Arizona State Football: 3 takeaways from Las Vegas Bowl loss to Fresno State

2. Fresno State won despite a lackluster day from Marcus McMaryion

For much of the season, Marcus McMaryion has been the catalyst for the Fresno State offense. They have relied on their veteran quarterback to move the ball downfield and generate offense. And McMaryion has largely been up to the task, as the ninth-most efficient quarterback in the country put up top-25 numbers across the board through the first 13 games of the year.

The Las Vegas Bowl was a different story. McMaryion struggled to crack the Arizona State secondary, finishing with 176 passing yards and two interceptions on 15-of-29 passing. That fell 18 percent below his season completion percentage, and he threw for 90 fewer yards than he averaged in the regular season.

McMaryion did at least make up for it with judicious running. Even including the one sack he took against the Sun Devils, McMaryion finished with 41 net rushing yards on four total carries and punched in a touchdown on the ground to somewhat make up for the complete lack of scoring strikes through the air.

All in all, though, Fresno State won largely despite McMaryion rather than because of him. It was a rare turn of events for the senior, whose time in college comes to an end with a lackluster day that nevertheless ended in victory.