THE GAME - Sun Devil Football heads the Los Angeles this weekend for its Pac-12 road opener against the USC Trojans on Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The contest is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. PT kickoff and will be broadcast live on FOX with Joe Davis, Brady Quinn and Jenny Taft on the call.
THE TROJANS - The Trojans lead the all-time series against ASU, 20-12, though the Sun Devils have come on strong of late in winning three of the last five games in the series after losing 11-straight from 2000-10. The Sun Devils have found some success against the USC defense since 2010, scoring 30 or more points four times in the last six games after clearing 30 just five times in HISTORY against the Trojans from 1978-2010.
The Sun Devils are looking to win two straight at the Coliseum for the first time since 1986 and 1991 - the only other time in history that has happened.
The Trojans come into the weekend looking for answers after a 1-3 start against arguably the toughest schedule in the country through four games (three ranked opponents with a combined 8-1 record to date). The Trojans will be looking to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2001.
Adoree Jackson continues to be a bright spot for USC and has been a difference in the return game, posting two punt returns for an average of 51.0 yards and touchdown while ranked fifth nationally in averaging 35.6 yards per kickoff return.
THE PAC-12 - The Sun Devils are 16-21-1 all-time in Pac-12 road openers but have won three of four with Todd Graham at the helm of the program. Since arriving, Todd Graham has won at least one Pac-12 game in California each season, with wins over #7 UCLA (2015), USC (#JaelMary in 2014), #14 UCLA (clinched Pac-12 South) and California (first Pac-12 road game in 2012). Prior to the California win on Sept. 29, 2012, ASU had lost seven straight Pac-12 games in California and was 3-23 from 1998-2011 prior to Coach Graham's arrival.
AN ASU VICTORY WOULD...
- Be the fourth victory in the last six games against Troy after an 11-game losing-streak from 2000-10.
- Improve ASU to 17-21-1 all-time in Pac-12 road openers and 4-1 under Todd Graham.
- Be ASU's third straight win in Pac-12 road opener.
- Move ASU to 25-13 in Pac-12 games since Todd Graham took over in 2012 and 20-9 in such games in the past three seasons - both marks leading the Pac-12 South in those respective time spans.
- Mark the first time since 2007 that the Sun Devils have started a season 5-0 and just the fifth time it has happened since 1976.
- Give ASU its first 2-0 start in Pac-12 action since 2012.
- Move the Sun Devils to 4-0 in their annual contests in Los Angeles in the past four seasons (currently with two wins at the Rose Bowl and one in the Coliseum).
- Improve ASU to 5-3 in the State of California under Todd Graham after going 3-23 from 1998-2011.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. ASU's 21.7 ppg against FBS opponents in the fourth quarter is more than 37 teams are averaging against FBS opposition PER GAME.
2. .@FootballASU has 17 defensive touchdowns under @CoachGrahamASU. Only the 22 by Ohio State is more in that span.
3. The Sun Devils are 4-3 in the State of CA under @CoachGrahamASU after going 3-23 in the state from 1998-2011.
4. The Sun Devils have rushed for 16 touchdowns in 2016 (third in FBS) and are already just three shy of their 2015 total of 19 rushing TDs.
5. .@Manny_Wilkins5 has joined Danny WhIte (10-0) and Todd Hons (8-0) as just the 3rd QB since 1970 to go 4-0 in 1st 4 starts.
6. The @FootballASU defense has forced 5 three-and-outs and 5 turnovers in the fourth quarter of games this year on 16 opponents drives.
7. ASU's defense currently has 21 three-and-outs on the year on 60 drives (36.4 percent) with 10 of those coming in final 24 minutes of games.
8. Under @CoachGrahamASU, ASU has scored 50+ in 10 games against @Pac12 opponents. It had 9 such games TOTAL in Pac-12 era prior (since 1978).
9. .@ZaneG_5 now needs just 5 field goals over the remainder of the season to break FSU's Dustin Hopkins FBS record of 88.
10. .@Football is looking to start a season 5-0 for the first time since 2007 and just the 5th time since 1976.
