TEMPE -- The No. 15/14 Arizona State University Sun Devil football program returns to Tempe to begin the longest homestand of the 2014 season thus far, taking on Pac-12 South compatriot Utah in a battle for first place in the division on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. PT at Sun Devil Stadium on FOX SPORTS 1.
ASU enters the weekend having won three straight on the heels of a hard-fought 24-10 victory over Washington in seattle following back-to-back wins over ranked foes in Stanford (26-10) and USC (38-34). ASU opened up the Pac-12 schedule with a 38-24 victory on the road over Colorado before suffering a tough 62-27 defeat at the hands on UCLA at home two weekends later. ASU used a strong second half and a career day by D.J. Foster to rout New Mexico, 58-23. The Sun Devils opened the season with an efficient and thorough 45-15 victory over Weber State in Tempe on opening weekend, increasing their season-opening win streak to 12 straight games.
Arizona State is now in its 102nd season of competition in 2014. The Sun Devils are 579-371-24 (.607) all-time and have appeared in 27 bowl games, compiling a 13-13-1 record in such contests. The Sun Devils are coming off an impressive 10-4 campaign in 2013 that saw ASU finish as the Pac-12 South Champions and advance to the National University Holiday Bowl as head coach Todd Graham earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year accolades.
ON THE AIR Hear the hometown call with broadcaster Tim Healey and color analyst Jeff Van Raaphorst as well as sideline reporter Doug Franz providing all the action for Sun Devil Football this season. The hometown broadcasts are boosted by Bonneville’s powerful sports/talk lineup of 620 AM KTAR, 98.7 KMVP and 92.3 KTAR News FM. Don’t miss a play this upcoming season with the additional worldwide coverage brought to you by the TuneIn App which can be downloaded to your smartphone, tablet or laptop. This week’s game will broadcast on ESPN Phoenix 620 AM. The game’s home radio coverage will also be broadcast on Sirius Channel 126/XM Channel 198.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION Saturday’s contest will mark the third game for the Sun Devils this season to be broadcast on FOX family of networks and the second game to be shown on FOX SPORTS 1. Joe Davis will be on the call alongside analyst Joey Harrinington with Kris Budden roaming the sidelines. The Pac-12 will again provide access to Armed Forces Network for carriage of Pac-12 football games in 2014 for the benefit of the men and women in the military.
ON THE UTES ASU leads the all-time series between the schools, 19-6, and are winners of nine consecutive games against the Utes. However, the series only recently picked back up again with the addition of Utah to the Pac-12 and prior to 2011, the two teams had not squared off since 1993. However, that nine game streak marks a tie for the second-longest active winning streak among all Pac-12 opponents behind Oregon-UW (10), ASU-UW (9). ASU holds a 14-3 record all-time against Utah in games played in Sun Devil Stadium and have not lost a home game to the Utes since 1976. Saturday’s contest will mark the first time in history that the Sun Devils and Utes have played while both teams were ranked in the AP Poll.
LAST TIME OUT - WASHINGTON
--ASU leads the all-time series with the Huskies, 17-15, but evened the series at 7-7 in games played in Seattle. ASU has now won nine straight against Huskies.
--Redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly moved past Jake Plummer (8,711) for third on ASU’s all-time total offense list with 8,833 total yards.
--Kelly also tossed his 64th and 65th career touchdown passes, which moved him into sole possession of fourth all-time at ASU.
--The Devils took a 10-0 lead into the locker after the first half and are now 21-0 when leading at halftime. ASU opponents had 62 total points in the first half of the first four games of the season, but have had just 17 points in the past three games - all coming against USC.
--The Sun Devils held an opponent scoreless in the first half for the second consecutive weekend.
--ASU won the turnover battle against Washington by a total of 3 to 1, notable as Washington entered the game with a 15-2 turnover margin that was ranked second nationally and first in the conference.
--Washington was averaging 32.7 points per game entering Saturday’s contest and scored just 10 points.
--Punter Matt Haack actually increased his punting average from 42.5 yards per punt to 43.4 in the miserable weather conditions, which included driving rain and 40-50-mph winds. He punted five times for a 46.6 yard average and had a career long punt of 64 yards.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
--With the win over Washington, the Sun Devils become bowl eligible for the third consecutive season under third-year head coach Todd Graham. Coach Graham joins former ASU head coach John Cooper (1985-87) as the only other coach in school history to be bowl eligible in each of their first three seasons at ASU.
--Currently there are only two other teams in the nation at the FBS Division 1-A level that boast an undefeated record on the road with at least four wins in 2014 alongside ASU’s 4-0 record (Marshall and UCLA are also both 4-0 on the road)
--Arizona State is 19-5 in the last 24 games, the second-best record of all Pac-12 teams in the most recent 24-game span behind only Oregon (20-4).
