TEMPE, Ariz. -- After a demoralizing loss two weeks ago to UCLA that exposed just about every one of its flaws, the Arizona State defense needed something positive to get back on track. It came in the fourth quarter Saturday at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.
With ASU down 34-32 and the clock showing less than three minutes, the defense produced its biggest series of the season and held the Trojans to a 3-and-out to give the offense an opportunity to win the game -- which it did on a last-second Hail Mary.
Even with much progress still to be made, the defense got a boost of confidence from that series -- its first 3-and-out in 10 quarters -- and an overall effort that suggests the unit is headed in the right direction.
"It's definitely something to build on," defensive coordinator Keith Patterson said. "Most teams would have just surrendered. They really would've. Most teams would've said, 'Aww, man, we're down, time's running out, we got no timeouts.' You look for every reason in the world to just say 'It's over.' That just is nothing more than the character of the young men."
Against UCLA, ASU's defense gave up 62 points and 580 yards, the most allowed in any game since Todd Graham took over. It also missed more than 15 tackles and gave up eight plays of 20 or more yards, including two 80-yard touchdowns.
At the Coliseum, the defense allowed 34 points on 493 yards and five plays of 20 or more yards. As unimpressive as those numbers sound, they were an improvement and the defense certainly felt like it played much better.
"As a team defensively, we needed to rebound," junior safety Jordan Simone said. "Everybody stepped up and was doing their job. We really got back to the fundamentals of our defense and how we play."
One of the biggest improvements was tackling. ASU still missed a handful but it was nothing like the UCLA game.
"Really, until the UCLA game I thought the tackling was improving each and every week," Patterson said. "We just got exposed out in space a little bit against UCLA. I did think we did a better job (against USC). I think you'll see a much better tackling team against Stanford than what we saw against USC."
Patterson said ASU also did a good job responding to big plays. In the UCLA game one seemed to lead to another. Against USC, ASU recovered and refocused.
Another key development against the Trojans was pressure. ASU tallied a season-high 10 tackles for loss and three sacks after entering the night averaging 6.75 TFL and 1.75 sacks per game. One of those sacks belonged to freshman linebacker D.J. Calhoun, the first of his career.
After missing a would-be safety of USC quarterback Cody Kessler, who instead scrambled for a 13-yard gain, Calhoun got mad. From the field, he urged Graham to send him after Kessler again. Graham gave the call to blitz.
"I came off the edge, and then right when he turned around, boom," Calhoun said. "I just felt so good. When that happened, everything started clicking."
Calhoun had what Graham called his best game yet, finishing with nine tackles, 2-1/2 of them for loss. Calhoun, along with junior defensive tackle Jaxon Hood, was responsible for the third down stop preceding ASU's Hail Mary drive.
But no defensive effort could top Simone's. With 20 tackles, he became the first player to reach that mark since Mark Tingstad in 1988. He was all over the field and made both tackles preceding Calhoun's on the final defensive series.
"I was really upset with the way I played against UCLA, so I really got back to the way I was brought up through football," Simone said. "That's just put my head down and go to work and prepare. Preparation led to success. That was ultimately what it was."
ASU's defense currently ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (31.4 points allowed per game) and 10th in total defense (452.6 yards allowed per game). It hasn't forced a turnover in three of five games this season after entering the season with a streak of 29 straight games with at least one turnover.
Clearly, the young group still has a lot of growing and improving to do. But its performance against USC could prove a solid launching pad in those efforts.
"Our confidence is high right now, but you've always got to put the wins and losses in the past," Calhoun said. "You've just got to focus on the next day."
Added Simone: "We've got to forget about it and worry now about Stanford coming into our house. They've beat us the last two times we've played them."
QUICK HITS
-- Quarterback Taylor Kelly, out since suffering a right foot injury Sept. 13, attended Wednesday's practice without the protective boot he'd worn previously. He did not dress for practice but did some light throwing. Graham on Tuesday said Kelly could practice "by the end of the week."
-- Simone is practicing with a protective cast on his right hand, the result, he said, of a minor thumb injury suffered against USC. He has not been limited.
-- Former ASU running back Terry Battle, a member of the 1996 Rose Bowl team, attended Wednesday's practice with fellow coaches from Peoria Sunrise Mountain High School, where he joined the staff in 2012.
-- Senior running back Deantre Lewis changed his jersey number from 5 to 1.
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