ON THE AIR
Hear the hometown call with broadcaster Tim Healey and color analyst Jeff Van Raaphorst as well as sideline reporter Derek Hagan providing all the action for Sun Devil Football this season. The hometown broadcasts are boosted by Bonneville's powerful sports/talk lineup of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, ESPN Phoenix 620 AM and 92.3 KTAR News FM. This week's game will broadcast on ESPN Phoenix 620 AM.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
The Sun Devils will compete in their fourth straight national broadcast of the season and the second game of the year broadcast on the FOX Family of Networks with the tilt being shown on FOX. For the second time this season, Joe Davis will be on the call alongside analyst Brady Quinn while Jenny Taft will provide insight from the sidelines.
The Pac-12 will again provide access to Armed Forces Network for carriage of Pac-12 football games in 2016 for the benefit of the men and women in the military.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
- The Sun Devils have won at least one game in the State of California since Todd Graham took the reins in 2012. The Sun Devils are 4-3 in the state since 2012 after going just 3-23 from 1998-2011.
- Under Offensive Coordinator Chip Lindsey the Sun Devils are averaging 47.4 points per game.
- ASU has 16 rushing touchdowns already in 2016 after having 19 in the entirety of the 2015 season.
- The Sun Devils have now scored in 18-of-18 trips to the red zone in 2016 and have scored a touchdown on 14 of those trips (77.8). That was an area ASU struggled in last year, only finding the end zone on 51.5 percent of its red zone trips.
- The Sun Devils have forced 21 three-and-outs this season on 60 defensive drives this season (35.0 percent), average of 5.25 three-and-outs per game that ranks 14th nationally this season.
- ASU has scored 50 or more points 16 times since Todd Graham arrived in Tempe for the 2012 season. To put that in perspective, ASU eclipsed 50 points 10 times total in the previous 10 years before the current coaching regime (2001-11).
- Against Pac-12 opponents, the Sun Devils have scored 50 or more points 10 times under Coach Graham, after only tallying nine in the conference era prior (since 1978).
- Zane Gonzalez was named the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week for the second consecutive week and the Sun Devils have had at least one players named Player Week in Each of the last three weeks. ASU now has 109 Pac-12 Players of the Week in history.
STRIKE FIRST
- Arizona State has scored first in 39 of the 56 games with Todd Graham at the helm and is 31-8 in the Graham era when getting on the scoreboard first.
- The Sun Devils were 5-2 when scoring first last season and are 3-0 in this year after picking up in each of the first three games of the 2016 season.
STRIKE FAST
- 239 of the Devils' 334 offensive scoring drives under Todd Graham have come in three minutes or less (71.3 percent).
- Of ASU's 32 scoring drives this season, 21 have came in under three minutes (65.6 percent), including 6-of-7 against Cal.
GETTING STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOT
- The Sun Devils have outscored their opposition 495-291 in the first quarter under Todd Graham despite being outscored 35-22 this year.
- The Sun Devils are 23-2 under Graham when holding their opposition scoreless in the first quarter and 1-0 this season when doing so.
- A strong second half start is also important and ASU scored 115 points in the third quarter of games against FBS opposition last year, a 9.6 points per third quarter average that was ranked 14th nationally.
- ASU has posted an impressive 31-3 overall record under Graham when leading at halftime.
DON'T CROSS THAT LINE
- Against Cal, the ASU defense forced 33 negative or no yardage plays (7 TFLs, 24 incomplete passes, 2 rushes of no gain) of 93 plays runs by the Golden Bears (35.5 percent).
- On the season, the Sun Devils have forced 110 negative or no yardage plays of 302 run by the opposition (36.4 percent)
- Under Graham ASU has forced 1,467 plays that have not resulted in positive yardage out of 4,062 (36.1 percent).
SERIOUSLY, DON'T CROSS IT
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ASU is first in the Pac-12 and second in the nation (Clemson) with an average of 8.04 TFL per game under Graham and one of two teams in the nation with more than 455 total tackles for loss (Clemson). They rank second in that time with 3.28 sacks per game
LIGHT 'EM UP
- ASU has scored 50 or more points 16 times since Todd Graham arrived in Tempe for the 2012 season.
- To put that in perspective, ASU eclipsed 50 points 10 times total in the previous 10 years before the current coaching regime (2001-11).
- Against Pac-12 opponents, the Sun Devils have scored 50 or more points 10 times under Coach Graham, after only tallying nine in the conference era prior (since 1978).
