(Boulder, CO) As a new era began with former Marana Tiger Trenton Bourguet being named the starting quarterback this week, Arizona State took their show on the road to Boulder and Colorado University.
This season started out with a lot of new players for the Devils, including Emory Jones who came to Tempe via the Transfer Portal from Florida.
Former coach Herm Edwards who said there’d be an open competition for the starting quarterback job, scrapped that idea and anointed Jones not only the starter but also a team captain before he even took a snap at ASU.
The university initially bought into the hype of getting a quarterback from a traditionally strong Gator program. Come to find out, Jones wasn’t slated to start for UF or even be a backup this season, hence his decision to hit the Portal and take his chances.
Jones and company beat NAU in the opener 40-3. However, that would be the only victory the Sun Devils would get with Jones as the signal caller.
ASU went on a four game losing streak and Herm Edwards was let go after the second loss to hapless Eastern Michigan.
When Assistant Coach Shaun Aguano was named interim head coach, he stayed with Jones as the losing streak continued.
During the Washington game in Tempe, Jones took a shot to the head and was taken out for concussion safety.
Enter Redshirt Junior Trenton Bourguet, a walk-on who has paid his dues and rose from scout team quarterback to earn a scholarship. He thought he’d be “the man” when Jayden Daniels bolted to LSU after Arizona State was placed under NCAA investigation.
Bourguet came in and shocked the two touchdown favored Huskies 45-38 with a stellar performance earning him the Allstate Sugar Bowl Quarterback of the Week.
Jones, who had recovered from his injury returned as the starter against Stanford University in Palo Alto.
Once again, Jones showed his inability to run the offense and and failed to get a Devils win. The Cardinal won 15-14 without even scoring a touchdown.
The alumni and Phoenix area media went off on Aguano who said he wouldn’t make a quarterback change because of an injury. Aguano is trying to impress the powers that be to be named the head coach after the conclusion of the season.
Finally, the quarterbacks on the team were auditioned to change direction and get the offense turned around.
Bourguet was head and shoulders above the rest in practice this week. So what should have been his team from the beginning of the season finally came to fruition as he was named the starter against Colorado.
With Colorado only having a single win this season, ASU credentials didn’t look much better at 2-5.
This was Bourguet’s opportunity to shine and cement himself into the permanent starter. Needless to say, he didn’t disappoint.
The Devils scored two touchdowns in their first two possessions to go up 14-3 and the offense from an outsider’s view looked like a totally different team and now still have an chance to earn a bowl berth.
Grad student Xazavian Valladay from Wyoming, has become the featured back as he’s separated himself from the others. Valladay scored the first touchdown of the game and added two more later in the game. He finished with 118 yards rushing.
Another star of the three headed monster on offense was sophomore receiver Elijhah Badger who hauled in Bourguet passes and ended up with 137 yards receiving.
Bourguet also found Jalin Conyers open often and connected on three touchdowns and 108 receiving yards.
The ASU offense under Bourguet surgically took apart the Buffalo defense all game as they racked up 557 total yards.
Bourguet threw for 435 yards and the only blemish on his near perfect performance was an interception that didn’t cause any damage.
Colorado was the on the chase the entire game getting as close as a four point deficit, but really never challenged the high powered Devil offense.
Boulder Colorado isn’t the easiest place to play if you’re the visiting team, as the cold temps and high altitude have had negative effects on many teams over the years.
The Sun Devils came in with something to prove as they wanted to turn their season around and keep their hopes alive for a postseason bowl game.
The final score 42-34 was misleading thanks to a late punt return for a touchdown late in the final quarter.
With four games left on the slate, the Devils will need to win three more to become bowl elegible. That challenge will continue next Saturday, November 5th as ASU returns to Sun Devil Stadium where the ranked UCLA Bruins come to Tempe.
After that, the schedule finishes up with very winnable games against Washington State, Oregon State and the Territorial Cup finale in Tucson against a resurgence Wildcat team.
The question remains, “is Shaun Aguano in control of his own destiny, or has that opportunity evaporated in the loss to Stanford last week?”
Another question that needs an answer and quickly, how can this defense improve to not need the offense to put up forty or more points in order to win?
Only time will tell on how well this team finishes under Bourguet and Company. His record setting performance in his first start signaled there’s a new Sheriff in charge and things look a lot brighter on the horizon.
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