Rachaad White Named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
SAN FRANCISCO – Sun Devil Football running back Rachaad White earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors, the conference announced Monday afternoon.
Rachaad White juked, hurdled, slipped and bullied his way past the Trojan defense en route to a career-best effort as the Sun Devils won 31-16 over USC on Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium. The Trojans hardly had an answer for White, who erupted for 202 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. For his efforts, he was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week.
After collecting four Player of the Week awards a season ago despite playing in only four games, Sun Devil Football continues to add to their trophy case under Head Coach Herm Edwards. Since he arrived in Tempe prior to the 2018 season, Arizona State has had 29 Pac-12 Player of the Week selections, fifth-most in the conference. Since 1983, Sun Devils have won a total of 142 Pac-10/12 Player of the Week Honors. This is the first weekly conference honor for White, who becomes the second Sun Devil to win Offensive Player of the Week.
Rachaad White - Offensive Player of the Week
Sun Devil running back Rachaad White delivered a historic performance in Arizona State's 31-16 victory over USC. White ran for a career-high 202 yards on only 28 carries (7.2 ypc), scoring three touchdowns on the ground. His rushing total was good for the fourth-most in the NCAA this week. It is the sixth-most rushing yards by a Sun Devil in a Pac-10/12 game (since 1978). He added two catches for 35 yards to give him 337 of ASU's 427 total yards of offense (78.9 percent).
White is the first player to rush for over 200 yards since Eno Benjamin's school record 312 yards against Oregon State in 2018. It was the 22nd instance of a Sun Devil rushing for over 200 yards in program history and the 16th individual to reach the milestone.
The 202 yards were the third-most in the 38 games played in the series between the two teams. It was the first time USC had allowed a 200-yard rusher since UCLA Josh Kelly in 2018 (289). The effort also put White over the 1,000 yard mark in his career at ASU (now at 1,105). He is the first player to rush for over 100 yards (102) in the first half since Benjamin against USC in 2018. He was also the first ASU player with two rushing touchdowns over 47 yards since Benjamin in that same USC game in 2018.
White has multiple touchdowns in seven of his 12 games at ASU and has at least one touchdown in 10 of those 12 games with the Devils. He now has 19 touchdowns in his career (17 rushing, two receiving) in just 12 games played (1.6 per game). With two plays of over 30+ yards, White now has nine "explosive" plays in his brief Sun Devil career (six rushing, three receiving).
The rushing attack led by White is on an unprecedented tear, collecting yards at a rapid pace. ASU has gone over the 200-yard mark on the ground in eight of its last 15 games dating back to 2019. and over 250 yards rushing in 6 of the last 12 games. In the Herm Edwards era, ASU has rushed for 200 or more yards 13 times and 250+ yards 11 times.
USC has given up over 250 rushing yards to an opponent only 7 times since 2018 (40 games), ASU has three of those. The Maroon & Gold have 870 rushing yards against USC in four games since 2018. In seven previous contests (2011-17), ASU had a TOTAL of 868. ASU has over 100 rushing yards as a team in 13 straight games. With four on Saturday, ASU has 42 rushing touchdowns over its last 12 games - the most in the FBS over a 12-game span. It's the longest since a 13-game span from 2013-14.
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will start a two-game road trip beginning on Saturday at 5:10 p.m. MST when they travel to Washington. The game will be televised on FS1, with Dan Hellie and Petros Papadakis on the call.