- ASU went 86 games without scoring 60 from 2005-2011. Under Coach Graham it has scored 60 or more four times ('12-63 NAU, '12-62 Navy, '13-62 USC, '16-68 TTU).
- The Sun Devils have dropped 50 on Arizona twice in the last three years after doing so just three times in 85 previous contests.
- The Sun Devil offense is currently ranked seventh in the nation in scoring at 48.8 points per game and have not scored less than 30 points with Chip Lindsey as offensive coordinator, averaging 47.4 points per game.
- The Sun Devils have rushed for 16 touchdowns in the first four games after having 19 in the entirety of 2015. The 13 touchdowns are good for third among all FBS teams.
- After having just two five-rushing touchdown games in nine previous seasons, the Sun Devils did it in back-to-back games too open the season, marking the fifth and sixth times in the Graham era that ASU has gone over five rushing touchdowns in a game. The Devils had three such games TOTAL from 1997-2011.
- The ASU trio of running backs (Demario Richard, Kalen Ballage and Nick Ralston) have been tough to bring down all year, logging 341 total yards after first contact out of their 642 combined rushing yards (53.1 percent).
- ASU and Arizona are the only two teams this season to have three players rush for over 250 yards so far (Richard, Ballage, Wilkins).
GOLD ZONE
- The Sun Devils have scored on 18-of-18 trips to the red zone in 2016 (one of just 14 teams with a perfect record) and have scored a touchdown on 14 of those trips (77.8 percent). That percentage is ranked ninth nationally among teams with over 15 red zone trips and 26th overall and is notable as ASU found the end zone on just 51.5 percent of its red zone trips last season.
- ASU is tied for second nationally with 13 rushing touchdowns in the red zone this year.
SUPER DEMARIO
- Demario Richard has eclipsed 100 all-purpose yards in 10 of his last 15 complete games
- Richard is just the fourth Sun Devil in history to have at least seven 100-yard rushing games in a single season. Freddy Williams and Art Malone had eight each in 1975 and 1968, respectively while Woody Green had seven two times in 1972 and 1973.
- Richard now has nine 100-yard rushing games in his career, three shy of cracking the ASU top-five in the category.
- Of Richard's 1452 rushing yards as a sophomore and junior, 677 have come after first contact (46.6 percent/2.3 yards per touch).
- Kalen Ballage introduced himself to the world in a big way against Texas Tech, tying an FBS record with eight total touchdowns (7 rushing, 1 receiving). He also tied the FBS record for touchdowns in a quarter with four in the second quarter of the contest.
- If Ballage were his own FBS team, his nine rushing touchdowns this season would currently be ranked in a tie for 19th in the country and his seven touchdowns against Tech were equal to or more than five teams had in the entirety of the 2015 season.
- Ballage had eight total touchdowns in his two previous seasons prior to his barrage against Texas Tech.
- He is currently ranked second in the nation in rushing touchdowns and third the country in scoring per game (15.5) while his 6.44 yards per carry sit 23rd nationally. His 62 points responsible for are 26th in the FBS while he is 35th in points responsible for per game (15.0).
NO RUSH
- The Sun Devils have held 21 opponents under 100 rushing yards in the Todd Graham era (57 games/36.8 percent), including three of four games this year.
- ASU held three straight opponents under 100 rushing yards for the third time under Graham (2013, 2015, 2016). The Devils had limited opponents to under 100 rushing yards in three straight games in just five previous seasons dating back to 1986.
- The Sun Devil rush defense is currently ranked 16th nationally and leads the Pac-12 in allowing just 95.0 yards per game this year.
- The Sun Devils finished 20th in rushing defense in 2015, 49th in 2014 and 26th in 2013 and were one of just 20 schools to be ranked in the Top 50 in each of the last three seasons.
THE WHITE PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME
- Tim White now has 10 games in his career with over 100 all-purpose yards and five in his last six starts dating back to last season.
- White is currently eighth among all active FBS players with 2,278 all-purpose yards over the last two seasons and is sixth in the Pac-12 in 2016 in averaging 142.25 (skewed by only fair catching vs. UTSA.)
- With 1,201 career kickoff return yards, White could challenge Jamal Miles' school record of 1,866 set from 2009-12.
