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The Arizona State football team is down another quarterback after dropping to 1-3 in Saturday's loss to USC. Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne is now “out for the near future,” head coach Kenny Dillingham told reporters. Pyne is dealing with “three different physical things” according to Chris Karpman. Jaden Rashada is still out long term, and now Pyne has no timetable.
The true freshman Rashada earned the starting job to begin the year. He played well in a Week 1 victory, then lost to Oklahoma State in his second career game. Then, Rashada didn't play at all in Week 3, with Kenny Dillingham citing an undisclosed injury that has bothered Rashada since high school. Dillingham ruled him out for four to six weeks, and he didn't play in Arizona State's Week 3 game vs. Fresno State.
That Fresno State game brought more problems for Arizona State football and the quarterback picture. Trenton Bourguet started the game, but he left with a foot injury. Drew Pyne came in to replace him, but he left with a leg injury. Sophomore Jacob Conover, the last scholarship quarterback on the roster, came in to finish the game. All together, those three quarterbacks threw five interceptions in a 29-0 loss.
Pyne was back in time for the Sun Devils' first conference game against USC. Despite the loss, Pyne threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the game without injury, although the Trojans sacked him eight times, so he was noticeably banged up. Apparently, he isn't well enough to play this week.
Luckily, Bourguet was back in full pads at practice Tuesday. He will likely start Saturday on the road against Cal. The quarterback carousel is not making Dillingham's job easy in his first season at Arizona State. His Sun Devils put up a pretty strong fight against USC, but their remaining schedule is very tough.
After the Cal game, Arizona State faces Colorado, Washington, Washington State, Utah, UCLA, and Oregon in its next six games. Four of those teams are ranked, and the other two were ranked a week ago before losing to the ones which are still ranked. The Pac-12 is highly competitive this year, particularly at quarterback, and Arizona State needs Jaden Rashada back to have any chance at competing against all these strong teams.
If Bourguet plays poorly against Cal, Dillingham may have to get creative. The Sun Devils' best player is running back Cameron Skattebo, and he played quarterback in high school. He actually completed two passes against USC for 42 yards.
Could we see Arizona State transition to a Wildcat offense, led by Skattebo?
