THE GAME - The Arizona State University Sun Devil football program opens the 2015 Pac-12 Conference slate this weekend in its conference home opener against No. 19/18 USC on Saturday, Sept. 26 in Tempe, Ariz. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. PT kickoff and will be broadcast live on ESPN from Sun Devil Stadium.
THE TROJANS - The Trojans lead the all-time series against ASU, 18-12, though the Sun Devils have come on strong of late in winning three of the last four and two straight games in the series. ASU is averaging 38.6 points per game in the last five meetings against Troy, the most of any team in the most recent five-year span. In fact, the 38.6 points per game are the third-most in a five-game span by any team in history against the Trojans (Oregon, 41.4 from 2008-12; Stanford. 39.0 from 2007-11). ASU knocked off USC on the now famous “Jael Mary” last season in Los Angeles for a 38-34 victory. In the game, Mike Bercovici became the first quarterback in history to throw for five touchdowns against USC.
USC is playing its first game away from the Coliseum on Saturday after opening the year with a three-game homestand. The Trojans enter the game averaging 560 yards of offense per game while quarterback Cody Kessler enters ranked in the top-three nationally in completion percentage (78.7 percent), passing touchdowns (10) and passing efficiency (202.8).
After facing back-to-back triple option teams, the Sun Devils will look to contain Biletnikoff candidate JuJu Smith Schuster this week as he enters ranked in the top 10 nationally in receiving yards (3rd/434), receiving yards per game (5th/144.7) and receptions per game (10th/7.3).
USC is 80-28-8 (.724) all-time in road openers, 150-50-4 (.755) all-time in night games and 175-45-8 (.785) all-time in the month of September.
THE PAC-12 - The Sun Devils are 15-20-2 all-time in Pac-12 Conference openers but have a 21-15-1 record in Pac-12 home openers.
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 Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, 620 AM KTAR and 92.3 KTAR News FM. This week’s game will broadcast on ESPN Phoenix 620 AM. The home town call can also be heard on Sirius Channel 137/XM Channel 197.
Additionally, the game will be broadcast nationally by Sports USA National Radio. John Ahlers will serve as play-by-play with analysts Gary Barnett and John Robinson while Rich Gray will report from the sidelines. Check the affiliate map for the listing in your area here: http://sportsusamedia.com/affiliate-map/
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Saturday’s contest will mark the second game of the season that will be broadcast on ESPN and the 24th game since 2010 that is being broadcast on the ESPN family. Dave Pasch will be on the call alongside analyst Brian Griese while Tom Luginbill 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 2015 for the benefit of the men and women in the military.
AN ASU VICTORY WOULD...
- Be the fourth victory in the last five games against Troy, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since winning 4 of 5 against USC between 1982-86.
- Be ASU’s third straight victory over USC in Tempe.
- Even the series record against the Trojans in games played in Tempe at 8-8.
- Improve ASU to 16-20-2 all-time in conference openers and 22-15-1 in Pac-12 home openers
- Mark Todd Graham’s 80th career victory.
- Improve ASU to 276-93-3 (.733) all-time in games played at Sun Devil Stadium, the 15th-best record among all programs that have been at their home stadiums for at least 50 years.
- Improve ASU to 19-4 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham.
- Improve ASU to 6-3 vs. ranked teams at Sun Devil Stadium under Graham and 8-4 against ranked teams in its last 12 contests. ASU was 5-40 in 14 seasons previous to Graham against ranked squads.
- Be just the third time since 2000 that USC has lost three straight games to a Pac-12 opponent.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. D.J. Foster has accounted for at least one reception in each of the 43 games he has played at ASU, the longest active streak in FBS.
2. D.J. Foster (@ASTATE_8) is currently second in the nation among active players with 4,184 all-purpose yards in his career.
3. Demario Richard (@TheFaceOfCali) is 19th nationally in all-purpose yards per game (158.67).
4. Of Demario Richard’s 476 yards from scrimmage this season, 169 have come after first contact (45.5 percent/2.6 yards per play).