TAKING OFFENSE
- ASU ranks second in the Pac-12 and eighth in the nation at 38.25 points per game (Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Marshall, Florida State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M) in the Graham era.
- ASU ranks second in the Pac-12 and seventh in the nation with 2,180 total points (Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Florida State, Alabama, Marshall) in that time
MAKE 'EM PAY
- Under Todd Graham, ASU has outscored opponents 500-239 in points off takeaways and leads 17-14 this season.
- The Sun Devils outscored the opposition 142-62 in points off turnovers in 2014, ranked fourth nationally behind only Louisiana Tech's 172, Nevada's 170 and Oregon's 164.
- ASU scored 22 times following 27 total takeaways (81.5 percent) that year and scored touchdowns on 19 of those occasions (70.4).
- In 2013, ASU outscored its opponents 146-42 on points off turnovers while posting a +15 takeaway number, putting points on the board following 75.8 percent of opponent turnovers (25-of-33) compared to just the 33.3 (6-of-18) percent clip ASU opponents scored.
A HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR
- The Sun Devils have forced 116 turnovers under Todd Graham in the past five seasons, which is the eighth-highest total in the country in that span.
- ASU has 14 interception returns for touchdowns under Graham, compared to posting just four total in the three previous seasons prior to 2012. The total currently leads the nation in for the most interception returns for touchdown in that span and ASU has added three fumble returns as well for 17 defensive touchdowns in the since the 2012 season, second behind only Ohio State's 22.
- ASU finished with 27 takeaways in 2014 (2.1 per game) after having a streak of 29 consecutive games forcing a turnover come to an end in the season opener. The total was good for 24th nationally and third among Pac-12 schools.
- ASU led the Pac-12 with 33 takeaways in 2013, finishing fifth nationally. The team was seventh nationally with a 1.1 turnover margin that season.
TURNOVER FACTORY
- ASU ranks second in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation with a .63 average turnover margin per game (Oregon, Houston, Michigan State, Boise State) since Graham took over the helm and was second in the Pac-12 and tied for fourth in the nation with a plus-36 total turnover margin (Oregon, Houston, Michigan State, tied with Boise State).
- ASU is first in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation with an average of 1.32 interceptions per game (Houston, Boise State, TCU, Ohio State) since 2012 and is first in the Pac-12 and tied for fourth in the nation with 75 total interceptions (Houston, Boise State, Ohio State, tied with TCU).???????
KICKING THE HABIT
- Zane Gonzalez is again out to prove he is the best kickoff specialist in the nation, having kicked 30 of his 37 kickoffs for touchbacks this season (81.1 percent) - six more than any other FBS player - while just three of his kicks have been returned (12th in the FBS)
- A total of 79 of Zane Gonzalez's 88 kickoffs last season went into the endzone and 66 were touchbacks (75.0 percent), the highest touchback percentage in the country and notable as just 27 of 83 opponent kicks were touched back (32.5 percent). ASU had just 33 touchbacks for the entire season in 2014 on 91 kicks (36.3).
- His 64.56 yards per kickoff in 2015 were second nationally.
- The 18 kickoff returns allowed by Gonzalez last season were the fourth-lowest total nationally and the lowest among all 67 teams with 71 or more kickoffs.
WINNING THE BATTLE FOR FIELD POSITION
- Under Todd Graham, ASU has had an average starting yard line of its own 34.4 in 38 victories compared to a starting yard line of the 25.3 for their opponents in such contests.
- Conversely, opponents have an average starting field position of their own 31.3 yard line compared to ASU starting at its own 29.1 in ASU's 19 losses under Graham.
- in 2012, ASU posted an average starting spot of its own 33-yard line that ranked 10th in the nation, according to the folks at Football Outsiders (www.footballoutsiders.com) and in 2013, the team ranked 13th nationally (average starting yard line: 33.3). With a 32.6 average starting spot in 2014, ASU was 13th nationally.
- The Sun Devils also held their opponents to an average starting line of their own 28-yard-line, a total that ranked 24th nationally in 2012 and was 32nd in 2013 (average opp. starting yardline: 28.2). ASU jumped to 11th nationally in 2014, forcing their opponents to an average field position of their own 26.9 yard line.
- ASU dropped to 46th in opponents starting position in 2015 while also falling to 62nd as far as their own starting field position went, notable given the team's 6-7 record on the year.
