It's difficult for any team to regroup after their first loss of the season, especially in the fashion the Arizona State Sun Devils lost on Saturday night.
It wasn't a pretty night for anybody involved with the Sun Devils. Sixteen penalties on the team reflects extremely poorly on the coaching staff. Arizona State turned the ball over four times, and the Sun Devils defense failed to generate consistent pressure on BYU quarterback Jaren Hall, leaving big plays on the back end of the defense to be exploited.
It was a night in Provo that many, at least wearing maroon and gold, will look to forget.
Following the loss, ASU received sharp criticism for its performance against BYU, and rightfully so. This was a game the Sun Devils (in theory) were set up to win, and a double-digit loss regardless of location and rank of opposition simply isn't acceptable.
As they should, Arizona State will have to do a lot of reflecting as a program in order to learn from their mistakes and move forward properly.
However, it's far too early for Sun Devils fans to give up on the 2021 season.
Is a loss ideal? Absolutely not, and with a team many feel will be the most talented to come through Tempe in quite awhile, there's a sense of urgency to make something special of this season.
The good news? They still can. The goal for Arizona State after this past weekend has not changed: Reach the Pac-12 title game in Las Vegas later this year. One loss doesn't change that.
It also helps when fellow South division teams such as USC, Utah and UCLA all drop the ball within the last couple weeks. Arizona State (2-1) is still in a three-way tie with USC and UCLA for the South division lead despite dropping their most recent game against BYU.
The better news? Arizona State will have opportunities to play both programs, with a road trip to UCLA coming in two weeks. The Sun Devils, regardless of the outcome in Provo, would have needed to win those games to reach the conference championship game.
There's no beating around the bush: Arizona State needs to be better in all phases. However, the expected returns of players like running back Chip Trayanum and return man D.J. Taylor should help strengthen areas of weakness the Sun Devils saw in their most recent loss.
The pieces for Arizona State's puzzle are still there, and it's unlikely (we really hope) that the Sun Devils can exeed their 16-penalty performance on top of another four turnovers.
So don't give up hope quite yet, Sun Devils fans. There's too much football left to be played for ASU to lose sight of its goal of playing meaningful games into December.