5. Salamo Fiso and Jordan Simone have double-digit tackles in back-to-back games and are tied for 5th in the FBS w/ 7.7 solo tackles per game.
6. Mike Bercovici is currently 12th nationally in averaging 18.0 points responsible for per game this season (7 passing TDs, 2 rushing TDs).
7. The Sun Devils are 18-4 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham and 275-93-3 all-time at the stadium.
8. At 7.98 tackles for loss per game since 2012, @FootballASU is ranked second behind only Clemson in that span.
9. With a win, it would mark just the third time since 2000 that USC has lost three straight games to a @Pac12 opponent.
10. @FootballASU averaging 38.6 PPG against USC in last 5 years, most in that stretch and 3rd-largest 5-game stretch by any team vs. USC ever.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
- Wide reciever D.J. Foster extended his streak of at least one reception to 43 games, the longest active streak in FBS. He is second on ASU’s all-time list of consecutive games with a reception and trails only John Jefferson’s school record of 44.
- With four receptions, Foster now has 179 in his career, and stands alone in third all-time on ASU’s career list. He trails John Jefferson (188) for second and the school record is 258 by Derek Hagan.
- Demario Richard became the first player since North Texas’ Lance Dunbar in 2011 to post 150+ receiving yards and 100+ rushing yards in the same game against New Mexico (151 receiving, 104 rushing).
- The 151 receiving yards were an ASU school record for a running back.
- Jordan Simone and Salamo Fiso each finished with double-digit tackles for the second straight game against UNM and are tied for fifth nationally in averaging 7.7 solo tackles per game.
- Arizona State’s victory over UNM was also the 30th of Todd Graham’s ASU career. He is the sixth Sun Devil head coach to reach the milestone and the only one outside Frank Kush and Darryl Rogers to do so by their fourth season.
STRIKE FIRST
- Arizona State has scored first in 31 of the 43 games with Todd Graham at the helm and is 25-6 in the Graham era when getting on the scoreboard first.
- The Sun Devils are currently 2-0 when scoring first this season, doing so vs. Cal Poly and New Mexico. ASU was 7-1 when scoring first last season.
STRIKE FAST
- 178 of ASU’s 243 offensive scoring drives under offensive coordinator Mike Norvell have come in three minutes or less (73.3 percent).
- Of ASU’s 14 scoring drives this season, 10 have come in under three minutes following five sub-three minute drives out of six against UNM.
GETTING STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOT
- The Sun Devils have outscored their opposition 398-207 in the first quarter under Todd Graham.
- The Sun Devils are 20-1 under Graham when holding their opposition scoreless in the first quarter and are 2-0 this season when doing so.
- The Sun Devils were 36th nationally against FBS teams in 2014 in giving up just 5.1 points per first quarter while being 31st with 8.0 points scored per first. ASU is giving up just 3.5 points per first quarter vs. FBS team this year
- ASU has posted an impressive 26-1 overall record under Graham when leading at halftime.
FOSTER THE PEOPLE
- D.J. Foster now has the eight-most career receptions of all active FBS players with 179 and his 11 career receiving TDs were most among all active FBS running backs prior to his position switch.
- Foster now has 4,184 career all-purpose yards (2,172 rushing, 1,996 receiving, 16 return) and finds himself ranked second among all active players in the category behind only Lousiana Tech’s Kenneth Dixon (4,401). That comes despite having just 16 career return yards - a category that is the bread and butter among many leaders in the all-purpose category.
- With 62 receptions in 2014, Foster became just the third player in program history to log 60 or more receptions. He leads the team with 16 receptions this season and now has 179 in his career, a total that ranks him third all time among Sun Devil receivers.
GO D.J., THAT'S MY D.J.
- Foster is the only active FBS players who has accounted for over 2,000 career rushing yards (2,164 AND over 1,500 career receiving yards (1,980).