SEAL THE DEAL
- ASU has outscored other teams 626-454 in the fourth quarter and overtime under Todd Graham (11.0 points per game) and are averaging 22.3 points per fourth quarter this season.
- Excluded FCS NAU, the Sun Devils are currently first nationally in averaging 30.7 points per second half against FBS opposition and first in the country with 21.7 points per fourth quarter against FBS teams as well.
- The 21.7 fourth quarter points per game are more than 37 teams are averaging PER GAME against FBS opposiiton this year while the 30.7 second-half points per game are more than 75 teams are averaging per game against FBS teams.
- ASU's offense has scored on 13 of the 15 times it has possessed the ball in the fourth quarter this year, excluding game-ending kneel downs.
- The Sun Devils finished sixth nationally against FBS teams with 10.6 points per fourth quarter in 2014, 10th (9.9) in 2013 and eighth (9.3) in 2012.
- The Sun Devils averaged 18.5 second half points per game last season against FBS opponents, good for 13th nationally.
- ASU struggled defensively in the second half, however, giving up 18.8 second half points per game to opponents, the 14th-worst total nationally.
ROAD WARRIORS
- The Sun Devils are winners of nine of the last 14 true road contests. ASU has 13 wins in the past 23 road games, including 10 Pac-12 Conference road wins in the past 18.
- 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 10-8 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 nine against Texas Tech and 42 thus far this season.
- ASU is 18th nationally with 69 plays over 10 yards this season and 30th in the country with 11 plays over 30 yards (22nd in the FBS with four 30+ rushing plays)
- ASU finished 30th nationally in plays over 10 yards last season with 216 and 27th in 30+ yard plays at 35.
- ASU finished 24th nationally with 20 plays over 40 yards in 2014 after having just 16 total in 2013 and eight the year before. ASU was 26th nationally in plays of 20 or more yards with 71.
- The Sun Devils finished 2013 tied for seventh in the nation in plays longer than 20 yards with 86 after having 72 in 2012, which was good for 19th in the country in the category.
BETTER SUITED FOR HANDKERCHIEFS
- The Sun Devils are currently ranked 27th in fewest penalties (19), 17th in fewest penalties per game (4.75), 32nd in fewest penalty yards (174) and 23rd in fewest penalty yards per game (43.50).
- The Sun Devils averaged just 4.5 penalities for 32.4 yards per game in 2014, ranked 16th in fewest penalties per game and fourth in fewest penalty yards per game in D-I. In 2013, the Sun Devils finished eighth in fewest penalties per game (4.00) and seventh in fewest penalty yards per game (31.4). ???????
KEEP IT CLEAN
- ASU ranks first in the Pac-12 and third in the nation with an average of 35.28 penalty yards per game (Navy, Air Force) under Graham and ranks first in the Pac-12 and seventh in the nation with an average of 4.37 penalties per game (Navy, Air Force, Army, Ball State, Georgia Tech, Iowa).
- Twenty-seven of ASU's 31 least penalized games since 2006 have come under Todd Graham.
- Since Todd Graham arrived at Arizona State, the Sun Devils have had just 248 penalties in 57 games (4.35 penalties per game).
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
- ASU is 24-6 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham.
- In 30 regular season home games under Todd Graham, the Sun Devils have averaged 41.7 points per game. Against non-conference Power Five teams, ASU is averaging 50.0 points per game at home under Graham.
- The Sun Devils join Baylor and Oregon as the only other schools in the country to be ranked in the Top-35 in home points per game in EACH of the past five seasons with only Arkansas State added to the list if 2016 were not included.
- ASU has posted under 20 points in a regular home game just twice in Todd Graham's tenure - a 19-16 overtime victory over Utah in 2014 and a 42-14 loss to #19 USC in 2015.
- The Sun Devils are 281-101-3 (.734) all-time at Sun Devil Stadium since 1958, the 25th-highest active winning percentage in a stadium among all FBS schools.
ON THE RISE
- ASU is 24-13 in Pac-12 games since 2012, ahead of UCLA (23-14) for the best tally in the Pac-12 South in the past four seasons.
- ASU is 19-9 in Pac-12 games in the past three-plus seasons, ahead of UCLA (17-11) and just ahead of USC (18-12) for tops in the Pac-12 South.
