The UC Davis Aggies won the coin toss, electing to receive against the Sun Devils. On the first play from scrimmage, the Aggies had the ball at their own 24-yard line.
ASU's defense didn't impress from the onset, as QB Randy Wright and RB Josh Reese were able to move the ball 17 yards down the field with relative ease. On third and five, Vontaze Burfict had enough, ripping through the left side of the offensive line to sack Wright and force a punt.
With the ball in hand, Brock Osweiler and Cameron Marshall immediately went to work. On ASU's first offensive play of 2011, Osweiler completed a swing pass to Marshall, who bolted 47 yards down the sideline before finally being dragged down at the Aggies 8-yard line.
Two rushing plays later, Marshall found paydirt, giving the Sun Devils a 7-0 lead after Garoutte successfully made the extra point attempt.
Special teams nearly gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown, as kicker Alex Garoutte was forced to make a tackle on the Aggies 35-yard line in a last-ditch effort, giving the coaches a good opportunity to address these issues before a faster team can capitalize.
Junior Onyeali picked up his first sack of the season on UC Davis' second possession, forcing a 3rd and 18 that the Aggies were unable to convert. While the pass defense showed room for improvement, the front seven made up for any shortcomings in the secondary with hard-nosed play.
Up 7-0, the Sun Devils tried out some new running plays, including
A huge 58-yard punt by Josh Hubner skied in the air, getting muffed by Tom Hemmingsen and recovered by Alden Darby, giving the Sun Devils the ball at the Aggies 15-yard line.
Osweiler showed good decision-making skills on this drive, tucking and running up the middle when one play exploded and rolling out of the pocket to find Cameron Marshall on another attempt. Marshall once again blew threw the UC Davis defensive line to give the Sun Devils a 14-0 lead with 3:40 left in the first quarter.
Another Aggie possession, another sack for Burfict -- this time, however, he shot out of a cannon, knocking Wright down with impressive speed. With two sacks on the quarter, Burfict is beginning to show his true potential as a disrupter in the passing game.
Jamal Miles looked good on two punt returns, picking up 45 yards on two returns.
At the end of the quarter, Osweiler was 6/8 on pass attempts with 92 yards, while Marshall had 15 rushing yards and 53 receiving yards. Gerell Robinson was second on the list with 33 receiving yards.
End of first quarter score: 14-0 ASU.