The Arizona State Sun Devils were embarrassed at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday 29-0 by Fresno State in their final non-conference game of the year.
Backup midfielder Trenton Burgett, who started in place of the injured Jaden Rashada, went down with an apparent injury to his left leg in the second drive of the game and did not return.
Drew Payne, who has been dealing with an injury of his own, was pushed down to center and was under pressure on almost every snap. He also appeared to be dealing with a previous hamstring injury that kept him out of the first two weeks of the season.
Fourth-string quarterback Jacob Conover eventually relieved Payne to take over a game that was looking out of reach by halftime.
It was the first shutout dealt at the Sun Devils’ home stretch since November 12, 1988, a 50-0 loss to USC.
ASU mustered just 230 yards of total offense and had no run or passing game through the four quarters. The team also turned the ball over an astonishing eight times.
Seventh turnover from Arizona pic.twitter.com/4AOetM9vve
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) September 17, 2023
Local high school product Mickey Keene was brilliant at Fresno State, throwing for 281 yards on 32-of-49 passing and two touchdowns.
The win over ASU extended the Bulldogs’ winning streak to 12 games, the second longest in the country behind the Georgia Bulldogs’ 20 games.
Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, the road doesn’t get any easier as Caleb Williams, the potential No. 1 overall pick, and the USC Trojans visit Tempe on Saturday.
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