The official athletics site of Arizona State University Opens in a new window
ASU Home My ASU Colleges and Schools
Sun Devil Athletics
HomeHome
ASU Home My ASU Colleges and Schools
Loading

Pivotal Pac-12 South Tilt Awaits Sun Devils in Boulder

Graham Availability Opens in a new window Graham Quotes Opens in a new window ASU Notes Opens in a new window Gonzalez/Ball Quotes Opens in a new window
Pivotal Pac-12 South Tilt Awaits Sun Devils in BoulderPivotal Pac-12 South Tilt Awaits Sun Devils in Boulder

THE GAME - Sun Devil Football returns home to celebrate its annual Homecoming Weekend with the game taking place Saturday, Oct. 22 at Sun Devil Stadium. The contest is slated for a 7 p.m. start in Arizona and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks with Roxy Bernstein on the call alongside Anthony Herron and Lewis Johnson. 

THE COUGARS - The Sun Devils hold a 26-14-2  advantage in the all-time series against the Cougars and are winners of 10 of the lastr 12 games against WSU. ASU has not lost to Washington State at home since 2001.

The Cougars shook off a slow start to the year (0-2) to reel off four consecutive victories and find themselves in a tie for first place in the Pac-12 North with a 3-0 record in conference play. Those three victories have come against three of the top teams in the Pac-12 in recent memory (Oregon, Stanford and UCLA) by a combined margin of 120-70.

Washington State has found its usual success through the air this season, ranking seventh nationally in averaging 361.3 passing yards per game - though they earned the UCLA victory without throwing for a touchdown for the first time in 41 games. Defensively, WSU has been stout against the run, leading the Pac-12 in allowing just 104.5 yards per game (12th nationally)

An improved run game is averaging 140.2 yards per game, worth keeping an eye on this weekend as WSU has rushed for just 73 TOTAL yards in its last seven games against ASU.

HOMECOMING - The Sun Devils  are 64-19-4 (.745) all-time on Homecoming Weekend with wins in five of the last six games - the lone blemish coming in a last second loss to UCLA in 2012. This season marks the 30-year anniversary of the 1986 Sun Devil team that went on the win the 1987 Rose Bowl with a 22-15 upset over perennial powerhouse Michigan. Arizona State will that team at the annual Legends Luncheon on the Arizona Grand Resort on Friday with over 50 members from the 1986 roster returning for the event as well as former head coach John Cooper.

#MAKEITRAINASU - Arizona State has partnered with the Change the Course campaign to replenish water all around the world. Use the hashtag #MakeItRainASU on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and Change the Course will restore 1,000 gallons of water per use. Through your use of social media, Arizona State can help restore up to 5,000,000 gallons of water. 

AN ASU VICTORY WOULD... 

  • Improve ASU to 9-2 in regular season games since 2013 following a loss. ASU has lost consecutive regular seasons games just twice in the Todd Graham era (four straight in 2012 and threee straight last season). 
  • Move the Devils to 27-14-2 all-time against Washington State, including wins in 10 of the last 12 games against the Cougars. ASU has not lost a home contest against WSU since 2001. 
  • Improve ASU's home winning streak to seven games with the last loss coming in triple overtime against Oregon last season.
  • Move the Devils to 26-6 at home in the Todd Graham era. Currently at 25-6, ASU has the third-best home record in the Pac-12 since 2012 behind only Stanford (26-4) and Oregon (26-6). The 25 wins are eighth most in the FBS in that time span.
  • Mark the 40th victory for Todd Graham as head coach of the Sun Devils.

#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)

1. Since 2009, Washington State has rushed for just 73 TOTAL yards in seven games against the Sun Devils (10.4 yards per game)

2. The Sun Devils have scored on 71.3 percent of the time following an opponent turnover since 2012 (87 of 122) w/ 67 TDs (54.9 percent).

3. Conversely, opponents have scored just 49.4 percent of the time following an ASU turnover since 2012 (42 of 85) w/ 32 TDs (37.6 percent).

