THE GAME - Sun Devil Football returns home this weekend and will be looking to shake off a tough loss last weekend on the road as it takes on the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, Oct. 8 in Tempe, Ariz. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Sun Devil Stadium on ESPN2 with Allen Bestwick on the call, alongside analyst Mike Bellotti and sideline reporter Kris Budden.
THE BRUINS- UCLA leads the all-time series against the Devils, 19-12-1, but it has been among the most hotly contested rivalries in the Pac-12 since 1992 with ASU holding an 11-10 advantage over the Bruins in that time. The road team has won each of the last five games in the series.
The 2016 Bruins enter with a 3-2 record with both losses coming to teams currently ranked in the Top 25 nationally (Texas A&M and Stanford). Sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen continues to climb the UCLA charts. He is now seventh in completions (405), remains eighth in passing yardage (5,183) and improved to ninth in touchdown passes (31) and total offense (5,158). Rosen posted the ninth 300-yard passing game of his career against Arizona, one behind Brett Hundley for second in UCLA history.
The Sun Devils will look to shake off the slow starts that have plagued them in recent weeks and will need to do so against a UCLA defense that has allowed just 10 first-half points in its last three contests. A strong first half could be key for both teams with UCLA 35-2 under Jim Mora when leading at halftime while ASU is 31-3 under Graham in that same time span.
HALL OF FAME WEEKEND - The Arizona State University Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame will welcome eight Sun Devil greats to its ranks Saturday at halftime. Six student-athletes from five different varsity sports, along with two former Sun Devil coaches, comprise the 2016 induction class. Nick Brunelli (Men's Swimming), Levi Jones (Football), Zach Miller (Football), Casey Myers (Baseball), Thom Ortiz (Wrestling), and Phelan Wright (Softball) along with two former coaches, John Cooper (Football) and Marty Pincus (Men's Tennis). Both Cooper and Pincus (posthumously) will be enshrined into the Hall of Distinction for coaches and administrators.
AN ASU VICTORY WOULD...
- Improve ASU to 13-19-1 against the Bruins in the series history.
- Give the Devils three victories in the last four games against UCLA and move ASU to winners of 7 of the last 11 games in the series. The Bruins lead the series just 13-12 since 1986 after ASU opened the series 0-6-1 from 1976-85.
- Improve ASU to 8-2 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 ASU to 25-14 in Pac-12 games since Todd Graham took over in 2012 and 20-10 in such games in the past three-plus seasons - with both marks leading the Pac-12 South in those respective time spans.
- Improve ASU to 25-6 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham.
- Move ASU to 5-1 through six games for the third time in Todd Graham's five seasons leading the Sun Devils.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. ASU's 20.6 ppg against FBS opponents in the fourth quarter is more than 26 teams are averaging against FBS opposition PER GAME.
2. .@FootballASU has 17 defensive touchdowns under @CoachGrahamASU. Only the 22 by Ohio State is more in that span.
3. The Sun Devils have scored on 21-of-21 red zone appearances this season, one of just 7 FBS teams w/ a perfect mark.
4. The Sun Devils have rushed for 17 touchdowns in 2016 (fourth in FBS) and are already just three shy of their 2015 total of 19 rushing TDs.
5. .@TheFaceOfCali needs just 44 rushing yards to become the 19th Sun Devil in history with 2,000+ career rushing yards.
6. The @FootballASU defense has forced 6 three-and-outs and 5 turnovers in the fourth quarter of games this year on 17 opponents drives.
7. .@FootballASU is one of just five teams in the FBS with three 250+ yard rushers this year (Richard, Ballage, Wilkins)
8. The road team has won each of the past four contests between the Sun Devils and the Bruins.
9. .@ZaneG_5 now needs just 3 field goals to break FSU's Dustin Hopkins' FBS record of 88. He's currently 3rd all-time.
10. Zane Gonzalez will tie the ASU record for games scoring a point (45) should he score any point on Saturday.
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 ESPN Phoenix 620 AM.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
The Sun Devils will compete in their fifthstraight national broadcast of the season and the third game of the year broadcast on the ESPN Family of Networks with the tilt being shown on ESPN2. Allen Bestwick will be on the call, alongside analyst Mike Bellotti while Kris Budden 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
- ASU is first in the Pac-12 and second in the nation (Clemson) with an average of 7.98 TFL per game under Graham. They rank third in that time with 3.22 sacks per game.
- Under Offensive Coordinator Chip Lindsey, the Sun Devils are averaging 42.8 points per game in six games.
- ASU has 17 rushing touchdowns already in 2016 after having 19 in the entirety of the 2015 season.
- The Sun Devils have now scored in 21-of-21 trips to the red zone in 2016 and have scored a touchdown on 16 of those trips (76.2). 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 24 three-and-outs this season on 73 defensive drives this season (32.9 percent), average of 4.80 three-and-outs per game that ranks 16th nationally this season.
- Demario Richard needs just 44 yards to become the 19th Sun Devil in history to go over 2,000 career rushing yards.