-ASU is facing its fourth AP ranked opponent in the last five games played. Prior to this season, the most AP opponents in such a short span was a four-game stretch against AP-ranked teams in 1994 (ASU went 1-3). ASU also played four AP teams in the span of five games in 1982. The most AP teams ASU has played in a year is six (‘86 and ‘95), a feat ASU could match this season with games against current AP teams Notre Dame and Arizona still on tap
-In three seasons at the helm, Todd Graham is 5-6 against AP-ranked opponents. He has already earned more victories than Dennis Erickson (3), and has more than doubled Dirk Koetter (2) during their tenures. In the previous 11 seasons, ASU was 5-32 in such games.
-Below is a list of ASU’s current pertinent individual and team rankings nationally:
National/Pac-12 Stat Rankings For This Week/Team
4th Down Conversion Pct. Defense — 18/1, 0.333
Blocked Kicks — 20/1, 2
Blocked Punts — 7/1, 1
Fewest Penalties — 16/1, 34
Fewest penalties Per Game — 22/1, 4.86
Fewest Penalty Yards — 5/1, 243
Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game — 7/1, 34.71
Fumbles Lost — 16/2, 3
Fumbles Recovered — 32/3, 7
Passes Had Intercepted — 10/4, 3
Passing Offense — 19/5, 303.4
Passing Yards Per Completion — 30/3, 13.44
Red Zone Defense — 34/3, 0.783
Red Zone Offense — 28/4, 0.882
Scoring Offense — 24/4, 36.6
Team Passing Efficiency — 21/5, 150.51
Team Tackles For Loss — 9/2, 7.9
Total Offense — 22/6, 489.3
Turnover Margin — 23/5, 0.71
Turnovers Lost — 5/2, 6
Winning Percentage — 10/2, 0.857
National/Pac-12 Stat Rankings For This Week/Individual
All Purpose — D.J. Foster, 11/2, 153.14
Field Goal Percentage — Zane Gonzalez, 24/2, 0.833
Field Goals Per Game — Zane Gonzalez, 14/3, 1.67
Forced Fumbles — Damarious Randall, 28/6, 0.29
Passing Efficiency — Mike Bercovici, 29/5, 147.9
Passing Yards Per Completion — Mike Bercovici, 34/3, 13.09
Punting — Matt Haack, 35/4, 43.4
Receiving TDs — Jaelen Strong, 11/4, 7
Receiving Yards — Jaelen Strong, 16/3, 744
Receiving Yards Per Game — Jaelen Strong, 14/3, 106.3
Receptions Per Game — Jaelen Strong, 10/4, 7.4
Rush Yards Per Carry — D.J. Foster, 25/3, 5.89
Scoring — Zane Gonzalez, 21/4, 9.3
Solo Tackles — Damarious Randall, 1/1, 8.3
Solo Tackles — Jordan Simone, 11/4, 6.6
Total Tackles — Damarious Randall, 33/4, 9.4
Yards Per Pass Attempt — Mike Bercovici, 32/4, 8.11
WE ARE THE YOUTH GONE WILD In a complete 180 from the strong veteran presence on the 2013 Sun Devil roster, the 2014 ASU squad will rely heavily on the youngsters to help lead the way as the season progresses. The Sun Devil two-deep depth chart currently features 25 freshmen and sophomores. That total ranks tied for 16th in the nation among Division I programs (Oklahoma State lead with 35 underclassmen on the two-deep). In the opener, true freshmen DJ Calhoun and Tashon Smallwood each got the nod as starters, becoming just the seventh and eighth Sun Devils in program history to start in the season opener as true frosh, joining John Jefferson, Terrell Suggs, Zach Miler, Will Sutton, D.J. Foster and Jaxon Hood on the exclusive list. ASU four current freshmen listed on the depth chart as potential starters is the third-highest total in the country behind Tennessee (6) and New Mexico State (5).
SENIOR DISCOUNT With such an abundance of underclassmen making their presence felt this season, it should come as no surprise that there is a bit of a shortage on seniors. In fact, ASU’s senior class this season sits at 11 members - a tally that ranks tied for the second fewest total among all Division I institutions behind only Temple’s eight total seniors. The quality of those seniors is impressive, however, with seven of them appearing on the two-deep depth chart and another participating on special teams. Even with the high percentage of total seniors seeing playing time, ASU’s seven seniors on the two-deep are tied for the third-lowest total in the nation behind only Temple (5) and Tennessee (6).
PUT ME IN, COACH ASU had nine first-time starters in the opener (six on defense, three on offense) and has had 18 total players make the first career Division I starts this season, which is tied for the fourth highest total nationally this season.
STRIKE FIRST Arizona State has scored first in 26 of the 33 games with Todd Graham at the helm and is now 20-6 in the Graham era when getting on the scoreboard first. ASU has accomplished the feat in all but one game this season and is 5-1 when scoring first in 2014.
STRIKE FAST The quick-hitting offense has become a staple of the Todd Graham-coached Sun Devils, with 144 of ASU’s 197 offensive scoring drives under offensive coordinator Mike Norvell coming in three minutes or less (73.1 percent). Of ASU’s 42 scoring drives this season, 32 have come in under the three-minute mark - including three scoring drives clocking in at under a minute against USC. ASU’s high-powered offense resonates with the high number of quick scoring drives, scoring in three minutes or less on 62 of the team’s 89 scoring drives in 2013 (70.0 percent).