- With four more receiving yards, Foster will become just the fourth player in NCAA history to reach 2,000+ rushing AND receiving yards, joining Stanford Darrin Nelson, Tulane’s Mewelde Moore and Texas Tech’s Taurean Henderson. Should he reach 2,500 yards in both, he would be the first Division I player to accomplish the feat.
- Foster has the nation’s longest active streak of games with a reception at 43 and needs just two more games to break John Jefferson’s long-standing school record of 44 set between 1974-77.
DON'T CROSS THAT LINE
- Against New Mexico, the Sun Devils forced 30 plays that did not earn positve yardage (17 incomplete passes, 7 tackles for loss and 6 stops for no gain) out of 76 total plays (39.5 percent)
- Under Graham, ASU has forced 1,099 plays that have not resulted in positive yardage out of 3,096 total plays (35.5 percent).
SERIOUSLY, DON'T CROSS IT
- With 27 tackles for loss this season, ASU’s 8.7 tackles per loss per game is ranked 10th in the nation and first in the Pac-12.
- ASU’s is also averaging 2.33 sacks per game this season, a total that ranks 35th nationally and third in the conference.
- Entering the game against USC, ASU was 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 three teams in the nation with more than 340 total tackles for loss (Clemson, Stanford). They rank second in that time with 3.19 sacks per game (Stanford).
LIGHT 'EM UP
- ASU has scored 50 or more points 12 times since Todd Graham and Mike Norvell arrived in Tempe.
- To put that in perspective, ASU eclipsed 50 points 10 times total in the previous 10 years before the current coaching regime (2001-11).
- ASU went 86 games without scoring 60 from 2005-2011. Under Coach Graham it has scored 60 or more three times (63 NAU, 62 Navy, 62 USC).
- The Sun Devils finished 10th nationally in 2013 at 39.7 points per game and scored 556 total points, just six points behind the 1972 school record.
- ASU finished 2014 ranked 16th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 36.9 points per game.
SUPER DEMARIO
- Demario Richard posted 255 total yards of offense against New Mexico, representing 56.8 percent of ASU’s total 449 yards of offense.
- Richard now has eight touchdowns in his past four games, as he had four in the Sun Bowl win, two vs. Cal Poly and two vs. New Mexico.
- His 93-yard touchdown reception against UNM was tied for the third-longest touchdown reception in ASU history and his 151 total receiving yards in the contest set a school record for a running back.
- Richard is currently 19th nationally and third in the Pac-12 in averaging 158.7 all-purpose yards per game.
- Of Demario Richard’s 476 yards from scrimmage this season, 169 have come after first contact (35.5 percent/2.6 yards per play).
BERC-ING FOR THE WEEKEND
- Mike Bercovici’s 998 yards in his first two career starts last season were a Pac-12 record for most yards in consecutive games for about an hour before WSU’s Connor Halliday broke the mark but the tally ranks as the most passing yards in the first two starts of a player’s 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.
- With 13 touchdown passes in his first five career starts, Bercovici topped Rudy Carpenter’s previous school record of 12 touchdowns in his first five starts.
LIKE MIKE
- Mike Bercovici enters the weekend in the national top-30 in completions per game (17th/23.3), passing touchdowns (18th/7), passing yards (29th/799), points responsible for (12th/54) and points responsible for per game (12th/18.0).
- There are only four quarterbacks in the nation with over 110 passing attempts this season and one or fewer interceptions, Bercovici being one of those (113 attempts, 1 INT).
- In Bercovici’s 186 pass attempts in 2014, only 24 times did he target the same receiver on back-to-back plays. At one point in the UCLA contest, he targeted eight different receivers over the course of 11 pass attempts. Only once did he target a receiver on three straight attempts.
- Out of all the players on last year’s team with a reception that weren’t named Jaelen Strong or D.J. Foster, there were 137 total receptions made on the season. Bercovici, in his limited action, was responsible for 61 of those passes (44.5 percent).
TAKING OFFENSE
- Entering the week, ASU ranks second in the Pac-12 and tenth in the nation at 37.70 points per game (Baylor, Oregon, Marshall, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Florida State, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma State) in the Graham era.