4. ASU has rushed for 18 touchdowns in 2016 (fourth in FBS) and are already just one shy of their 2015 total of 19 rushing TDs.

5. The Sun Devils have rushed for 18 touchdowns in 2016 (fourth in FBS) and are already just one shy of their 2015 total of 19 rushing TDs.

6. The @FootballASU defense has forced 38 three-and-outs on 104 opponent drives (36.2 percent), the fourth-highest total in the country.

7. Of @TheFaceOfCali's 1,599 rushing yards the last two seasons, 730 have come after first contact (45.7 percent).

8. The Sun Devils are 8-2 since the the 2013 season in games following a loss, losing consecutive games just twice in the Graham era.

9. .@ZaneG_5 has broke or tied 4 FBS records in '16, breaking FGs made and points by kicker, tying games with 4+ FGs and most 50+ in one game.

10. Zane Gonzalez now holds the Sun Devil record for single season (4) and career (6) @Pac12 Player of the Week honors.

ON THE AIR

Hear the hometown call with broadcaster Tim Healey and color analyst Jeff Van Raaphorst as well as sideline reporter Derek Hagan providing all the action for Sun Devil Football this season. The hometown broadcasts are boosted by Bonneville's powerful sports/talk lineup of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, ESPN Phoenix 620 AM and 92.3 KTAR News FM. This week's game will broadcast on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

The Sun Devils will look to improve upon their impressive 15-2 all-time record when playing a game broadcasted by the Pac-12 Networks. The contest will feature Roxy Bernstein on the call alongside analyst Anthony Herron while Lewis Johnson will provide insight from the sidelines.

The Pac-12 will again provide access to Armed Forces Network for carriage of Pac-12 football games in 2016 for the benefit of the men and women in the military.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

  • The Sun Devils are 4-2 this season in games in which they have been tied or trailed in the second half. ASU went 8-19 in such games over the previous four seasons. 
  • ASU has 18 rushing touchdowns already in 2016 after having 19 in the entirety of the 2015 season.
  • The Sun Devils have now scored on 26-of-27 trips to the red zone in 2016 and have scored a touchdown on 19 of those trips (70.37). That was an area ASU struggled in last year, only finding the end zone on 51.5 percent of its red zone trips.
  • The Sun Devils have forced 38 three-and-outs this season on 105 defensive drives this season (36.2 percent), with an average of 5.43 three-and-outs per game that ranks ninth nationally this season while the 38 total are the fourth-most in the country. 
  • With the victory over UCLA, ASU improved to 8-2 under Todd Graham since 2013 in games following a loss.
  • Zane Gonzalez has broken or tied four FBS records this season, breaking the records for career field goals made (92, previously 88), career points by a kicker (468, previously 466), tying the record for career games with 4 or more field goals (6) and also tying the record for most 50+ yard field goals in a single game (3).
  • Zane Gonzalez has been named the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week four times this season, breaking the ASU record for most honors in a single season.
  • ASU now has six Pac-12 Players of the Week honors this season, two off the '96 record of 8.

STRIKE FIRST

  • Arizona State has scored first in 41 of the 57 games with Todd Graham at the helm and is 32-9 in the Graham era when getting on the scoreboard first. 
  • The Sun Devils were 5-2 when scoring first last season and are 4-1 this year after picking up victories against NAU, Texas Tech, UTSA and UCLA.

STRIKE FAST

  • 248 of the Devils' 347 offensive scoring drives under Todd Graham have come in three minutes or less (71.5 percent). 
  • Of ASU's 45 scoring drives this season, 30 have came in under three minutes (66.7 percent), including 4-of-4 against Colorado.

GETTING STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOT

  • The Sun Devils have outscored their opposition 511-305 in the first quarter under Todd Graham despite being outscored 49-38 this year.
  • The Sun Devils are 24-2 under Graham when holding their opposition scoreless in the first quarter and 2-0 this season when doing so.
  • A strong second half start is also important and ASU scored 115 points in the third quarter of games against FBS opposition last year, a 9.6 points per third quarter average that was ranked 14th nationally. 
  • ASU has posted an impressive 31-3 overall record under Graham when leading at halftime.

