THE GAME - The Arizona State University Sun Devil football program continues its four-game stretch against Pac-12 South foes this weekend as it welcomes the Colorado Buffaloes to Tempe, Ariz., on Saturday, Oct. 10. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. PT kickoff and will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.
THE BUFFALOES - The Buffaloes enter the game with a 3-2 record this season and are 0-1 in Pac-12 action following a hard-fought 41-24 loss to Oregon last weekend in a game that was much tighter than the final score might tell.
Colorado is a team that has gotten off to a solid start this year, already surpassing last year’s win total (2) just five games into the season. The squad has done so behind an emergent rushing offense that is currently 18th nationally and third in the conference at 233.0 yards per game. They have done so with a committee of rushers that includes three players averaging over 60 rushing yards per game.
ASU holds the all-time series record against the Buffaloes, 6-0, and have won al four contests against CU in the current Pac-12 era. In those games, ASU has outscored the Buffs, 245-85 and have an average margin of victory of 43.3 points per game. Of all the teams that ASU has played at least six times throughout history, Colorado is the only one that ASU has an undefeated record against.
THE PAC-12 - The Sun Devils are now 16-21-1 all-time in Pac-12 road openers but have and have won three of four with Todd Graham at the helm. The victory keeps ASU just a half game back behind Utah for first in the Pac-12 South.
In the past two plus seasons, ASU has responded in an exemplary fashion following its first conference loss of the season - in the conference opener against Stanford in 2013, the second game of conference play against UCLA in 2014 and the first Pac-12 game this season against USC - compiling a 14-2 conference record across two seasons following those losses.
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 Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. The home town call will be on Sirius Channel 113/XM Channel 198.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Saturday’s contest will mark the third ASU game of the season that will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks. Kevin Calabro will be on the call alongside analyst Yogi Roth while Lewis Johnson will provide insight from the sidelines. ASU is 12-1 all-time on games played on the Pac-12 Networks.
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...
- Improve ASU to 7-0 all-time against Colorado.
- Make it a five-game winning streak in conference games against the Buffaloes, its longest winning streak against a conference foe outside its nine straight wins against Washington.
- Improve ASU to 276-100-3 (.731) all-time at Sun Devil Stadium, the 15th best record of all programs that have been at their home stadiums for at least 50 years.
- Improve ASU to 19-5 all-time at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham.
- Improve ASU to a Pac-12 South leading 21-9 record in conference games since 2012.
- Move ASU to 15-2 in all conference games following its first Pac-12 loss of the season in the past 2+ seasons.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. D.J. Foster has accounted for at least one reception in each of the 45 games he has played at ASU, the longest active streak in FBS.
2. D.J. Foster (@ASTATE_8) is currently third in the nation among active players with 4,326 all-purpose yards in his career.
3. Mike Bercovici and Matt Haack took two out of three of the @Pac12 Player of the Week honors, taking offensive and special teams accolades.
4. Of Demario Richard’s 748 yards from scrimmage this season, 329 have come after first contact (44.0 percent/3.0 yards per play).
5. Salamo Fiso and Jordan Simone are now ranked 2nd/3rd nationally and 1st/2nd in the Pac-12 at 7.8 and 7.4 solo tackles per game. #DynamicDuo
6. D.J. Foster became just the fifth person in FBS history to reach 2,000 career yards rushing AND receiving against USC.
7. ASU is one of just seven schools nationally with at least four players with 15 or more receptions this season. #SpreadingTheWealth
8. ASU is 20-9 in Pac-12 games since 2012, one game ahead of UCLA’s 19-10 mark in that same time span for the best Pac-12 South tally.
9. The Sun Devils are 6-0 all-time against Colorado, the only team ASU is undefeated against in six or more contests.
10. In past 2+ seasons, @FootballASU has compiled a 14-2 conference record following early @Pac12 losses (Game 1 in ‘13, Game 2 in ‘14, Game 1 in ‘15).
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
- Wide reciever D.J. Foster extended his streak of at least one reception to 45 games against UCLA, the longest active streak in FBS and also John Jefferson’s long-standing school record in the process.
- With four receptions, Foster now has 189 in his career, and stands alone in second all-time at ASU. The ASU school record is 258 by Derek Hagan.