START STRONG...FINISH STRONG The Sun Devils have now outscored their opposition 341-159 in the first quarter under Todd Graham and have a whopping 63-20 scoring edge in the first quarter in games played this season despite not scoring in the quarter in each of the last three games. The Sun Devils are 17-1 under Graham when holding their opposition scoreless in the first quarter as they have done against four opponents this season (4-0 in those games). ASU improved to 21-0 when leading at halftime with Graham as head coach following the Washington contest as well.
TURNING THE TABLES Prior to the current three-game winning streak, the second quarter had been the bane of ASU’s season. Entering the USC contest, ASU was had been outscored 49-41 in the second quarter of games this season and was ranked in the bottom five nationally in points given up per second quarter. In the last three games, however, ASU has outscored its opposition 32-10 in the second quarter (all 10 points coming against USC). After being ranked 120th nationally in second quarter points per game allowed prior to the USC game, ASU has moved up to 93rd nationally in the category at 9.8 points per second quarter while being ranked 22nd nationally in the frame at 11.0 points per game. Overall, in the first half of games prior to USC, ASU had allowed 62 total points in the first half of games to opponents. It has held the last three opponents to 17 points in the first half (all coming against USC). ASU held both Washington and Stanford scoreless in the first half - the first time the Sun Devils had accomplished the feat since 1993 when it held Cal and UCLA scoreless in the first half in consecutive games.
FOSTER THE PEOPLE D.J. Foster is the only returning player in the nation to amass 400+ receiving AND rushing yards last year and his 10 career receving touchdowns are the most among all active running backs. He also had a knack for getting to the first down marker and finished tied for second on the team with 53 first downs on 156 touches last season (34.0 percent). This season, Foster leads the team with 24 rushing first downs of ASU’s 53 total rushing first downs this season and is second on the team with 17 receiving first downs for a team-leading total of 41 first downs. Of his 125 touches this season (97 rush, 28 receiving), 46 have resulted in ‘money plays’ or plays resulting in a first down or touchdown (36.8 percent). Last season, Foster was second on the team in all-purpose yardage with 1,170 yards in 2013 (501 on the ground. 653 by air and 16 on KR). Foster made his mark in the receiving game in 2013 with 63 grabs for 653 yards (10.4 ypc), ranking second on the team in both categories. The 63 receptions set a new school record for catches by a running back.
GO D.J., THAT’S MY D.J. With 216 rushing yards against UNM, Foster became the first Sun Devil since to rush for over 200 yards in a game since Delvon Flowers rushed for 226 yards against Oregon State in 2001. He became just the third Sun Devil since 1994 to rush for over 200 yards in a game out of the 20 total 200-yard rushers in ASU history and his 216 yards are tied for the ninth-highest total in program history. Foster has racked up five 100+ yard rushing games in his last 10 games and has 10 rushing touchdowns in that span. He had zero 100+ yard rushing games in the previous 24 games with just four rushing touchdowns. Foster is one of just two active FBS players who has accounted for over 1,500 career rushing yards (1,642) and over 1,000 career receiving yards (1,610). Illinois’ Josh Ferguson (1,661/1,102) is the other. Additionally, there are only four players this season with over 600 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards to date, of which Foster is one (648/424) while Boise State’s Jay Ajayi (985/343), Cal’s Daniel Lasco (608/304) and USC’s Buck Allen (1,010/316) are the others.
RUN, D.J., RUN Foster is currently 11th in the nation and second in the league in averaging 153.1 all-purpose yards per game. Foster has 29 “explosive” plays this season (17 12+ yard rushes, 12 16+ yard receptions) to lead the team. He already has four rushes of over 40 yards this season, notable as no Sun Devil had more than two in the entirety of last season. Only 37 total D-I teams have accounted for four or more rushes of over 40 yards this season. Since at least 2000, only Keegan Herring (2007) had four 40+ yard rushes in a season - a feat it took Foster just three games to tie. Foster also is currently tied for the nation’s 11th-longest active streak of games with a reception at 34 - or every game he has played in his ASU career - and is the only running back on the list.
A STRONG START Jaelen Strong wasted no time picking things up where he left off in the opener, hauling in 10 passes for 146 yards in just a single half of action. As far as openers go, only Mike Jones’ six catches for 162 yards in 2008 vs. NAU and Keith Poole’s nine catches for 162 yards in 1995 against UW were more prolific stat-wise in the past two decades. Last year, the junior college transfer led the team in receptions and yards with 75 grabs for 1,122 yards (5.4 rpg/80.1 ypg) and seven touchdowns in 2013. Strong recorded 10 catches for 202 yards and three touchdowns against USC. It was the ninth game a Sun Devil has collected more than 200 receiving yards and the first since Gerell Robinson had 241 yards on 13 catches in the 2011 Las Vegas Bowl. Strong’s 202 yards are the seventh most in school history. Strong now has 10 100-yard receiving games in his career following the USC contest, trailing only Derek Hagan (18) and Shaun McDonald (12) for the most 100-yard receiving games in program history.