DON'T CROSS THAT LINE

  • Against Colorado, the ASU defense forced 16 negative or no yardage plays (6 TFLs, 8 incomplete passes, 2 rushes of no gain) of 84 plays runs by the Bruins (19.0 percent).
  • On the season, the Sun Devils have forced 192 negative or no yardage plays of 532 run by the opposition (36.1 percent).
  • Under Graham ASU has forced 1,549 plays that have not resulted in positive yardage out of 4,292 (36.1 percent).

SERIOUSLY, DON'T CROSS IT

  • ASU is first in the Pac-12 and second in the nation (Clemson) with an average of 7.97 TFL per game under Graham and one of two teams in the nation with more than 475 total tackles for loss (Clemson). They rank second in that time with 3.20 sacks per game

LIGHT 'EM UP

  • ASU has scored 50 or more points 16 times since Todd Graham arrived in Tempe for the 2012 season.  
  • To put that in perspective, ASU eclipsed 50 points 10 times total in the previous 10 years before the current coaching regime (2001-11). 
  • Against Pac-12 opponents, the Sun Devils have scored 50 or more points 10 times under Coach Graham, after only tallying nine in the conference era prior (since 1978).
  • ASU went 86 games without scoring 60 from 2005-2011. Under Coach Graham it has scored 60 or more four times ('12-63 NAU, '12-62 Navy, '13-62 USC, '16-68 TTU). 
  • The Sun Devils have dropped 50 on Arizona twice in the last three years after doing so just three times in 85 previous contests. 
  • The Sun Devil offense is currently ranked 32nd in the nation in scoring at 36.3 points per game. 
GOLD RUSH
  • The Sun Devils have rushed for 18 touchdowns this season after having 19 in the entirety of 2015. The 18 touchdowns are good for 13th among all FBS teams.
  • After having just two five-rushing touchdown games in nine previous seasons, the Sun Devils did it in back-to-back games too open the season, marking the fifth and sixth times in the Graham era that ASU has gone over five rushing touchdowns in a game. The Devils had three such games TOTAL from 1997-2011.
  • The ASU trio of running backs (Demario Richard, Kalen Ballage and Nick Ralston) have been tough to bring down all year, logging  425 total yards after first contact out of their 890 combined rushing yards 47.8 percent).

GOLD ZONE

  • The Sun Devils have scored on 26-of-27 trips to the red zone in 2016 (96.3 percent), a total that is currently good for third in the nation.
  • The Devils have scored a touchdown on 19 of those trips (70.37 percent). That percentage is ranked 14th nationally among teams with over 25 red zone trips and is notable as ASU found the end zone on just 51.5 percent of its red zone trips last season.
  • ASU is tied for 13th nationally with 15 rushing touchdowns in the red zone this year.

SUPER DEMARIO

  • Demario Richard is currently 17th in Sun Devil history with 2,077 career rushing cards and one of just 19 Devils to reach the 2,000-yard milestone.
  • Richard now has nine 100-yard rushing games in his career, three shy of cracking the ASU top-five in the category.
  • Of Richard's 1599 rushing yards as a sophomore and junior, 730 have come after first contact (45.7 percent/2.2 yards per touch).
  • Last season, Richard became the fourth Sun Devil in history to have at least seven 100-yard rushing games in a single season, joining Freddy Williams and Art Malone (8) and Woody Green (7, 2 times).
CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALLAGE
  • Kalen Ballage introduced himself to the world in a big way against Texas Tech, tying an FBS record with eight total touchdowns (7 rushing, 1 receiving). He also tied the FBS record for touchdowns in a quarter with four in the second quarter of the contest. 
  • His seven touchdowns against Tech were equal to or more than five teams had in the entirety of the 2015 season. 
  • Ballage had eight total touchdowns in his two previous seasons prior to his barrage against Texas Tech.
  • He is currently ranked seventh in the nation in rushing touchdowns (9) and 14th in total points scored (62). 