- ASU ranks second in the Pac-12 and 10th in the nation with 1,535 total points (Oregon, Baylor, Ohio State, Florida State, Marshall, Texas A&M, Georgia, Alabama, Northern Illinois) in that time.
MAKE 'EM PAY
- Under Todd Graham, ASU has outscored opponents 424-171 in points off takeaways, though it trails 13-7 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) 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 off of Sun Devil turnovers.
A HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR
- 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.
- The Sun Devils have forced 94 turnovers under Todd Graham in the past four seasons, which the third-highest total in the country in that span (Oregon, Boise State)
- ASU has 11 interception returns for touchdowns under Graham, compared to posting just four total in the previous three 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 in the span as well for a NCAA-leading total of 14 defensive touchdowns in the last four seasons.
TURNOVER FACTORY
- ASU is second in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation with a .79 average turnover margin per game (Oregon, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Houston) since Graham took over the helm and is second in the Pac-12 and fourth in the nation with a plus-34 total turnover margin.
- ASU tops the Pac-12 and is fifth in the nation with an average of 1.37 interceptions per game (TCU, Houston, Louisville, Boise State) since 2012 and is second in the Pac-12 and tied for sixth in the nation with 59 total interceptions (TCU, Houston, Boise State, Oregon, Ohio State, tied with Louisville).
GOLD ZONE
- The Sun Devils have scored on 12 of its 14 trips to the red zone this season (85.7 percent) and have scored touchdowns on nine of those.
- In 2014, ASU scored on 58 of its 64 trips inside the red zone (90.6 percent), ranked 12th in the nation in conversion percentage. In 2013, ASU points on the board 91.3 percent of the time in the red zone against FBS opponents in 2013, finishing sixth nationally in the category.
- 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.
- In 2013 ASU allowed its FBS opponents to score 88.9 percent of the time when entering the red zone (ranked 106th nationally). In 2014, however, ASU held its opponents to 35 scores in 46 red zone appearances (76.1 percent) - good for 23rd nationally.
- Opponents are currently 7-for-9 (77.8.0) percent inside of the red zone against ASU this season.
WINNING THE BATTLE FOR FIELD POSITION
- Under Todd Graham, ASU has had an average starting yard line of its own 34.9 in 30 victories compared to a starting yard line of the 25.8 for their opponents in such contests.
- ASU allowed just 11 drives to start inside its own territory in 2014, tied with Arizona for the fewest as far Pac-12 teams went. ASU has allowed just four such drives this season
- Conversely, opponents have an average starting field position of their own 32.2 yard line compared to ASU starting at its own 28.8 in ASU’s 13 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.
SEAL THE DEAL
- ASU has outscored other teams 415-280 in the fourth quarter and overtime under Todd Graham.
- The Sun Devils finished sixth nationally against FBS teams with 10.6 points per fourth quarter in 2014.
- ASU finished 10th in the nation in points per fourth quarter in 2013 against FBS opposition (9.9) after finishing the 2012 season with 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.
ROAD WARRIORS
- The Sun Devils are winners of seven of the last nine true road contests.
- ASU has 11 wins in the past 18 road games, including nine Pac-12 Conference road wins in the past 14.
- Todd 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 9-5 in Pac-12 road games at ASU, notable as the Devils were 5-13 in four seasons prior.
- 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.
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 eight such plays against New Mexico, five coming from Demario Richard.
- 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.
- ASU finished with 142 such plays in 2013 (82 passing, 60 rushing) and 165 (90 passing, 75 rushing) in 2012.
- 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 HANDERCHIEFS
- Despite some atypical penalties this season, the Sun Devils are still ranked in the top-20 in all the fewest penality/fewest penalty yard per game categories: 12th in fewest penalties (12), 9th in fewest penalty per game (4.0), 19th in fewest penalty yards (115) and 15th in fewest penalty yards per game (38.33)
- The Sun Devils averaged just 4.5 penalities for 32.4 yards per game, ranked 16th in fewest penalties per game and fourth in fewest penalty yards per game in D-I in 2014. In 2013, the Sun Devils finished eighth in fewest penalties per game (4.00) and seventh in fewest penalty yards per game (31.4).
