Arizona State plays its first road game of the season Saturday at Cal in a clash of two teams looking to bounce back from losses to top-10 foes in their Pac-12 openers last weekend.
The Sun Devils (1-3, 0-1) travel to Berkeley, Calif., after a 42-28 loss to then-No. 5 Southern California in a game in which Arizona State hung around until the fourth quarter.
The Golden Bears (2-2, 0-1) trailed 45-12 at halftime at then-No. 8 Washington last Saturday and lost 59-32.
Arizona State’s lone win under first-year coach Kenny Dillingham was against Southern Utah, and it lost to Oklahoma State and Fresno State by a combined 56-15 before facing the Trojans.
The program has a self-imposed postseason ban because of an NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations that occurred under previous coach Herman Edwards.
“What’s the record matter this year anyways?” Dillingham said. “It doesn’t. The only thing that should matter is just getting better.”
With starting quarterback Jaden Rashada out for four to six weeks with an undisclosed injury, Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne started against USC.
Pyne completed 21 of 36 pass attempts for 221 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
He was sacked eight times.
Trenton Bourguet, who started against Fresno State but left because of a left lower-leg injury, did not play against USC but is expected to return against California, according to Dillingham.
California will also operate with potentially more than one quarterback against Arizona State.
Ben Finley started against Washington and completed 17 of 32 passes for 207 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
He suffered an undisclosed injury during an interception return in the third quarter, allowing former starter Sam Jackson V to enter the game.
Jackson, who started two of the first three games before he suffered a left shoulder injury, completed 10 of 14 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown without an interception against Washington.
“Basically both guys have two games under their belt and it’s unsettled,” California coach Justin Wilcox said about Finley and Jackson.
“We’ve got to find more consistent play at that position and that’s the one that gets the most attention for obvious reasons.”