- Demario Richard made it five games this season with 100+ all-purpose yards against UCLA with 134 total (79 rushing, 55 receiving). He is currently 17th nationally and second in the Pac-12 in averaging 149.60 all-purpose yards per game this season.
- Salamo Fiso and Jordan Simone continue to be one-man wrecking crews, now ranked second and third nationally and first and second in the Pac-12 at 7.8 and 7.4 solo tackles per game.
- The Sun Devils continue to dominate in tackles for loss, averaing 8.8 per game this season, good for ninth nationally and second in the Pac-12.
- Coach Graham notched his eigth win over an AP ranked team in four seasons at ASU, including the second against a top-10 team (#8 Notre Dame in 2014).
- The Devils have gone 8-5 in their past 13 games against ranked teams.
STRIKE FIRST
- Arizona State has scored first in 32 of the 45 games with Todd Graham at the helm and is 26-6 in the Graham era when getting on the scoreboard first.
- The Sun Devils are currently 3-0 when scoring first this season, doing so vs. Cal Poly, UNM and UCLA. ASU was 7-1 when scoring first last season.
STRIKE FAST
- 184 of ASU’s 251 offensive scoring drives under offensive coordinator Mike Norvell have come in three minutes or less (73.3 percent).
- Of ASU’s 22 scoring drives this season, 16 have come in under three minutes following five sub-minute drives out of six against UCLA.
GETTING STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOT
- The Sun Devils have outscored their opposition 406-214 in the first quarter under Todd Graham.
- The Sun Devils are 21-1 under Graham when holding their opposition scoreless in the first quarter and are 3-0 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 27-1 overall record under Graham when leading at halftime.
FOSTER THE PEOPLE
- D.J. Foster has the seventh-most career receptions of all active FBS players with 189 and his 11 career receiving TDs were most among all active FBS running backs prior to his position switch.
- Foster now has 4,326 career all-purpose yards (2,186 rushing, 2,063 receiving, 16 return) and finds himself ranked third among all active players in the category behind only SJSU’s Tyler Ervin (4,647) and Lousiana Tech’s Kenneth Dixon (4,646). 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 26 receptions this season and now has 189 in his career, a total that ranks him second 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 (2,190) AND over 1,500 career receiving yards (2,120).
- Foster became just the five player in NCAA history to reach 2,000+ rushing AND receiving yards against USC, joining Stanford’s Darrin Nelson, Tulane’s Mewelde Moore, Texas Tech’s Taurean Henderson and Houston/West Virginia’s Charles Sims. 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 45 and broke John Jefferson’s (1974-77) long-standing school record. The Pac-12 record is 48 by USC’s Kareem Kelly (99-02).
DON'T CROSS THAT LINE
- Against UCLA, the Sun Devils forced 27 plays that did not earn positve yardage (18 incomplete passes, seven tackles for loss and 2 stops for no gain) out of 68 total plays (39.7 percent)
- Under Graham, ASU has forced 1,153 plays that have not resulted in positive yardage out of 3,230 total plays (35.7 percent).
SERIOUSLY, DON'T CROSS IT
- With 44 tackles for loss this season, ASU’s 8.8 tackles per loss per game is ranked ninth in the nation and second in the Pac-12.
- ASU’s is also averaging 2.20 sacks per game this season, a total that ranks 45th nationally and third in the conference.
- Entering the game against Colorado, ASU was first in the Pac-12 and second in the nation (Clemson) with an average of 8.02 TFL per game under Graham and one of two teams in the nation with more than 360 total tackles for loss (Clemson). They rank third in that time with 3.13 sacks per game (Stanford, Utah).
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 has eclipsed 100 all purpose yards in every game this season.
- Richard now has 10 touchdowns in his past six games dating back to the Sun Bowl last season.
- With 151 receiving yards and 104 rushing yards against UNM, Richard became just the fourth FBS player since 1996 to eclipse 150 receiving and 100 rushing yards in a game and is just the second player in Pac-12 history to do so.
- Richard is currently 17th nationally and second in the Pac-12 in averaging 149.60 all-purpose yards per game.
- Of Demario Richard’s 748 yards from scrimmage this season, 329 have come after first contact (44.0 percent/3.0 yards per play).
BERC-ING FOR THE WEEKEND
- 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.
- Mike Bercovici’s is responsible for 72 of ASU’s 138 points this season (52.2 percent). He has nine passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns, making up eight of ASU’s 17 total touchdowns this season.
