Sun Devils’ offensive balance a potential trouble for Bulldogs at Las Vegas Bowl

Fresno State in Mountain West play scuttled some good rushing teams on first downs, which impacted second downs and then third downs and allowed the Bulldogs to get off the field at a good clip.

Third-and-medium or long, that was a tough go against a unit that ranked third in the conference and 23rd in the nation in third-down defense.

The Bulldogs played against three of the most productive backs in the conference on first down, and:

▪ Nico Evans averaged 7.0 yards rushing on first down, but Wyoming ran it 15 times on first downs for only 43 yards in a 27-3 loss to the Bulldogs, 2.9 yards per play.

▪ Toa Taua averaged 6.0 yards on his first-down runs, but Nevada rushed it 14 times for 38 yards in a 21-3 loss to Fresno State, 2.7 yards per play.

▪ Juwan Washington averaged 5.0 yards per play rushing on first down, but San Diego State had 13 runs for 29 yards in a 23-14 loss to the Bulldogs, 2.2 yards per play.

The Bulldogs were able to play run-first in those games, because Wyoming, Nevada (with a backup quarterback) and San Diego State didn’t present much threat throwing it.

But Fresno State could get into trouble taking the same approach in a Las Vegas Bowl matchup on Saturday against Arizona State and running back Eno Benjamin.

The Sun Devils and quarterback Manny Wilkins can throw it, and they have burned opponents that have committed to stopping the run on those early downs.

Benjamin, who is leading the Pac-12 in rushing (1,524 yards) and rushing touchdowns (15), has averaged 5.1 yards per rush on first down and the Sun Devils are at 4.5.

But when Michigan State cut down the run game on first down, giving up only 1.6 yards on 13 plays, the Sun Devils hit on 14 pass plays that went for 196 yards (14.0 ypp) and one touchdown.

When Stanford held that run game to 2.9 yards on nine first-down plays, Wilkins hit 13 passes that went for 181 yards (13.9 ypp).

When Utah yielded 3.9 yards on 22 plays, Arizona State hit nine passes that went for 144 yards (16.0 ypp) and one touchdown.

When San Diego State held them to 3.6 yards on nine first-down rushing plays, the Sun Devils hit 14 passes for 143 yards (10.2 ypp) and one touchdown.

And when Arizona allowed 3.8 yards on 17 first-down rushing plays, they hit eight passes for 143 yards (17.9 ypp) and one touchdown.

That balance could make the going more difficult for the Bulldogs, even with Arizona State playing without its top receiver in N’Keal Harry, who is skipping the Las Vegas Bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft.

Fresno State in its victory over San Diego State did get burned when it tried to take too much of a bite out of the run game, and Arizona State, like the Aztecs, is run-heavy on first downs.

Fred Trevillion, who had only 16 receptions in his first nine games, caught 75- and 70-yard touchdown passes, both on first downs, before the Bulldogs made an adjustment at halftime that came down to one simple deal.

“We, as the front seven, told the defensive backs that we would take care of the run game.” linebacker James Bailey said. “We told them to cover the deep ball. If the running back bounced, we knew they’d be there. That’s what we did during the second half.”

This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 3:03 PM.