USC’s next opponent, Arizona State, gets shut out by Fresno State

USC hasn’t been challenged yet this season. Arizona State doesn’t figure to change that.

The USC Trojans face the Arizona State Sun Devils next Saturday, September 23, in Tempe. The Trojans can’t beat Notre Dame or Utah this Saturday. They have to play the team in front of them. Yet, one has to think the Trojans are spending their off week looking at Notre Dame film and Utah film, not just Arizona State film. It’s not as though the Sun Devils are going to exhaust every last resource the Trojans have.

The Sun Devils are themselves exhausted and very shorthanded.

It showed in their most recent game on Saturday night against Fresno State.

ASU, surprisingly just a three-point underdog despite missing at least five offensive linemen, played like a team which should have been a 33-point underdog. The Sun Devils committed eight turnovers. Three different ASU quarterbacks threw interceptions in this game, including former Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne, who played well for the Irish last year at USC but has far fewer resources around him now in Tempe under first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham.

Final score: Fresno State 29, ASU 0.

Arizona State’s leading passer was quarterback Jacob Conover, who threw for 89 yards and two interceptions.

You get the idea. We’ll have more on Arizona State’s dire situation as the week continues.

Catch all of Ducks Wire’s Pac-12 team previews for the 2023 season:

Arizona — Arizona State — California — Colorado — Oregon State  — Stanford — UCLA — USC — Utah — Washington — Washington State