- Oddly enough, Bercovici has ASU’s two long-est touchdown rushes this season. His career-long 34-yard scamper against UCLA topped his previous team leading 19-yard rush in the season opener against Texas A&M.
LIKE MIKE
- Mike Bercovici enters the weekend in the national top-30 in completions per game (15th/24.00), passing touchdowns (25th/9), passing yards (19th/1,344), passing yards per game (27th/268.8), points responsible for (17th/72) and points responsible for per game (29th/14.4).
- Bercovici has shown his chops as far as being able to spread the ball around this season. In each of ASU’s four games this season, a diferent player has led the team in total receiving yards (Jefferson/Lucien/Richard/Chambers/Foster).
- ASU is one of just seven schools nationally with at least four players with at least 15 receptions this season, also a testament of ASU’s ability to spread the ball.
- 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 game against Colorado, ASU ranks second in the Pac-12 and tenth in the nation at 37.18 points per game (Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Marshall, 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 1,673 total points (Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Marshall, Florida State, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Northern Illinois) in that time.
MAKE 'EM PAY
- Under Todd Graham, ASU has outscored opponents 427-205 in points off takeaways, though it uncharacteristically trails 55-10 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 97 turnovers under Todd Graham in the past four seasons, which the seventh-highest total in the country in that span.
- 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
- Entering the week, ASU ranked second in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation with a .71 average turnover margin per game (Oregon, Michigan State, Houston, Boise State, Louisville) since Graham took over the helm and was second in the Pac-12 and seventh in the nation with a plus-32 total turnover margin.
- Also entering the. Colorado tilt, ASU was first in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation with an average of 1.36 interceptions per game (Houston, TCU, Boise State, Louisville, Tulane) since 2012 and is tied for first in the Pac-12 and tied for fifth in the nation with 61 total interceptions.
GOLD ZONE
- The Sun Devils have scored on 18 of its 23 trips to the red zone this season (78.2 percent) and have scored touchdowns on 13 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 13-for-17 (76.8 percent) inside of the red zone against ASU this season, good for 32nd nationally and third in the Pac-12.
WINNING THE BATTLE FOR FIELD POSITION
- Under Todd Graham, ASU has had an average starting yard line of its own 34.9 in 31 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 seven such drives this season
- Conversely, opponents have an average starting field position of their own 32.7 yard line compared to ASU starting at its own 28.2 in ASU’s 14 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 431-300 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 eight of the last 10 true road contests.
- ASU has 12 wins in the past 19 road games, including 10 Pac-12 Conference road wins in the past 15.
- 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 10-5 in Pac-12 road games at ASU, notable as the Devils were 5-13 in four seasons prior.
- The Sun Devils have won their Los Angeles games in each of the last three seasons (UCLA in ‘13, USC in ‘14, UCLA in ‘15). Only once before in the Pac-12 era (‘91-’93/USC/UCLA/UCLA) has ASU accomplished that.
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 10 such plays against UCLA and 43 this season (8.6 per game).
- ASU is currently 23rd nationally in plays over 10 yards this season with 82 thus far.
- ASU finished 24th nationally with 20 plays over 40 yards in 2014 after having just 16 total in 2013 and eight the year before. ASU was 26th nationally in plays of 20 or more yards with 71.
- The Sun Devils finished 2013 tied for seventh in the nation in plays longer than 20 yards with 86 after having 72 in 2012, which was good for 19th in the country in the category.
BETTER SUITED FOR HANDERCHIEFS
- Despite some atypical penalties this season, the Sun Devils are still ranked in the top-20 in all the fewest penalty/fewest penalty yard per game categories: 5th in fewest penalties (18), 3rd in fewest penalties per game (3.6), 12th in fewest penalty yards (179) and 7th in fewest penalty yards per game (35.80)
- 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 Colorado, ASU ranks first in the Pac-12 and second in the nation with an average of 33.29 penalty yards per game (Navy) under Graham and ranks first in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation with an average of 4.18 penalties per game (Navy, Air Force, Army, Ball State, Iowa).
MORE ON PENALTIES
- Twenty-four of ASU’s 28 least penalized games since 2006 have come under Todd Graham.
- Since Todd Graham arrived at Arizona State, the Sun Devils have had just 187 penalties in 45 games (4.16 penalties per game).