NO RUSH

  • The Sun Devils have held 22 opponents under 100 rushing yards in the Todd Graham era (60 games/36.7 percent), including four of seven games this year.
  • ASU held three straight opponents under 100 rushing yards for the third time under Graham (2013, 2015, 2016). The Devils had limited opponents to under 100 rushing yards in three straight games in just five previous seasons dating back to 1986. 
  • The Sun Devil rush defense is currently ranked 21st nationally and second in the Pac-12 in allowing just 121.6 yards per game this year. 
  • The Sun Devils finished 20th in rushing defense in 2015, 49th in 2014 and 26th in 2013 and are one of just 20 schools to be ranked in the Top 50 in each of the last three seasons.

THE WHITE PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

  • Tim White now has 13 games in his career with over 100 all-purpose yards and eight in his last nine starts dating back to last season.
  • White is currently eighth among all active FBS players with 2,792 all-purpose yards over the last two seasons.
  • He currently sits 11th in the nation with 154.7 all-purpose yards per game and seventh with 1083 total all-purpose yards. 
  • He is eighth nationally with 552 combined kick return yards (386 on kickoffs and 166 on punt returns and 25th in punt return average at 11.1 yards per return.

TAKING OFFENSE

  • ASU ranks second in the Pac-12 and 12th in the nation at 37.32 points per game (Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Marshall, FSU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, TAMU, Alabama, OU, Clemson) in the Graham era.
  • ASU is also second in the Pac-12 and eighth in the nation with 2,239 total points (Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Florida State, Alabama, Marshall, Clemson) in that time.

MAKE 'EM PAY

  • Under Todd Graham, ASU has outscored opponents 519-249 in points off takeaways and leads 36-24 this season.
  • The Sun Devils outscored the opposition 142-62 in points off turnovers in 2014, ranked fourth nationally behind only Louisiana Tech's 172, Nevada's 170 and Oregon's 164. ASU scored 22 times following 27 total takeaways (81.5 percent) that year and scored touchdowns on 19 of those occasions (70.4). 
  • In 2013, ASU outscored its opponents 146-42 on points off turnovers while posting a +15 takeaway number, putting points on the board following 75.8 percent of opponent turnovers (25-of-33) compared to just the 33.3 (6-of-18) percent clip ASU opponents scored.

A HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR

  • The Sun Devils have forced 122 turnovers under Todd Graham in the past five seasons, which is the seventh-highest total in the country in that span.
  • ASU has 14 interception returns for touchdowns under Graham, compared to posting just four total in the three previous seasons prior to 2012. The total currently leads the nation in for the most interception returns for touchdowns in that span. ASU has added three fumble returns as well for 17 defensive touchdowns since the 2012 season, second behind only Ohio State's 22.
  • ASU finished with 27 takeaways in 2014 (2.1 per game) after having a streak of 29 consecutive games forcing a turnover come to an end in the season opener. The total was good for 24th nationally and third among Pac-12 schools. 
  • ASU led the Pac-12 with 33 takeaways in 2013, finishing fifth nationally. The team was seventh nationally with a 1.1 turnover margin that season.  

TURNOVER FACTORY

  • ASU ranks third in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation with a .62 average turnover margin per game (Oregon, Houston, Michigan State, Washington) since Graham took over the helm and was third in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation with a plus-37 total turnover margin (Oregon, Houston, Michigan State, Washington).
  • Also entering vs. WSU, ASU was first in the Pac-12 and tied for fifth in the nation with an average of 1.30 interceptions per game (Houston, TCU, Boise State, Louisville, tied with Ohio State) since 2012 and is first in the Pac-12 and tied for third in the nation with 78 total interceptions (Houston, Boise State, tied with TCU and Ohio State).