- ASU has outscored other teams 640-454 in the fourth quarter and overtime under Todd Graham (11.0 points per game) and are averaging 20.6 points per fourth quarter this season (outscoring opponents 103-35).
- Zane Gonzalez is 13-for-14 on field goals this year, bringing his career total to 86 as he chases down Florida State's Dustin Hopkins FBS record of 88 career field goals. Additionally, Gonzalez now has 447 points in his career as he nears Hopkins' FBS record for points by a kicker of 466 after already setting the Pac-12 scoring mark by any player (previous 413).
STRIKE FIRST
- Arizona State has scored first in 40 of the 57 games with Todd Graham at the helm and is 31-9 in the Graham era when getting on the scoreboard first.
- The Sun Devils were 5-2 when scoring first last season and are 3-1 this year after picking up in each of the first three games of the 2016 season.
STRIKE FAST
- 240 of the Devils' 338 offensive scoring drives under Todd Graham have come in three minutes or less (71.0 percent).
- Of ASU's 36 scoring drives this season, 22 have came in under three minutes (61.1 percent), including 6-of-7 against Cal.
GETTING STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOT
- The Sun Devils have outscored their opposition 501-298 in the first quarter under Todd Graham despite being outscored 42-28 this year.
- The Sun Devils are 23-2 under Graham when holding their opposition scoreless in the first quarter and 1-0 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 USC, the ASU defense forced 24 negative or no yardage plays (5 TFLs, 12 incomplete passes, 7 rushes of no gain) of 69 plays runs by the Golden Bears (34.8 percent).
- On the season, the Sun Devils have forced 134 negative or no yardage plays of 371 run by the opposition (36.1 percent)
- Under Graham ASU has forced 1,491 plays that have not resulted in positive yardage out of 4,131 (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 7.98 TFL per game under Graham and one of two teams in the nation with more than 460 total tackles for loss (Clemson). They rank third in that time with 3.22 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 17th in the nation in scoring at 43.0 points per game and have score less than 30 points just one with Chip Lindsey as offensive coordinator, averaging 42.8 points per game.
- The Sun Devils have rushed for 17 touchdowns in the first five games after having 19 in the entirety of 2015. The 17 touchdowns are good for fourth 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 372 total yards after first contact out of their 723 combined rushing yards (51.4 percent).
- ASU is one of just five teams this season to have three players rush for over 250 yards thus far (Richard, Ballage, Wilkins).
GOLD ZONE
- The Sun Devils have scored on 21-of-21 trips to the red zone in 2016 (one of just seven teams with a perfect record) and have scored a touchdown on 16 of those trips (76.2 percent). That percentage is ranked ninth nationally among teams with over 20 red zone trips and 22nd overall 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 fourth nationally with 14 rushing touchdowns in the red zone this year.
SUPER DEMARIO
- Demario Richard has eclipsed 100 all-purpose yards in 10 of his last 16 complete games.
- Richard is just the fourth Sun Devil in history to have at least seven 100-yard rushing games in a single season. Freddy Williams and Art Malone had eight each in 1975 and 1968, respectively while Woody Green had seven two times in 1972 and 1973.
- 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 1478 rushing yards as a sophomore and junior, 690 have come after first contact (46.7 percent/2.3 yards per touch).
- 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 second in the nation in rushing touchdowns (9) and third in the country in scoring per game (12.4). His 62 points responsible for are 39th in the FBS.
NO RUSH
- The Sun Devils have held 21 opponents under 100 rushing yards in the Todd Graham era (57 games/36.8 percent), including three of four 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 18th nationally and leads the Pac-12 in allowing just 107.4 yards per game this year.
- The Sun Devils finished 20th in rushing defense in 2015, 49th in 2014 and 26th in 2013 and were 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 11 games in his career with over 100 all-purpose yards and six in his last seventh starts dating back to last season.
- White is currently eighth among all active FBS players with 2,430 all-purpose yards over the last two seasons and is sixth in the Pac-12 in 2016 in averaging 144.20 (skewed by only fair catching vs. UTSA.)
- With 1,266 career kickoff return yards, White could challenge Jamal Miles' school record of 1,866 set from 2009-12.
TAKING OFFENSE
- ASU ranks second in the Pac-12 and ninth in the nation at 37.93 points per game (Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Marshall, Florida State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State) in the Graham era.
- ASU ranks second in the Pac-12 and eighth in the nation with 2,200 total points (Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Florida State, Alabama, Marshall, Clemson) in that time.
MAKE 'EM PAY
- Under Todd Graham, ASU has outscored opponents 500-246 in points off takeaways and though it trails 21-17 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 116 turnovers under Todd Graham in the past five seasons, which is the ninth-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 touchdown in that span and 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 second in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation with a .60 average turnover margin per game (Oregon, Houston, Michigan State, Boise State) since Graham took over the helm and was second in the Pac-12 and tied for fourth in the nation with a plus-35 total turnover margin (Oregon, Houston, Michigan State, tied with Boise State).