THE FORCE IS STRONG Just as impressive as Jaelen Strong’s statistics were, his ability to make catches when they count can’t be overlooked. Of Strong’s 52 receptions this season, 37 have gone for a first down and seven have been touchdowns. ASU has 102 first downs by way of passing this season, meaning Strong has accounted for 36.3 percent of those. Last season, a total of 47 of his receptions went for first downs while he also drew 10 pass interference penalties against opposing defenses (six of which resulted in first downs, four were declined as they were all still caught for either a first down, touchdown or two-point conversion), thus playing a role in 53 of ASU’s 340 total first downs last season. Additionally, Strong was second on the team in explosive plays (rushes over 12 yards and receptions over 16 yards) with 29 last season. He has 16 such plays this season. Strong is currently 10th nationally with 7.4 receptions per game and his 106.3 receiving yards per game are 14th in the nation and third in the Pac-12. ASU wide receivers have only reached the 10 touchdown reception plateau nine times in history and Strong already has seven in the 2014 campaign.
WINNING BY WAY OF TKO (TAYLOR KELLY OFFENSE) Following the UW contest (14-for-25, 180 yards, two TDs, one INT), Taylor Kelly now has 7,510 career passing yards, good for fourth in school history and closing in on Jake Plummer for third. His two TD passes against Washington also give him 65 for his career, tied with Plummer for third all-time . In 14 games in 2013, Kelly had 3,635 passing yards and averaged 259.6 yards per game, both ranked in the top five in school history. He is just the second Sun Devil to have multiple seasons with 3,000+ passing yards behind only Andrew Walter (3). Statistically, the team relies heavily on Kelly’s ball protection, as ASU is 7-8 with Kelly as the starter when he throws an interception, compared to a 15-1 record when he doesn’t - the lone loss coming in the Pac-12 Championship game last season against Stanford. Kelly finished last season ranked 13th nationally in points responsible for with 222 (28 passing TDs, nine rushing), breaking the previous school record in the category of 198 previously set by Mike Pagel in 1981. Kelly is responsible for 77 touchdowns in his career (65 passing, 12 rushing) - good for the fourth-highest total among all ASU quarterbacks and just eight away from the school record.
HE’S GOT LEGS, AND HE KNOWS HOW TO USE THEM Taylor Kelly has done plenty to get it done through the air, but its his aptitude in the running game that has made him as potent a quarterback. Kelly has rushed 34 times for 175 yards (5.1 ypc) with two TDs this season. His ability to extend plays has been exceptional from the start, as demonstrated by his 516 net rushing yards on 134 attempts in 2012 - a mark skewed by the fact that sacks count against a quarterback’s rushing totals. If you take out sacks, Kelly would have led the team in yardage and yards per carry with 690 net rushing yards in 2012 on 103 carries (6.7 ypc). Sacks aside in 2013, Kelly had 826 rushing yards on 134 attempts (6.2 ypc) and was on fire in the final nine games with nine rushing touchdowns while rushing for 599 yards (sacks excluded) on 106 carries (5.7 yards per rush). Those nine touchdowns were notable as Kelly had just one rushing touchdown in 18 games prior to the season-ending streak. Kelly was second on the team last season with 43 rushes for first down, trailing only Marion Grice (45). He was also second on the team in “explosive plays” on the ground (rushes of 12 or more yards) with 18 in 2013, trailing only Marion Grice’s 19. If you take sacks out this season, Kelly has 24 rushes for 229 yards (9.5 ypc). Kelly has 1,323 rushing yards in his career - the second most of any ASU quarterback in program history. Additionally, Kelly has now punted 17 times in his career, with 13 of those being downed inside of the 20-yard line - including two against Washington.
DON’T CROSS THAT LINE ASU prides itself on its aggressive defense under Todd Graham and tackles for loss and no-yardage plays play a big role in that. Against Washington, ASU had 13 tackles for loss (most in the Todd Graham era), five stops at the line of scrimmage and forced eight incomplete passes for a total of 26 plays that did not earn a single yard out of the 72 total plays run by the UW offense (36.1 percent). In 2013, the ASU defense had 101 tackles for loss and held offenses to 353 plays (out of 942) that did not earn positive yardage (37.4 percent). In 2012, ASU forced 117 tackles for a loss of 497 total yards in 2012 - a 9.00 TFL per game mark that led the nation. In three seasons under Graham, ASU has forced 862 plays that have not resulted in positive yardage out of 2,401 total plays (35.9 percent). ASU is currently ninth nationally and second in the conference at 7.9 tackles for loss per game.
BETTER SUITED FOR HANDKERCHIEFS The Sun Devils don’t give referees much reason to reach for their pockets under Todd Graham. In each of his eight seasons as a head coach, Graham’s teams have been consistently ranked among in the top half of the least penalized teams in the country in both yards and penalties per game. The Sun Devils have just 34 penalties for 243 yards this season, ranked 16th in fewest penalities and fifth in fewest penalty yards in D-I this season. In 2013, the Sun Devils finished eighth in fewest penalties per game (4.00) and seventh in fewest penalty yards per game (31.4).