- ASU has finished first or second in each of the last three of the past four 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 64 timeouts on defense in third down situations, and have not allowed a first down on the ensuing play or forced a turnover on 44 of those occasions (68.8 percent)
IN-ZANE IN THE MEMBRANE
- Zane Gonzalez currently leads active FBS players in averaging 10.2 points per game in his career. Additionally, he is first among all active kickers with an average of 1.95 field goals per made per game in his career. His 84 total fields goals are the most among active players
- Gonzalez is 11-for-12 on field goals this year, bringing his career total to 84 as he chases down Florida State's Dustin Hopkins FBS record of 88 career field goals. Additionally, Gonzalez now has 439 points in his career as he nears Hopkins' FBS record for points by a kicker of 466 after already setting the Pac-12 scoring mark by any players (previous 413).
- His 11 field goals this season are currently third nationally and he sits eighth nationally in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
- If his career ended now, Gonzalez would also own the FBS record for scoring per game among kickers and the ASU record for overall points per game with his 10.2 points per game topping Hopkin's FBS record of 9.6 and Wilford White's school record of 8.6.
- Gonzalez finished the 2015 season averaging 10.0 points per game, good for second in the Pac-12 and 10th nationally.
ZANE-IAC
- Gonzalez has scored at least one point in each of the 43 games he has played at ASU and is well on pace to break the ASU school record of 45 such games held by Luis Zendejas for most games scoring a point.
- He leads the nation in 50+ field goals with three this season and has four or more field goals in six games in his career, three more than any other Sun Devil player in history.
- Gonzalez was good on 26 field goals last season and became the first ASU kicker ever to have 20 or more field goals in three different seasons. In fact, only Luis Zendejas had two such seasons before. No other player outside Zendejas and Gonzalez have had more than one.
- With 25 field goals in 2013, Gonzalez tied the NCAA freshman record of 25 that was set by UCLA's Kai Forbath in 2007 (25-30) that was four more field goals than any other player in the FBS in the process.
- Gonzalez holds ASU's first, second and fourth highest single-season points totals in history (138, 130, 118).
HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS
- ASU has now gone 8-5 in games decided by a touchdown or less since the 2012 Arizona comeback in Tucson. To put that in perspective, ASU had gone 6-16 in such games since the 2007 season up until that moment.
- The Devils are 1-0 in games decided by less than a touchdown this year.
- ASU played in four games in 2013 decided by seven points or less, going 3-1 in those contests. The total is notable as ASU was just 4-13 in the previous four seasons in games decided by less than a touchdown.
- ASU was 3-1 in 2014 in games decided by less than a touchdown following the team's 36-31 Sun Bowl victory over Duke.
HOLD ON TO THAT BALL, ALSO
- In 2014, the Sun Devils had six games where they did not turn the ball over and went 6-0 in those contests. That number was notable because in the previous two seasons, ASU had just five combined games where it did not turn the ball over.
- ASU is now 12-3 under Todd Graham in games where it does not have a turnover.
- The Sun Devils have two games without turning the ball over in the four games that Chip Lindsey has been offensive coordinator. To put that in perspective, ASU had two games total in the 2015 regular season that it did not turn over the ball.
- ASU earned its first victory in a game in turned the ball over three times against UTSA after going 0-6 in the Todd Graham era prior.
TAKING DOWN THE TOP
- ASU finished 1-2 against teams ranked in the AP Top-25 Poll last season after a gauntlet that pitted the Sun Devils against three Top 25 teams in four weeks (a loss to USC, a win at UCLA, and a loss at No. 4 Utah).
- ASU was 3-2 in 2013 against team's ranked in the AP Top-25 Poll and the three victories were the most since 1997 when the team went 3-1 against teams ranked in the AP poll.
- ASU's 2014 schedule put the team on a collision course with three consecutive AP Top-25 teams (UCLA, USC, Stanford), a streak that ASU had faced only twice in program history. The last that happened was 2001, where ASU went 0-3 against No. 13 Washington, No. 8 Oregon and No. 11 Washington State. In 1994, ASU defeated No. 20 BYU in between losses to No. 23 Washington State and No. 21 Oregon.