- ASU is first in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation with an average of 1.29 interceptions per game (Houston, Boise State, TCU, Louisville, Ohio State) since 2012 and is first in the Pac-12 and tied for fifth in the nation with 75 total interceptions (Houston, Boise State, Ohio State, Louisville, tied with TCU).
KICKING THE HABIT
- Zane Gonzalez is again out to prove he is the best kickoff specialist in the nation, having kicked 31 of his 42 kickoffs for touchbacks this season (73.8 percent) - four more than any other FBS player - while just 10 of his kicks have been returned (27th 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 34.4 in 38 victories compared to a starting yard line of the 25.3 for their opponents in such contests.
- Conversely, opponents have an average starting field position of their own 31.6 yard line compared to ASU starting at its own 28.3 in ASU's 20 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 640-454 in the fourth quarter and overtime under Todd Graham (11.0 points per game) and are averaging 20.6 points per fourth quarter this season (outscoring opponents 103-35).
- Excluding FCS NAU, the Sun Devils are currently second nationally in averaging 26.5 points per second half against FBS opposition and second in the country with 19.8 points per fourth quarter against FBS teams as well.
- The 19.8 fourth quarter points per game are more than 26 teams are averaging PER GAME against FBS opposiiton this year while the 26.5 second-half points per game are more than 51 teams are averaging per game against FBS teams.
- ASU's offense has scored on 15 of the 17 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 15 true road contests. ASU has 13 wins in the past 24 road games, including 10 Pac-12 Conference road wins in the past 19.
- 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 10-9 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 had five against USC and 47 thus far this season.
- ASU is 32nd nationally with 79 plays over 10 yards this season and 31st in the country with 28 plays over 20 yards (35th in the FBS with four 30+ rushing plays)
- 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.
- The Sun Devils are currently ranked 27th in fewest penalties (24), 19th in fewest penalties per game (4.8), 54th in fewest penalty yards (249) and 45th in fewest penalty yards per game (49.8).
- 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 35.97 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 4.38 penalties per game (Navy, Air Force, Ball State, Army, Georgia Tech).
- Twenty-seven of ASU's 31 least penalized games since 2006 have come under Todd Graham.
- Since Todd Graham arrived at Arizona State, the Sun Devils have had just 253 penalties in 58 games (4.36 penalties per game).
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
- ASU is 24-6 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham.
- In 30 regular season home games under Todd Graham, the Sun Devils have averaged 41.7 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 and Oregon as the only other schools 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 281-101-3 (.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 24-14 in Pac-12 games since 2012, tied UCLA (24-14) for the best tally in the Pac-12 South in the past four seasons.
- ASU is 19-10 in Pac-12 games in the past three-plus seasons, ahead of UCLA (18-11) and just ahead of USC (19-12) 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 64 timeouts on defense in third down situations, and have not allowed a first down on the ensuing play or forced a turnover on 44 of those occasions (68.8 percent)
IN-ZANE IN THE MEMBRANE
- Zane Gonzalez currently leads 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 1.95 field goals per made per game in his career. His 86 total fields goals are the most among active players.
- Gonzalez is 13-for-14 on field goals this year, bringing his career total to 86 as he chases down Florida State's Dustin Hopkins FBS record of 88 career field goals. Additionally, Gonzalez now has 447 points in his career as he nears Hopkins' FBS record for points by a kicker of 466 after already setting the Pac-12 scoring mark by any player (previous 413).
- His 13 field goals this season are currently second nationally and he sits fourth nationally in scoring at 12.2 points per game.
- 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 44 games he has played at ASU and is well on pace to break the ASU school record of 45 such games held by Luis Zendejas for most games scoring a point.
- He leads the nation in 50+ field goals with three this season and has four or more field goals in six games in his career, three more than any other Sun Devil player in history.
- 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.
- With 25 field goals in 2013, Gonzalez tied the NCAA freshman record of 25 that was set by UCLA's Kai Forbath in 2007 (25-30) that was four more field goals than any other player in the FBS in the process.
- Gonzalez holds ASU's first, second and fourth highest single-season points totals in history (138, 130, 118).
HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS
- ASU has now gone 8-5 in games decided by a touchdown or less since the 2012 Arizona comeback in Tucson. To put that in perspective, ASU had gone 6-16 in such games since the 2007 season up until that moment.
- The Devils are 1-0 in games decided by less than a touchdown this year.
- ASU played in four games in 2013 decided by seven points or less, going 3-1 in those contests. The total is notable as ASU was just 4-13 in the previous four seasons in games decided by less than a touchdown.
- ASU was 3-1 in 2014 in games decided by less than a touchdown following the team's 36-31 Sun Bowl victory over Duke.
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 is currently 20th nationally with just four punt returns against him this season.
- He sits sixth nationally with his net average of 44.4 yards per punt which is good for seventh in overall average and his 45.4 total average is 13th nationally
- 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 needs just three solo tackles to move past Mike Richardson (sixth all-time) for most solo tackles for a career and is just 5.0 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.
- 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.
- 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.