- Entering the game against USC, ASU ranks first in the Pac-12 and second in the nation with an average of 33.35 penalty yards per game (Navy) under Graham and ranks first in the Pac-12 and seventh in the nation with an average of 4.23 penalties per game (Navy, Air Force, Army, Iowa, Boston College, Ball State).
MORE ON PENALTIES
- Twenty-three of ASU’s 26 least penalized games since 2006 have come under Todd Graham.
- Since Todd Graham arrived at Arizona State, the Sun Devils have had just 181 penalties in 43 games (4.21 penalties per game).
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
- ASU is now 18-4 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham.
- In 22 regular season home games under Todd Graham, the Sun Devils have averaged 43.0 points per game.
- The lowest score the Devils had recorded in a regular season home game under Graham was 21 against Oregon in 2012 and ASU had scored 20 or more in 19 of 20 reguar season home games under Todd Graham, with last’s year’s overtime victory over Utah (19-16) the only exception.
- The Sun Devils are 275-99-3 (.733) all-time at Sun Devil Stadium since 1958, the 23rd-highest active winning percentage in a stadium among all FBS schools.
ON THE RISE
- ASU is 19-8 in Pac-12 games since 2012, one game ahead of UCLA’s 18-9 mark in that same time span for the best Pac-12 South tally.
- ASU is 14-4 in Pac-12 games in the past two seasons, two games up on UCLA and USC (12-6) for tops in the Pac-12.
- ASU has finished first or second in each of the last three seasons in the final Pac-12 South standings.
USE THEM WISELY
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Since the start of the 2012 season, ASU has used 52 timeouts on defense in third down situations, and have forced a turnover or not allowed a first down on the ensuing play on 36 of those occasions (69.2 percent).
RUNNING THE CLOCK...OR NOT?
- 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 averaged 28:42 minutes of possession per game - ranked 99th nationally and picked up five victories when trailing in time of possession, improving its Todd Graham era record in that category from 9-8 to 14-8. ASU is, however, 14-5 when leading time of possession under Coach Graham and 15-9 overall when trailing.
IN-ZANE IN THE MEMBRANE
- Zane Gonzalez is currently fourth among active FBS players in averaging 9.5 points per game in his career. Navy’s Keenan Reynolds leads all active players at 10.8 points per game.
- Additionally, he is third among all active kickers with an average of 1.72 field goals made in his career, trailing only WVU’s Josh Lambert (2.00)
- Zane Gonzalez averaged 9.8 points per game in 2014, ranked 12th nationally and four among kickers while sitting first overall in the Pac-12.
- His 81.5 percent field goal percentage on 22-of-27 kicking was 22nd nationally.
- As a freshman, Gonzalez led the Pac-12 with 25 field goals and was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s top kicker. He was a semifinalist award last season as well and named to the preseason watch list for 2015.
FG-GONZAL-EZ
- Gonzalez finished with 138 points in 2013, 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 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 finished with 118 points in 2014, good for a tie for fourth all-time on ASU’s single season scoring list.
- Gonzalez was perfect from the field in the team’s season opener, kicking one field goal while adding an extra point.
- With 276 career points, he is currently 7th in ASU history, just one point behind Mike Barth (277).
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 and a 52.1 percent in 2014. In 2011, ASU rushed just 44.5 percent of the time.
- Over the past nine 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 finished with 2.9 per game in 2013 and 3.0 per game in 2014 to finish 17th and 13th, respectively, in the country.
- In nine seasons, Graham is 29-24 in true road games. ASU was 3-3 in such games in 2012, 3-2 in 2013 and 4-2 in 2014 (10-7 overall). In the previous four seasons prior to Graham’s arrival, ASU was 5-16 in true road contests.