- ASU came out of the stretch with a 2-1 record with back-to-back victories over No. 16 USC and No. 23 Stanford. It was the first time ASU has won back-to-back games over ranked opponents since 1997, when it took down No. 25 Stanford on Oct. 18 before defeating No. 10 Washington State on Nov. 1 following a bye week.
SLAYING DRAGONS
- The Sun Devils have gone 8-6 in the last 14 games against ranked teams.
- In four seasons at the helm, Todd Graham is 8-9 against AP-ranked opponents and the team was 4-2 in such teams in 2014.
- Graham has more than doubled the Top-25 win total of Dennis Erickson (3) and Dirk Koetter (2) during their tenures.
- In the previous 14 seasons, ASU was 5-40 in games against teams ranked in the AP poll. Other notable victories include the come-from-behind victory over Arizona in 2012, winning a game in the Coliseum last season for the first time since 1999 and defeating USC in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1996-97. ASU also ended a four-game losing streak to Stanford.
HAACK THIS WAY
- Matt Haack is currently fourth nationally with just a single punt return against him this season for no yards.
- He sits fourth nationally with his net average of 47.2 yards per punt which is good for seventh in overall average.
- Haack averaged 43.1 yards per punt last season, good for fourth in the Pac-12 and 35th nationally.
- Yardage didn't do the whole story justice, however. Nineteen of his 74 punts were for 50 or more yards (25.7 percent) while 32 punts were downed inside the 20 yard line (43.2 percent). The 32 punts inside the 20 were the second most in the nation and four more than any other player in the Pac-12. His two touchbacks were tied for the lowest total in the nation as well.
- Haack has a 42.8 yard per punt average in his career that current ranks tied for fourth all-time in ASU history.
GRAND SALAMO
- Redshirt senior Salamo Fiso finds himself in a position this year to move into numerous Sun Devil records while also finding a spot on several preseason award lists, including the Bednarik, Nagurski, Butkus, Lombardi and Polynesian CFB Player of the Year.
- Fiso needs just seven solo tackles to move past Mike Richardson (sixth all-time) for most solo tackles for a career and just 6.5 tackles for loss behind Carl Bradford (43) to crack ASU's all-time top 10 for tackles for loss.
- Fiso finished eighth nationally and second in the Pac-12 behind teammate Antonio Longino last season in average 1.5 tackles for loss per game. His 6.0 solo tackles per game were also second in the Pac-12 (behind teammate Jordan Simone) and 12th nationally.
WHO'S THE NEW GUY
- There are plenty of new faces on the Sun Devil coaching staff this season, an especially high amount given the fact that Todd Graham remains at the helm. ASU's five new assistant coaches this season are tied for the fifth most in the nation among all FBS programs that retained their coaching staff (USC leads with 7; Fresno State, Utah State and Western Kentucky all had 6 changes).
- There are plenty of relatively new faces along the offensive front as well as the Sun Devils entered the season with the fifth fewest returning offensive line starts (15) of any team in the country.
- N'Keal Harry became just the ninth true freshman in Arizona State history to start in a season opener this year. He joins Cohl Cabral, Robbie Robinson and Kyle Williams as the only true freshman to play on Opening Day.
- Harry is just the fourth Sun Devil ever to start on offense as a true frosh in the opener and he joined D.J. Foster as the only other Sun Devil in history to score in each of their first three games of the season as a true freshman.
- The 2016 will mark the a strange year from a schedule standpoints For instance, ASU has had only a single home game after Oct. 22 just twice (1996 and 1998) in the Pac-12 era. ASU's only home game after Oct. 22 this year is Nov. 10 vs. Utah.
- The Devils had just one home game in November just once in the past 10 years (2012). Utah is only home game in November this year.
- 2016 will mark the first time since 2002 ASU finishes with back-to-back games on the road.
- The Sun Devils have finished with three of final four games on the road just five times (2012, 2002, 1998, 1996 and 1994) since joining the Pac-12.
- Manny Wilkins became just the fourth quarterback since 1970 to go 4-0 in his first career starts, joining Danny White (10-0) and Todd Hons (8-0).
- Wilkins is currently 12th nationally in completed 67.2 percent of his passes through the first four games of the season and 24th nationally with 21.0 completions per game.
- The Sun Devils entered the season as one of just two teams in the nation without a quarterback on the roster that had officially completed a pass at a four-year college until Wilkins first attempt.