Arizona State Football: 3 takeaways from ugly win over Sacramento State

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TEMPE, ARIZONA – SEPTEMBER 06: Quarterback Jayden Daniels #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils throws a pass during the second half of the NCAAF game against the Sacramento State Hornets at Sun Devil Stadium on September 06, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

2. After slow start, Jayden Daniels came up clutch

While Arizona State couldn’t seem to finish drives all game, which will improve as Jayden Daniels gets more experience, the freshman quarterback came up clutch for the Sun Devils with a 75-yard touchdown pass to Eno Benjamin in the fourth quarter to essentially put the game away.

Arizona State fans were sweating it out as they watched their Sun Devils clung to a 12-7 lead. His pass to the star running back was huge, coming with 4:42 left in the game and it was right after Sacramento State scored its only touchdown. Responding with a touchdown of his own in less than two minutes with the game on the line showed fans that he can be clutch.

Sure, it was a simple pass and Benjamin did the rest, but it was still critical.

Daniels finished the night with 304 yards and that score on 17-of-27 passing. He wasn’t pretty throughout and had a slow start, but he kept chugging along and finished with a solid line with no critical mistakes. He’s still just a freshman and will get used to the increased speed at this level, but he has a major test coming up in Week 3.

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