IN-ZANE IN THE MEMBRANE

  • Zane Gonzalez currently leads all active FBS players in averaging 10.2 points per game in his career. Additionally, he is first among all active kickers with an average of 2.00 field goals per made per game in his career. 
  • Gonzalez is the new FBS career record holder for most field goals with 92 (breaking the previous record of 88 held by Florida State's Dustin Hopkins.
  • Additionally, Gonzalez now has 468 points in his career as he also surpassed Hopkins' FBS record for points by a kicker of 466. He already set the Pac-12 scoring mark by any player (previously 413).
  • He is 19-of-20 on field goals this season - two more than any player in the FBS - and he sits fourth nationally in scoring at 11.7 points per game.  His lone miss this season came on a 53-yard attempt against UTSA and his 95.0 percentage is currently good for sixth nationally and first among all players with over 15 attempts (next closest at 87.5 percent)
  • If his career ended now, Gonzalez would also own the FBS record for scoring per game among kickers and the ASU record for overall points per game with his 10.2 points per game topping Houston's Roman Anderson's FBS record of 9.6 and Wilford White's school record of 8.6.
  • Gonzalez finished the 2015 season averaging 10.0 points per game, good for second in the Pac-12 and 10th nationally. 

ZANE-IAC

  • Gonzalez has scored at least one point in each of the 46 games he has played at ASU, breaking the previous school record of 45 such games held by Luis Zendejas for most games scoring a point.
  • He leads the nation in 50+ yard field goals with six this season. He had three against Colorado, tying the FBS record for most in a game. The FBS record for a season is eight. No other player this season has more than two.
  • His 59-yard against Colorado was a school record and the longest kick in the FBS this season.
  • Gonzalez has four or more field goals in six games in his career, tying three other players for the most games in FBS history. At 12 games with three or more field goals, he needs two to break the FBS record there as well.
  • Gonzalez holds ASU's first, second and fourth highest single-season points totals in history (138, 130, 118).
  • Gonzalez was good on 26 field goals last season and became the first ASU kicker ever to have 20 or more field goals in three different seasons. In fact, only Luis Zendejas had two such seasons before. No other player outside Zendejas and Gonzalez have had more than one.

KICKING THE HABIT

  • Zane Gonzalez is again out to prove he is the best kickoff specialist in the nation, having kicked 41 of his 53 kickoffs for touchbacks this season (77.4 percent, 7th nationally) - six more than any other FBS player - while just 11 of his kicks have been returned (17th in the FBS).
  • A total of 79 of Zane Gonzalez's 88 kickoffs last season went into the endzone and 66 were touchbacks (75.0 percent), the highest touchback percentage in the country and notable as just 27 of 83 opponent kicks were touched back (32.5 percent). ASU had just 33 touchbacks for the entire season in 2014 on 91 kicks (36.3).
  • His 64.56 yards per kickoff in 2015 were second nationally. 
  • The 18 kickoff returns allowed by Gonzalez last season were the fourth-lowest total nationally and the lowest among all 67 teams with 71 or more kickoffs.

WINNING THE BATTLE FOR FIELD POSITION  

  • Under Todd Graham, ASU has had an average starting yard line of its own 34.6 in 39 victories compared to a starting yard line of the 25.4 for their opponents in such contests.  
  • Conversely, opponents have an average starting field position of their own 31.3 yard line compared to ASU starting at its own 28.5 in ASU's 21 losses under Graham. 
  • in 2012, ASU posted an average starting spot of its own 33-yard line that ranked 10th in the nation, according to the folks at Football Outsiders (www.footballoutsiders.com) and in 2013, the team ranked 13th nationally (average starting yard line: 33.3). With a 32.6 average starting spot in 2014, ASU was 13th nationally.
  • The Sun Devils also held their opponents to an average starting line of their own 28-yard-line, a total that ranked 24th nationally in 2012 and was 32nd in 2013 (average opp. starting yardline: 28.2).  ASU jumped to 11th nationally in 2014, forcing their opponents to an average field position of their own 26.9 yard line.
  • ASU dropped to 46th in opponents starting position in 2015 while also falling to 62nd as far as their own starting field position went, notable given the team's 6-7 record on the year.