MORE ON PENALTIES Todd Graham has had a knack for having some of the most disciplined teams in the nation when it comes to penalty yards. Eighteen of ASU’s 21 least penalized games since 2006 have come under Todd Graham. Since Todd Graham arrived at Arizona State, the Sun Devils have had just 145 penalties in 34 games (4.3 penalties per game). The Sun Devils were penalized just twice for nine yards against Stanford.
LIGHT ‘EM UP ASU racked up 58 points against UNM, marking the 10th time since Todd Graham and Mike Norvell arrived in Tempe that the team accomplished the feat. To put that in perspective, ASU eclipsed 50 points 10 times total in the previous 10 years before the current coaching regime (2001-11). Putting points on the scoreboard won’t typically be a problem with Norvell heading the offense, as ASU eclipsed 50 points six times in games in 2013, breaking the school record held by the 1973 team. ASU went 86 games without scoring 60 from 2005-2011. Under Coach Graham it has scored 60 three times (63 NAU, 62 Navy, 62 USC). The Sun Devils finished 10th nationally last at 39.7 points per game and scored 556 total points, just six points behind the 1972 school record. ASU is currently 24th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 36.6 points per game. ASU’s 43.7 points per game in non-conference games since 2012 is the seventh-highest average in the FBS in that time.
MAKE ‘EM PAY ASU isn’t in the habit of not putting points on the board following takeaways. The Sun Devils took advantage of two takeaways against Stanford for a 10-0 scoring advantage in points off turnovers and has outscored the opposition 52-31 in the category this year. In 2013, ASU outscored its opponents 146-42 on points off turnovers while posting a +15 takeaway number. ASU put 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 off of Sun Devil turnovers. ASU had 18 touchdowns in 2013 on 33 opponent turnovers, aided by five interception returns for touchdowns. Out of 11 turnovers forced this season, ASU has turned seven of those into touchdowns (63.6 percent). In three years under Todd Graham, ASU has outscored opponents 327-131 in points off takeaways.
TURNOVER FACTORY The Sun Devils streak of 29 consecutive games forcing a turnover game to a hault against Weber State, bringing an end to what was the second-longest active streak in the nation. ASU has rebounded with 11 takeaways in the six games following. Last season, ASU led the Pac-12 with 33 takeaways in 2013, finishing fifth nationally. The team was seventh nationally with a 1.1 turnover margin. The squad had forced 74 turnovers under Todd Graham in the last three seasons, tied for the eighth-highest total in the country in that span. In the Pac-12, only Oregon, ASU and Washington have had a positive turnover ratio in each of the last three seasons. Additionally, ASU is the only team in the league with at least 30 takeaways in each of those seasons. ASU now has eight interception returns for touchdowns under Graham, compared to posting just four total in the previous three seasons prior to 2012. The total is second behind only SMU (9) for the most in the past two seasons.
GOLD ZONE One area that saw improvement last season for the Sun Devils was red zone offense, with ASU putting points on the board 91.3 percent of the time against FBS opponents in 2013, finishing sixth nationally in the category, as per TeamRankings.com. ASU has picked up where it left off so far this season, scoring on 30 of its 34 trips inside the red zone this season (88.2 percent), ranked 29th in the nation in conversion percentage with 20 touchdowns in that streak. In 2012, ASU scored on just 76.1 percent of their drives inside the 20 and ranked a lowly 93rd in the nation against FBS opponents. On the flip side, ASU allowed its FBS opponents to score 88.9 percent of the time in 2013 when entering the red zone (ranked 106th nationally). ASU has held its opponents to 18 scores in 23 red zone appearances this season (78.3 percent) - good for 35th nationally - improving dramatically in the rankings thus far this season while allowing just 12 touchdowns on those trips, a 52.17 percent ratio that ranks 31st nationally.
WINNING THE BATTLE FOR FIELD POSITION The Sun Devils are largely exceptional when it comes to starting field position and continue to resonate a point Todd Graham makes about being successful in the field position battle to win games. Under Todd Graham, ASU has had an average starting yard line of its own 35.6 in 24 victories compared to a starting yard line of the 25.3 for their opponents in such contests. ASU has allowed just five drives to start inside its own territory thus far this season, which is tied for the second lowest total in the Pac-12 (behind Arizona’s three such drives). Conversely, opponents have an average starting field position of their own 33.4 yard line compared to ASU starting at its own 28.3 in ASU’s 10 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). 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, though the squad dropped a bit to 32nd last season (average opp. starting yardline: 28.2). ASU had 10 scoring drives of 80 yards or longer in 2013, a notable feat as ASU had six such drives in the entirety of the 2012 season. ASU has had five such drives this season, including a school-record matching 99-yard drive against Weber State that was ASU’s longest drive since a 99-yard drive in 2008 against Northern Arizona.
CLOSING THINGS OUT ASU has outscored other teams 314-203 in the fourth quarter under Todd Graham. ASU finished 10th in the nation in points per fourth quarter in 2013 against FBS opposition (9.9) after finishing the 2012 season wtih 9.3 points per fourth quarter, which was good for eighth nationally. ASU’s 16.8 second-half points per game against FBS squads in 2013 was 24th nationally. The Sun Devils are currently 23rd nationally against FBS teams with 9.3 points per fourth quarter this season.
