College Football 2017: Ranking the 3 worst losses from Week 2

It was not necessarily surprising that Arizona State lost to San Diego State in Week 2. The Aztecs, a two-time defending Mountain West champ, was just a three-point underdog coming to Tempe on Saturday. But it was the manner in which they defeated the Sun Devils that really set the tone for why Arizona State’s loss counts among the worst of Week 2.

Arizona State’s defense looked completely unmotivated to take on Aztecs running back Rashaad Penny. After taking over the spot vacated in the backfield by FBS career rushing leader Donnel Pumphrey, Penny might be even more dynamic than his predecessor, but he is also less experienced.

Inexperience meant little against the sieve-like Sun Devils defense, which allowed Penny to rack up 216 yards on 18 carries and another 38 yards on four catches. Penny finished with one rushing touchdown and one receiving score as the Aztecs took a 30-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. A garbage-time touchdown pulled Arizona State within 10 points in the final score, but it papered over the glaring issues that remain with Todd Graham’s team in Tempe.

Even worse was the inability to run the ball at all against the SDSU front seven. In college football, 44 yards on 31 carries is never going to be sufficient to take down even an underdog opponent. For a team that is fighting to return to bowl eligibility and preserve its head coach’s job, this was a gut punch of a loss to a Group of Five school.