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Cal 24 |
ASU 23 |
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By Joe Mantone
State Press
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The Associated Press ASU's Todd Heap (80) bows his head as Cal players celebrate in the background Saturday in Berkeley, Calif., after Cal won 24-23. |
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The Sun Devils would probably like to change one play.
But what play in Saturday's 24-23 loss at Cal in front of 44,500 people would ASU change?
Would it be Nick Murphy's five-yard punt? Would it be the missed extra point? Would it be the 31-yard pass play the defense gave up on third-and-30? How about the fumble inside the five-yard line on a rare option play? Or maybe ASU's hurried missed 44-yard field goal at the end of the first half?
"That one's on me," ASU head coach Bruce Snyder said.
There was some confusion after junior quarterback Ryan Kealy hit senior tight end Kendrick Bates for a first down with five seconds left in the second quarter, Snyder said.
"Ryan went to the center," Snyder said, "and then he saw Baker was in there."
Kealy probably went to the center because Snyder told him to stop the clock.
"The prudent thing to do would have been to spike it," Snyder said. "And that's what I was signaling."
Apparently, Snyder stopped signaling and called for the "scramble field goal."
"We had practiced it forever," Snyder said. "I actually think we got out there and got set up pretty well."
Baker's kick sailed wide right. Later in the game he missed a 53-yarder, and he had an extra point blocked. And those weren't ASU's only failed scoring opportunities.
On third and goal from the 3-yard line in the third quarter, Davaren Hightower took the hand off from Kealy. Hightower then pitched it to J.R. Redmond, who could not hold on to the ball. Cal then recovered.
Since Hightower is a tailback, he's probably not used to pitching the ball, which could have been the reason for the turnover. But offensive coordinator Dan Cozzetto defended the play call.
"We worked on that in practice," he said. "We've done that in the past with athletes."
That was ASU's second drive of the third quarter. During the first 10 plays of that drive and the Sun Devils' first series, Redmond did not play because of an injury to his shoulder. Redmond appeared to be okay, but he did miss part of the series after ASU squandered a nine-point lead and fell behind 24-23 in the fourth quarter.
Redmond left the playing field with about seven minutes left and got his ankle taped. He came back in for ASU's next drive, and he finished the game.
However, the same cannot be said for Kealy.
Kealy went to the sidelines after the third quarter with bruised ribs. On his last play, the Sun Devils were faced with a third and goal from the Cal 10.
ASU called a pass, and junior Tariq McDonald ran a slant. He had the cornerback, senior Delthea O'Neal, behind him, but Kealy's throw was also behind him. McDonald reached back and deflected the ball, but it fell to the ground.
That was the second time Kealy missed McDonald in the end zone.
From the Bears' 33, Kealy lofted a pass to McDonald down the middle of the field. The receiver dived in the end zone, but could not catch up with the ball.
"We missed some throws," Cozzetto said. "We just didn't score enough points for the amount of yards we had."
The Sun Devils finished the game with 475 yards of total offense, but 418 came before sophomore John Leonard took over for Kealy.
"It would have been interesting if Ryan had been in there at the end," Snyder said.
It would have been interesting because with 1:27 left in the fourth quarter Bears freshman tailback Joe Igbar fumbled and ASU's Eric Fields recovered the ball at the Sun Devil 45.
"We needed a big play," junior Adam Archuleta said, "and we got it."
On the first play the ASU offense ran after the turnover, the Sun Devils were flagged for holding. That play "really set us back," Cozzetto said.
"It always seems like we get penalties in key situations," Snyder said.
Two plays later, Leonard threw the ball downfield and was picked off.
But Snyder said that the biggest difference in the game was special teams. O'Neal racked up 144 return yards versus the Sun Devils. Although he is one of the most dangerous return men in the Pac-10, the Sun Devils had shut him down in past years. In his other three games against ASU, O'Neal had a total of 122 yards. Against every other Pac-10 team, he accumulated at least 115 yards in one game.
"Their special teams outperformed ours," Snyder said.
Probably the low point for ASU's special teams came when Murphy shanked a five-yard punt. Cal downed it on the Sun Devil 14 and scored a touchdown four plays later. After that punt, Baker took over the punting responsibilities.
Cal's punter, Nick Harris, had a better day. He did a good job of not letting Redmond return punts. Harris would kick bouncers towards the sidelines, forcing Redmond to field grounders. This strategy apparently worked because Redmond finished the game with three returns for 15 yards, with longest being a six-yard run.
It appeared that Redmond would have another chance for a punt return when the Cal offense faced a third-and-30 situation in the second quarter trailing 14-7. However, true freshman Kyle Boller hit Michael Ainsworth on the sideline. Ainsworth, who was being covered by senior Courtney Jackson, picked up 31 yards and the first down.
"That was ridiculous," defensive coordinator Phil Snow said.
The play was a confidence builder, said the rookie quarterback who made his first-ever college start.
Two plays later, Cal sent Marcus Fields in motion and no one on the defense moved with him. Just 16 yards separated him from the end zone. Boller lobbed him a pass, and Fields caught it and crossed the goal line just before Craig Koontz could make the stop.
"I was covering for an assignment error," Koontz said.
The man he was covering for was Eric Fields, Snow said.
"The linebacker is supposed to go out with him," he added. "That play shouldn't have happened."
Three dot data
ASU outgained Cal in total yardage 475-263... Richard Williams' 48-yard touchdown reception was the longest of his career. He finished the game with four catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns ... Archuleta tied a career-high with 13 total tackles. He also had 13 versus BYU last year. . . Terrelle Smith's only catch in the game went for 31 yards, which is the longest of his career ... Cal's only field goal in the game was its first successful attempt of the season. Before that Cal was 0 for 5 on the year, and four of the misses hit the upright ... The Sun Devils' top two right guards, Thomas Schmidt and Marquise Muldrow, did not make the trip because injuries. Scott Peters moved from center to guard and Kenneth Williamson started at center ... Junior Delvon Flowers finished the game with eight carries for 51 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown run ... New Mexico State lost to UTEP Saturday 54-23. Last week the Aggies beat ASU 35-7.