USE THEM WISELY Todd Graham doesn’t hesitate to use his alotted three timeouts per half when his squad is on defense, a coaching technique that has plenty of detractors. A closer look at the result of the play following those timeouts might quiet some, however. Since the start of the 2012 season, ASU has used 45 timeouts on defense in third down situations, forcing fourth down or a turnover on the ensuing play on 31 of those occassions (68.9 percent).
GOLD RUSH The Sun Devils rushing offense has been off to a solid start this season, averaging 185.9 yards per game thus far - the 47th-highest total in the nation - even despite lackluster numbers in each of the couple games. ASU put up 423 yards on the ground against UNM for its first 400+ yard rushing game since logging 405 against Oregon in 1997. The Sun Devils already have seven rushing plays over 40 yards this season and are 12th nationally in the category, notable as the squad had just five total 40+ yard rushes in the entirety of last season. ASU finished the 2012 season averaging 205.5 yards per game on the ground, which was the second-best mark in the past 25 seasons (since 1988). Only the 234.1 yards per game put up by the 1996 Sun Devils were better. in 2013, the team found its running legs by the end, averaging 191.4 yards per game and ranked 40th nationally. Even after ASU’s slow start to the season in the category, the squad still posted the fourth-highest single season rushing mark of the last 25 seasons.
ROAD WARRIORS Winning away from home in college football is difficult, especially in conference games. Under Coach Todd Graham, ASU is beginning to assemble a pretty good resume of road victories. ASU is now winners of seven straight road contests - the fourth longest active streak in the nation - and eight of the last nine road games under Graham. ASU now has 11 road wins in the past 16 road games, including nine Pac-12 Conference road wins in the past 12 Pac-12 road games. Graham has nine Pac-12 road victories under his belt already, tied for the second-most among all ASU coaches since 1980 behind only Bruce Snyder’s 18 from 1992-2000. Graham is 9-3 in Pac-12 road games at ASU, notable as the Devils were 5-13 in four seasons prior on the road in the conference. Prior to the UNM game this year, ASU had not won a non-conference road-game since defeating a then non-conference Colorado team in Boulder, 21-3, in 2006. ASU also had not won its first road game of the season since 2007 - a 41-3 rout over Stanford in Palo Alto. In four seasons prior to Todd Graham, ASU was 5-13 in conference road games while Graham has led the squad to a 7-3 record in such games in his three seasons at the helm. Additionally, in three seasons at the helm, Graham has won three regular season games in the state of California - as many as it had won in the state in the previous decade. All three were also conference wins, as many as ASU had won in California in the past 13 seasons.
EXPLOSIVE You’d be hard-pressed to listen to a Todd Graham press conference that didn’t involve the word “explosive” at some point as the head coach makes no attempt to hide the fact that that’s what he wants his team to be. 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 84 explosive plays (50 passing, 34 rushing) this season. ASU finished with 142 such plays in 2013 (82 passing, 60 rushing) and 165 (90 passing, 75 rushing) in 2012. The Sun Devils finished the season tied for seventh in the nation in plays longer than 20 yards in 2013 with 86 after having 72 in 2012, which was good for 19th in the country in the category. ASU is currently 24th nationally with 12 plays over 40 yards this season and 28th nationally in plays of 20 or more yards with 44. There’s always two sides to every tale, however, and the Sun Devil defense has also been prone to the big play this season, giving up 11 plays of over 40 yards this season - ranked 97th nationally in that regard. The Sun Devils are averaging 6.41 yards per play, good for 29th nationally.
PROTECT THIS HOUSE Following the victory over Stanford, ASU is now 13-4 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham. With the loss to Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship, ASU finished last season with a 7-1 record at Sun Devil Stadium. The 2013 season marked just the second time ASU has gone undefeated at home in the regular season in the past 16 seasons (since 1997), also going 6-0 in 2004. ASU also had a perfect record at home in ‘59, ‘64, ‘68, ‘70, ‘71, ‘73, ‘75, ‘81 and ‘96. In 17 games under Todd Graham, the Sun Devils have averaged 41.0 points per game at home. The lowest score the Devils have recorded in a regular season home game under Graham is 21 against Oregon in 2012 and ASU has scored 20 or more in 24 consecutive regular season home games, dating back to 2010. ASU’s 49.1 points per game at home in 2013 were sixth in the nation, just shy of the school record for scoring offense at home, which was 49.2 points set by the 1972 team. The Sun Devils are 270-99-3 (.730) all-time at Sun Devil Stadium since 1958, the 24th-highest active winning percentage in a stadium among all FBS schools.
RUN THE CLOCK One of the biggest areas of improvement for the Sun Devils in 2013 was the clock management side of things. In 2012, ASU ranked seventh in the Pac-12 and 80th nationally in time of possession, holding the ball an average of 29:15 per game. In 2013, ASU averaged 30:21 minutes of possession time per game - a total that ranked fourth in the conference and 51st nationally. The team had 13 scoring drives over four minutes in 2013, compared to just three in 2012. In 2014, ASU is currently averaging 29:04 minutes of possession per game. “So, ASU’s offense scores fast and thus time of possession is irrelevent,” you say? Not so fast, my friend. ASU is 14-3 when leading in time of possession under Todd Graham compared to a 10-7 record when trailing in the time of possession category, though three of those victories have come this season.