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
- ASU is now 18-5 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham though it has dropped its Pac-12 home opener in back-to-back seasons.
- In 23 regular season home games under Todd Graham, the Sun Devils have averaged 41.8 points per game.
- 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 275-100-3 (.731) all-time at Sun Devil Stadium since 1958, the 24th-highest active winning percentage in a stadium among all FBS schools.
ON THE RISE
- ASU is 20-9 in Pac-12 games since 2012, one game ahead of UCLA’s 19-10 mark in that same time span for the best Pac-12 South tally.
- ASU is 15-5 in Pac-12 games in the past two seasons, ahead of UCLA (13-7) and USC (13-7) for tops in the Pac-12 South.
- 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 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, 15-6 when leading time of possession under Coach Graham - though it is 1-2 this season - and 15-9 overall when trailing in the category.
IN-ZANE IN THE MEMBRANE
- Zane Gonzalez is currently fifth among active FBS players in averaging 9.3 points per game in his career. Navy’s Keenan Reynolds leads all active players at 10.7 points per game.
- Additionally, he is fourth among all active kickers with an average of 1.68 field goals made in his career, trailing only WVU’s Josh Lambert (1.93)
- 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 has 52 field goals to his credit in his career, one of just four Sun Devil kickers to surpass 50 and currently third all-time at ASU.
- With 288 career points, he is currently tied with all-time great Woody Green (288) for sixth on ASU’s career record books.
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 31 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 31-14, ranking behind only Urban Meyer (42-3), Jim Mora (33-12) and Kevin Sumlin (33-11) in the last three seasons.
NOT WASTING TIME
- In his first three seasons, Todd Graham found himself with an average of 9.33 wins per year at ASU, which ranks him number one all-time in ASU lore.
- His 31 wins are tied for sixth-most among coaches in program history while his .689 win percentage sits fourth all-time.
- Graham became the third-quickest coach to reach 30 wins, doing so in 43 games (Frank Kusk and Darryl Rogers each did so in 40).
- 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 is currently 1-1 against teams ranked in the AP Top-25 Poll this season and in the middle of a gauntlet that could potentially have the Devils facing four Top 25 teams in five weeks (a loss to USC, a win at UCLA, on the road against current No. 5 Utah, and at home against a receiving vote Oregon team.
- 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 8-5 in the last 13 games against ranked teams.
- In four seasons at the helm, Todd Graham is 8-8 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
- The Sun Devils are in the midst of a four-game stretch where they are scheduled to play three (potentially four) teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25. The Sun Devil played then-No. 19 USC in Tempe followed that with a contest at then-No. 7 UCLA that will subsequently be followed by tilts against current No. 5 Utah next weekend and against Oregon (currently first among teams receiving votes the following weekend after that.
- While the season is still young, ASU’s scheduled is currently ranked as the third-toughest schedule in the NCAA with Sun Devil opponents (past and future) currently posting a 29-11 overall record (0.725). ASU’s past opposition record is currently ranked second nationally with a 12-2 overall record (.857) while its future schedule is 26th nationally at 17-9 (.654)
DYNAMIC DUO
- The defensive duo of Salamo Fiso and Jordan Simone has been a prominent 1-2 punch this season. Simone leads the team with 45 tackles with Fiso just behind him at 44.
- Fiso is currently 19th nationally and leads the conference in averaging 1.7 tackles for loss per game and already has 8.5 through five games. Simone is second behind him with 6.0 TFL this season for a combined 14.5 tackles for loss between them
- The two have done much of the work on their own as well. Fiso is second nationally and leads the Pac-12 with 7.8 solo tackles per game (and leads the nation with 39 total solo tackles) with all but five of his total tackles coming on his own. Simone is just behind him at third in the nation and second in the conference with 7.4 solo tackles per game.
HAACK LIKE A MAN
- Matt Haack has been a game changer in the field position battle this season and his effort against UCLA was a testament to that. He pinned five balls inside the UCLA 20-yard line, none more important than his final one - a 46-yarder that skipped out of bounce at the Bruins 1-yard line that help ASU put the game away.
- Haack was named the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week for the effort and named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week as well.
- Haack is averaging 43.6 yards per punt this season, good for second in the Pac-12 and 32nd nationally. He has eight punts of 50 or more yards out of 30 and has pinned 12 punts inside the 20.
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