SEAL THE DEAL

  • ASU has outscored other teams 646-468 in the fourth quarter and overtime under Todd Graham (10.8 points per game) and are averaging 15.6 points per fourth quarter this season (outscoring opponents 109-49). 
  • Excluding FCS NAU, the Sun Devils are currently second nationally in averaging 22.0 points per second half against FBS opposition and third in the country with 14.2 points per fourth quarter against FBS teams as well.
  • The 22.0 second-half points per game are more than 30 teams are averaging PER GAME against FBS opposition this season.
  • ASU's offense has scored on 17 of the 25 times it has possessed the ball in the fourth quarter this year, excluding game-ending kneel downs. 
  • The Sun Devils finished sixth nationally against FBS teams with 10.6 points per fourth quarter in 2014, 10th (9.9) in 2013 and eighth (9.3) in 2012.
  • The Sun Devils averaged 18.5 second half points per game last season against FBS opponents, good for 13th nationally.
  • ASU struggled defensively in the second half, however, giving up 18.8 second half points per game to opponents, the 14th-worst total nationally. 

ROAD WARRIORS

  • The Sun Devils are winners of nine of the last 16 true road contests. ASU has 13 wins in the past 25 road games, including 10 Pac-12 Conference road wins in the past 20. 
  • Todd Graham has 10 Pac-12 road victories under his belt already, the second-most among all ASU coaches since 1980 behind only Bruce Snyder's 18 from 1992-2000. Graham is 10-10 in Pac-12 road games at ASU, notable as the Devils were 5-13 in four seasons prior. 
  • The Sun Devils are 4-4 in Pac-12 games in the State of California since 2012 after going just 3-23 from 1998-2011.

T.N.T., WE'RE DYNAMITE

  • The Sun Devils have a classification of "explosive plays" that equal a run of 12 or more yards or a passing play of 16 or more yards.  ASU has 56 thus far this season.
  • ASU is 49th nationally with 96 plays over 10 yards this season and also 45th in the country with 33 plays over 20 yards and 43rd with 16 plays over 30 yards.
  • ASU finished 30th nationally in plays over 10 yards last season with 216 and 27th in 30+ yard plays at 35.
  • ASU finished 24th nationally with 20 plays over 40 yards in 2014 after having just 16 total in 2013 and eight the year before.  ASU was 26th nationally in plays of 20 or more yards with 71.
  • The Sun Devils finished 2013 tied for seventh in the nation in plays longer than 20 yards with 86 after having 72 in 2012, which was good for 19th in the country in the category.
BETTER SUITED FOR HANDKERCHIEFS
  • The Sun Devils are currently ranked 22nd in fewest penalties (31), 15th in fewest penalties per game (4.43), 49th in fewest penalty yards (333) and 31st in fewest penalty yards per game (47.57).
  • The Sun Devils averaged just 4.5 penalities for 32.4 yards per game in 2014, ranked 16th in fewest penalties per game and fourth in fewest penalty yards per game in D-I.  In 2013, the Sun Devils finished eighth in fewest penalties per game (4.00) and seventh in fewest penalty yards per game (31.4). 

KEEP IT CLEAN

  • ASU ranks first in the Pac-12 and fourth in the nation with an average of 36.17 penalty yards per game (Navy, Army, Air Force) under Graham and ranks first in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation with an average of 4.35 penalties per game (Navy, Air Force, Ball State, Army, Georgia Tech).
  • Twenty-eight of ASU's 32 least penalized games since 2006 have come under Todd Graham. 
  • Since Todd Graham arrived at Arizona State, the Sun Devils have had just 260 penalties in 60 games (4.3 penalties per game).