IN-ZANE IN THE MEMBRANE Zane Gonzalez is averaging 9.3 points per game thus far this season, tied for 21st nationally and fourth in the Pac-12 and his 83.3 percent field goal percentage on 10-of-12 kicking is currently 24th nationally. Gonzalez has kicked five straight field goals and been successful on nine of his last 10 attempts. Gonzalez finished the 2013 season hitting 25 of 30 field goals (83.3 percent) and booted 63 of 65 extra points. Gonzalez finished No. 10 in the nation in scoring at 9.9 points per game and led the Pac-12 kick scoring category by a large margin. The next kicker on the list was Stanford’s Jordan Williamson at 8.8. His 138 points by kick scoring were No. 1 in the Pac-12, far ahead of No. 2 Travis Coons of Colorado (107 points). Gonzalez was No. 1 in the Pac-12 in field goals at 1.7 per game. Gonzalez led the Pac-12 with 25 field goals, seven ahead of Williamson’s 18 field goals this season. Gonzalez was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s top kicker.
FG-ONZAL-EZ Gonzalez finished with 138 points last season, breaking the long-standing school record in the category that was previous held by Wilford White’s 136 in 1950. Gonzalez’s 138 points demolished the previous scoring record by an ASU kicker that was 118, set by Thomas Weber (2007) and Mike Barth (2002). With 25 field goals last season, Gonzalez tied the NCAA freshman record of 25 that was set by UCLA’s Kai Forbath in 2007 (25-30) and made more field goals than any other player in the FBS in the process and four more than any other freshman in the nation. Gonzalez is currently second on the NCAA active D-I leader list in field goals made per game in a career at 1.75. He matched a career high with four field goals against Stanford and earned the Lou Groza Place Kicker Star of the Week honor for the performance.
HAACK THIS WAY ASU punter Matt Haack (pronounced ‘hawk’) is having perhaps the single most impressive turnaround on the team from one season to the next this year. The sophomore punter averaged just 38.2 yards per punt last year on an ASU squad that ranked near the bottom of the FBS in the category. Haack has bumped that average to 43.4 this season with eight of his 28 punts downed inside the 20 and a new career long of 64 with a monster game against Colorado that saw him average 48.1 yards on seven punts - the third highest single game average for an ASU punter under Todd Graham and the highest since 2012. Haack’s 43.4 yard average is currently ranked 35th nationally and fourth in the Pac-12.
MAKE SURE THE SAFETY IS ON ASU’s starting safties Damarious Randall and Jordan Simone have been doing their part as the last line of defense for the Sun Devils. The duo leads the team in tackles with 66 and 60, respectively. Their combined 126 tackles this season are 25.9 percent of the total tackles made by the Sun Devils this season.
RANDALL TIME Damarious Randall has done much of the work on his own, accounting for 56 solo tackles on his 66 total tackles - an 8.3 solo tackle per game average that currently is tops in the country while Simone isn’t far behind in 11th with 6.6 solo tackles per game. Randall’s 9.4 total tackles per game are currently 33rd nationally and fourth in the Pac-12. His 6.5 tackles for loss this season are second on the team and show that not all his tackles are necessarily coming as that last line of defense for the Sun Devils. Randall lit up the stat sheet against Stanford, logging seven tackles, a sack, a fumble forced, a fumble recovered and a pass breakup to earn Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
SIMONE SAYS Safety Jordan Simone had the game of a lifetime against USC, logging a team-leading 20 tackles. It was the most tackles for a Sun Devil player in a game since Mark Tingstad also had 20 against Arizona in 1988. Simone is currently second on the team with 60 tackles this season and has reached double digit tackles three times. Against Colorado, he had his first career interception and fumble forced and also had a key fourth down goalline stop in the game to essentially count for three Buffalo turnovers. His 13 tackles were the fourth-highest single-game tally by a Todd Graham coached Sun Devil in the past three seasons at the time (Damarious Randall had 17 at Notre Dame last season, Brandon Magee had 17 at Arizona in 2012 and Chris Young had 14 at Utah last season).
TODD-BITS OF INFO Over his four seasons prior to coming to ASU -- one at Pittsburgh and three at Tulsa -- Todd Graham’s teams rushed the ball on at least 53.4 percent of their total plays. The 2012 Sun Devils rushed the ball on 59.1 percent of their total plays followed by a 55.2 percent tally in 2013. In 2011, ASU rushed just 44.5 percent of the time. Over the past eight seasons at Pitt, Tulsa, Rice and now ASU, only one Graham-coached team has ranked outside the top 50 nationally in sacks. The Sun Devils averaged 4.0 sacks per game in 2012, the second-best mark in the nation, and then 2.9 in 2013 to finish 17th nationally in the category. In eight seasons, Graham is 25-22 in true road games. ASU was 3-3 in such games in 2012 and 3-2 in road games in 2013. In the previous four seasons prior to Graham’s arrival, ASU was 5-16. In seven of the past eight years, Graham’s teams have ranked 39th or better nationally in fewest penalty yards per game. The Sun Devils averaged only 34.92 penalty yards per game in 2012, which was good for eighth in the nation, and bettered that in 2013 at just 31.36 penalty yards per game (seventh nationally).
