After giving up 465 yards in last week’s game the weakness in the Sun Devil defense was becoming painfully apparent. This past weekend Eastern Michigan Senior RB Samson Evans, who rushed a total of 83 times last year for a grand total of 316 yards and had never rushed for 100 yards in a game his entire life, carried the rock 36 times for 258 yards and a TD. Scoring on four of their first five possessions, the Eagles jumped out to a 10-0 lead at the end of the 1st Qtr and were ahead by 24-14 at the half with the Sun Devils finally getting untracked in the 2nd Qtr where they matched the Eagles with two TD’s a piece.
After the break the Sun Devils could get nothing going, coming up empty in the 3rd Qtr with Xazavian Valladay finally breaking open for a 44 Yd run to the house in the 4th. But with Eastern Michigan picking up two field goals in the second half it just wasn’t enough as Arizona State lost their second game in a row, 30-21. The Eagles were ahead in almost every category by the end of the game including 1st Downs, 25-18; Total Yards, 458-352, and Rushing, 305-170, along with a better than 70% 3rd down efficiency and a nine minute difference in time-of-possession.
Arizona State, unlike their instate rival, are headed in the wrong direction—now sitting at 1-2 and staring 1-3 right in the face as they’ll host No. 13 Utah this coming weekend in Sun Devil Stadium.