PROTECT THIS HOUSE

  • ASU is 25-6 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham.
  • In 31 regular season home games under Todd Graham, the Sun Devils have averaged 41.1 points per game. Against non-conference Power Five teams, ASU is averaging 50.0 points per game at home under Graham. 
  • The Sun Devils join Baylor as the only other school in the country to be ranked in the Top-35 in home points per game in EACH of the past five seasons with only Arkansas State added to the list if 2016 were not included.
  • ASU has posted under 20 points in a regular home game just twice in Todd Graham's tenure - a 19-16 overtime victory over Utah in 2014 and a 42-14 loss to #19 USC in 2015.
  • The Sun Devils are 282-101-3 (.734) all-time at Sun Devil Stadium since 1958, the 25th-highest active winning percentage in a stadium among all FBS schools.

ON THE RISE

  • ASU is 25-15 in Pac-12 games since 2012, ahead of UCLA (24-16) for the best tally in the Pac-12 South in the past four seasons.
  • ASU is 20-11 (.645) in Pac-12 games in the past three-plus seasons, ahead of UCLA (18-13) and just ahead of USC (21-12/.636) for tops in the Pac-12 South. 
  • ASU has finished first or second in three of the past four seasons in the final Pac-12 South standings.

USE THEM WISELY

  • Since the start of the 2012 season, ASU has used 66 timeouts on defense in third down situations, and have not allowed a first down on the ensuing play or forced a turnover on 46 of those occasions (70.0 percent).

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS

  • ASU has now gone 9-5 in games decided by a touchdown or less since the 2012 Arizona comeback in Tucson.  ASU had gone 6-16 in such games since the 2007 season up until that moment. The Devils are 2-0 in games decided by less than a touchdown this year. 
  • In 2016, ASU is 4-1 in games it has been tied or trailed in the second half after going 8-19 in four previous seasons. 
  • ASU went 3-1 in 2013 in games decided by less than a touchdown, after going 4-13 in the previous four seasons in such games.. ASU was 3-1 in 2014 in games decided by less than a touchdown. 

HOLD ON TO THAT BALL, ALSO

  • In 2014, the Sun Devils had six games where they did not turn the ball over and went 6-0 in those contests.  That number was notable because in the previous two seasons, ASU had just five combined games where it did not turn the ball over.  
  • ASU is now 12-3 under Todd Graham in games where it does not have a turnover.
  • The Sun Devils have two games without turning the ball over in the four games that Chip Lindsey has been offensive coordinator. To put that in perspective, ASU had two games total in the 2015 regular season that it did not turn over the ball.
  • ASU earned its first victory in a game in turned the ball over three times against UTSA after going 0-6 in the Todd Graham era prior. 

TAKING DOWN THE TOP

  • ASU finished 1-2 against teams ranked in the AP Top-25 Poll last season after a gauntlet that pitted the Sun Devils against three Top 25 teams in four weeks (a loss to USC, a win at UCLA, and a loss at No. 4 Utah).
  • ASU was 3-2 in 2013 against team's ranked in the AP Top-25 Poll and the three victories were the most since 1997 when the team went 3-1 against teams ranked in the AP poll.  
  • ASU's 2014 schedule put the team on a collision course with three consecutive AP Top-25 teams (UCLA, USC, Stanford), a streak that ASU had faced only twice in program history. The last that happened was 2001, where ASU went 0-3 against No. 13 Washington, No. 8 Oregon and No. 11 Washington State. In 1994, ASU defeated No. 20 BYU in between losses to No. 23 Washington State and No. 21 Oregon.  
  • ASU came out of the stretch with a 2-1 record with back-to-back victories over No. 16 USC and No. 23 Stanford.  It was the first time ASU has won back-to-back games over ranked opponents since 1997, when it took down No. 25 Stanford on Oct. 18 before defeating No. 10 Washington State on Nov. 1 following a bye week.

