One of the few bright spots of the day was the play of defensive tackle Lawrence Guy. Following a solid showing against Georgia, the true freshman was inserted for the first time into the starting lineup, a move that paid immediate dividends for the defense.
Guy, who was in on six tackles, including two and a half for a loss, was a big part of Arizona State's success in keeping the Cal running game in check, especially in the second half. Guy also teamed up with redshirt freshman defensive end James Brooks for the defense's lone sack of the day.
Safety Clint Floyd, another true freshman climbing his way up the depth chart, collected four stops to go along with a 12-yard kickoff return. Terrell Carr notched a total of three tackles, two of which were solo efforts. Cornerback Pierre Singfield added an assisted stop.
Max Tabach forced a fumble, the first of his ASU career, and added another solo stop to bring his season total to 12 tackles. Unfortunately for the junior college transfer safety, he suffered a torn ACL in this game which will sideline him for the rest of the year.
True freshman linebacker Shelly Lyons finished with a pair of assisted tackles while Colin Parker collected his first tackle of the year. Long snapper Thomas Ohmart had a tackle on special teams.
Tom Njunge notched his first start in an ASU uniform, lining up at right tackle, and the junior college transfer graded well according to his head coach. Fellow junior college transfer Stanley Malamala also registered a debut in the starting lineup, as ASU came out with a two-tight end set in their first snap of the game.
Other game participants include Gerrell Robinson, Jarrell Holman, Oliver Aaron, Josh Jordan, Zach Schlink, Dan Knapp, Jamaar Jarrett, T.J. Simpson, and Brent Good.