- In eight of the past nine years, Graham’s teams have ranked 39th or better nationally in fewest penalty yards per game. The Sun Devils averaged 34.92 penalty yards per game in 2012 (eighth nationally), 31.36 per game in 2013 (seventh nationally) and 32.38 per game in 2014 (fourth nationally).
HOLD 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 was 3-1 in 2014 in games decided by less than a touchdown following the team’s 36-31 Sun Bowl victory over Duke.
- ASU has now gone 7-2 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 Tucson game.
HOLD ON THE 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 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 10-1 under Todd Graham in games where it does not have a turnover.
TODD'S WINNING WAYS
- Graham has won 30 games in his first four seasons at Arizona State, becoming just the third Sun Devil coach outside Frank Kush and Darryl Rogers to accomplish the feat by his fourth season.
- He has become the only ASU head coach to reach a bowl game in each of his first three seasons at the school outside of John Cooper.
- He has has led ASU to three consecutive eight win seasons for the first time since 1971-73.
- Of all the coaching hires made prior to the 2012 season, Graham has posted the fourth-best record at 29-13, ranking behind only Urban Meyer (40-3), Jim Mora (32-11) and Kevin Sumlin (31-11) in the last three seasons.
NOT WASTING TIME
- In just three seasons, Todd Graham already finds him self with an average of 9.33 wins per year at ASU, which would rank him tops all-time in ASU lore.
- His 29 wins are already the sixth-most among coaches in program history while his .690 win percentage sits fourth all-time.
- Graham became the third-quickest coach to reach 28 wins, doing so in 40 games.
- As far as Bowl Games go, Graham has wasted no time establishing himself in the record books as his three appearances with the Sun Devils are already tied for third among all ASU coaches and his two wins are tied for second.
ELITE COMPANY
- Head Coach Todd Graham had a school-record 28 wins in his first three seasons as head coach at ASU, one more than College Football Hall of Fame Coach Dan Devine (1955-57).
- Coach Graham has recorded 10 wins in five of his nine seasons as a head coach (Tulsa 2007, 2008, 2010; ASU 2013, 2014.) Since 2007, Coach Graham currently sits tied for No. 4 nationally in most 10-win seasons with five at FBS institutions, ranking behind only Nick Saban, Bob Stoops and Chris Peterson.
DOUBLE THE DIGITS, DOUBLE THE FUN
- In 2014, ASU secured back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since Frank Kush notched double-digit victories from 1970-73. That was drought of 31 years since it last happened, providing further evidence of how difficult an achievement back-to-back 10-win seasons are to come by.
- Back-to-back 10-win seasons hadn’t happened at Arizona State since 1970-73. But a quick look around the nation shows that only 12 schools have posted back-to-back 10 win-seasons the past two years. Here are the double-digit dozen.
TAKING DOWN THE TOP
- 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 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
- The Sun Devils have gone 7-4 in the last 11 games against ranked teams.
- In three seasons at the helm, Todd Graham is 7-7 against AP-ranked opponents and the team was 4-2 in such teams in 2014.
- Graham has more than doubled 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.
GOLD RUSH
- Since the Coach Kush era, ASU has scored 20 or more rushing touchdowns in three or more consecutive seasons just one other time (1985-87) outside the current streak (23 in ‘11, 27 in ‘12, 36 in ‘13 and 20 in ‘14).
- The current streak of four straight years with 20+ rushing touchdowns is the second longest streak in ASU history since 1960 behind only the seven straight Kush-led teams from 1967-73.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- Saturday’s contest will mark the first game of a five-game stretch where the Sun Devils are scheduled to play four teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25. The Sun Devil will play currently No. 9 UCLA next weekend in Pasadena followed by a home tilt against unranked Colorado that will subsequently be followed by tilts against current No. 18 Utah and No. 13 Oregon.
- While the season is still young, ASU’s future schedule is currently rated the second-toughest by the NCAA with the nine opponents posting a cumulative record of 18-4 through the first three weeks of the season (.818).
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