HANG ON TO YOUR SEATS 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 is 1-0 this season in games decides by less than a touchdown following the 38-34 victory over USC. ASU has now gone 5-1 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.
PLAYING IT CLOSE TO THE CHEST Todd Graham stresses ball security perhaps more than any other factor when it comes to the keys to winning any game. In 2014, the Sun Devils have already had four games where it has not turned the ball over and have gone 4-0 in those contests. That number is notable because in the previous two seasons, ASU had just five combined games where it did not turn the ball over. ASU is now 8-1 under Todd Graham in games where it does not have a turnover.
TODD’S WINNING WAYS At one point ranked 11th in the AP Poll, Todd Graham achieved his highest ranking as a head coach in his career in 2013. The team also peaked at 11th in the BCS standings, also a new high for Graham. Graham has won 24 games in his first three seasons at Arizona State. It took Frank Kush until the third game of his third season to reach the 20-win plateau whereas it took Graham until the second game of his third season. Of all the coaching hires made prior to the 2012 season, Graham has posted the fourth-best record at 24-10, half a game behind UCLA’s Jim Mora at 25-10 with only Urban Meyer (30-3) and Kevin Sumlin (25-9) ahead of them.
WORK THAT, BERC THAT When it was announced that starting quarterback Taylor Kelly would miss time to injury, ASU fans everywhere wondered if Mike Bercovici would be able to appropriately run the offense. All he did in his first two career starts to settle that qualm is pass for 998 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. The 998 yards were a Pac-12 record for most yards in consecutive games for about an hour before WSU’s Connor Halliday broke the mark and preliminary research has shown that that tally ranks as the most passing yards in the first two starts of a players career in Division I history. Bercovici threw for five touchdowns against USC, a milestone that no player in history has ever accomplished against the Trojans. Bercovici’s passing totals of 510 and 488 yards in his two starts are the 11th and 13th-highest single game totals in Division I this season. Bercovici also led the Sun Devils to their first victory over Stanford since 2008 and is currently 32nd nationally and sixth in the Pac-12 with a quarterback efficiency rating of 147.9 on the season. After throwing an interception to end the first half against UCLA, Bercovici has thrown 118 consecutive passes without an interception. The ASU school record in 146 by Rudy Carpenter in 2005.
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME Or maybe it didn’t for ASU quarterback Mike Bercovici, who made his first career start against UCLA. While the redshirt junior didn’t come away from the win, he did set school records for completions and attempts in going 42-for-68 with 488 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The 488 passing yards were the fifth most by a Sun Devil in program history and easily the most by a Sun Devil making his first career start, topping Rudy Carpenter’s previous mark of 401 yards in 2005. It was also the most yards by a Sun Devil quarterback since Andrew Walter tossed for 559 against No. 6 Oregon in 2002. Since Ryan Kealy’s first start in 1997, the 15 quarterbacks making their first career starts in the post-Plummer era are now 9-6, though only four of those victories came against power conference teams.
TAKING DOWN THE TOP ASU was 3-2 last season against team’s ranked in the AP Top-25 Poll. ASU defeated No. 20 Wisconsin, No. 20 Washington and No. 14 UCLA in 2013 while losing to Stanford twice. ASU’s 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 gauntlet 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 In three seasons at the helm, Todd Graham is 5-6 against AP-ranked opponents. He has already earned more victories than Dennis Erickson (3), and has more than doubled Dirk Koetter (2) during their tenures. In the previous 11 seasons, ASU was 5-32 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 this season for the first time since 1999 and defeating USC in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1996-97 and ending a four-game losing streak to Stanford.
THEY SEE ME ROLLIN’ While the score may not have reflected things, the UCLA game showed that the Sun Devil offense is still rolling on all cylinders even without signal-caller Taylor Kelly. ASU racked up 626 yards of total offense while setting school records for plays run (105) and first downs (38). The previous record for plays was 101, accomplished against Wyoming in 1977 and Utah in 1972 while the previous first down mark was 37 against Cal in 1981. After putting up a 500-spot on USC, the Sun Devils are currently averaging 489.3 yards of total offense per game, a total good for 23rd nationally and fourth in the Pac-12.
SCHOLAR-BALLERS The Sun Devils have had a recent history of putting numerous student-athletes on the field that have already earned their degrees and the 2014 roster is no different. ASU will feature eight players this season that have earned their undergraduate degrees and will be pursuing graduate coursework. That total ranks in a tie for 13th nationally and is tops amoung Pac-12 institutions. Additionally. ASU has 40 student-athletes on its roster that are members of Sun Devil Athletics’ Scholar-Baller Program, which honors athletes who maintain over a 3.00 GPA in the classroom. The Sun Devils are also the only team in the nation to have two players tabbed as Senior CLASS Award candidates in Taylor Kelly and Jamil Douglas.