SLAYING DRAGONS

  • The Sun Devils have gone 8-6 in the last 14 games against ranked teams. 
  • In four seasons at the helm, Todd Graham is 8-9 against AP-ranked opponents and the team was 4-2 in such teams in 2014. 
  • Graham has more than doubled the Top-25 win total of Dennis Erickson (3) and Dirk Koetter (2) during their tenures. 
  • In the previous 14 seasons, ASU was 5-40 in games against teams ranked in the AP poll. Other notable victories include the come-from-behind victory over Arizona in 2012, winning a game in the Coliseum last season for the first time since 1999 and defeating USC in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1996-97. ASU also ended a four-game losing streak to Stanford.

HAACK THIS WAY

  • Matt Haack has led a punting attack that has seen opponents combined for just 38 total return yards this season, good for ninth among teams with 10+ punt returns against. 
  • Haack is seventh in averaging 46.8 yards per punt this season while his 44.2 net yards per punt average is good for fourth in the FBS.
  • Haack averaged 43.1 yards per punt last season, good for fourth in the Pac-12 and 35th nationally. Yardage didn't do the whole story justice, however. Nineteen of his 74 punts were for 50 or more yards (25.7 percent) while 32 punts were downed inside the 20 yard line (43.2 percent). The 32 punts inside the 20 were the second most in the nation and four more than any other player in the Pac-12. His two touchbacks were tied for the lowest total in the nation as well.
  • Haack has a 42.8 yard per punt average in his career that current ranks tied for fourth all-time in ASU history.

GRAND SALAMO

  • Redshirt senior Salamo Fiso finds himself in a position this year to move into numerous Sun Devil records while also finding a spot on several preseason award lists, including the Bednarik, Nagurski, Butkus, Lombardi and Polynesian CFB Player of the Year.
  • Fiso is sixth in ASU history with 198 solo tackles in his career and is just 4.0 tackles for loss behind Carl Bradford (43) to crack ASU's all-time top 10 for tackles for loss.
  • Fiso finished eighth nationally and second in the Pac-12 behind teammate Antonio Longino last season in average 1.5 tackles for loss per game. His 6.0 solo tackles per game were also second in the Pac-12 (behind teammate Jordan Simone) and 12th nationally.

WHO'S THE NEW GUY

  • There are plenty of new faces on the Sun Devil coaching staff this season, an especially high amount given the fact that Todd Graham remains at the helm. ASU's five new assistant coaches this season are tied for the fifth most in the nation among all FBS programs that retained their coaching staff (USC leads with 7; Fresno State, Utah State and Western Kentucky all had 6 changes).
  • There are plenty of relatively new faces along the offensive front as well as the Sun Devils entered the season with the fifth fewest returning offensive line starts (15) of any team in the country. 
  • N'Keal Harry became just the ninth true freshman in Arizona State history to start in a season opener this year. He joins Cohl Cabral, Robbie Robinson and Kyle Williams as the only true freshman to play on Opening Day. 
  • Harry is just the fourth Sun Devil ever to start on offense as a true frosh in the opener and he joined D.J. Foster as the only other Sun Devil in history to score in each of their first three games of the season as a true freshman.
SCHEDULE ANOMALIES
  • The 2016 will mark the  a strange year from a schedule standpoints For instance, ASU has had only a single home game after Oct. 22 just twice (1996 and 1998) in the Pac-12 era. ASU's only home game after Oct. 22 this year is Nov. 10 vs. Utah.
  • The Devils had just one home game in November just once in the past 10 years (2012). Utah is only home game in November this year.
  • 2016 will mark the first time since 2002 ASU finishes with back-to-back games on the road.
  • The Sun Devils have finished with three of final four games on the road just five times (2012, 2002, 1998, 1996 and 1994) since joining the Pac-12.
THE FIRST OF MANNY
  • Manny Wilkins became just the fourth quarterback since 1970 to go 4-0 in his first career starts, joining Danny White (10-0) and Todd Hons (8-0).
  • Wilkins is currently 25th nationally in completed 65.1 percent of his passes through the first five games of the season and 40th nationally with 19.4 completions per game. 
  • The Sun Devils entered the season as one of just two teams in the nation without a quarterback on the roster that had officially completed a pass at a four-year college until Wilkins first attempt.