TEMPE, Ariz. — Just when you thought it couldn’t get much worse for ASU football, it has. The Sun Devils left their most recent 29-0 loss to Fresno State with injuries to the first three quarterbacks on the depth chart.
“What’s unfortunate about the injury bug is you do not have enough people to practice how you want to practice,” ASU Head Coach Kenny Dillingham said. “Even last week we were getting half the reps you get in a normal week.”
But there is no time for excuses for Dillingham and company despite the unknown at the quarterback position heading into a showdown with the 5th-ranked team in the country in USC.
Starting freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada is set to miss the next four to six weeks with an undisclosed injury, backup Trenton Bourguet left the week 3 contest on crutches while Drew Pyne is managing a re-aggravated muscular injury.
“We still don’t know on those two exactly where we stand,” Dillingham said. “The results were better than they could’ve been, but we still need to see how they go out this week. I have a lot of faith in Jacob if he takes the field.”
It’s a tall task for anyone to compete against the Heisman Trophy winner, let alone a fourth-string quarterback in Conover who finished the game 6-16 with 89 yards and 2 interceptions in the loss to Fresno State. Yet Dillingham stated to the media he relishes the challenge of facing one of the best teams in the country.
“I want to be on the team that you have to grind, scratch, crawl, compete, dive for loose balls where you have to do everything necessary to give yourself a chance to win. Not just in football but that’s how I am wired in life.”
The Sun Devils will have to do that and then some as 35-point underdogs to the Trojans, if they want any chance at keeping pace with USC. The two teams kick off this coming Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, NBA’s Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL’s Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football’s Fiesta Bowl and Cactus Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
