THE GAME - The Sun Devils will conclude the 2017 season at the Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on December 29 at 1 p.m. Arizona Time (and El Paso time). The game is scheduled for a national broadcast live on CBS.
N.C. STATE AND THE SUN BOWL - This marks the third meeting between ASU and N.C. State, and the Sun Devils hold an 8-10 record all-time against the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Sun Devils last faced the Wolfpack in 1974, a 35-14 loss in Tempe, while defeating N.C. State at home in a 25-22 effort during the 1960 season. N.C. State finished the regular season ranked 24th nationally in the final College Football Playoff Rankings with a record of 8-4.
The Sun Devils are 3-1-1 in the Sun Bowl, including a dramatic 36-31 victory over Duke in 2014, a 27-23 victory over Purdue in 2004, a 17-7 win against Iowa in 1997, a 26-13 loss to Case Western Reserve in 1941 and a 0-0 tie with Catholic University in 1940.
SUN BOWL HISTORY
Dec. 27, 2014 — ASU 36, Duke 31
In a game with 792 yards of combined offense, it was an interception by Arizona State's (10-3) defensive back Kweishi Brown that sealed a 36-31 victory for the Sun Devils over Duke (9-4) in the 81st Hyundai Sun Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 27 in El Paso, Texas. Arizona State defensive tackle Marcus Hardison was named the Jimmy Rogers, Jr. Most Valuable Lineman.
Dec. 31, 2004 – ASU 27, Purdue 23
Quarterback Sam Keller threw for 370 yards to earn the C.M. Hendricks Most Valuable Player Award, and Rudy Burgess collected 200 all-purpose yards and scored the game-winning touchdown with just seconds remaining in 2004 in front of 51,228 fans, the largest crowd in the history of the Sun Bowl.
Dec. 31, 1997 – ASU 17, Iowa 7
Tailback Michael Martin ran for 169 yards on 27 carries to take home the C.M. Hendricks Most Valuable Player Award and defensive lineman Jeremy Staat racked up three sacks to earn the Jimmy Rogers, Jr., Most Valuable Lineman Trophy.
Jan. 1, 1941 – Case Western Reserve 26, ASU 13
Arizona State took an early 13-7 lead behind a 94-yard Hascall Henshaw scoring play, but Western Reserve scored three touchdowns in the second half to secure the win.
Jan. 1, 1940 – ASU 0, Catholic University 0
Arizona State held Catholic to just four first downs, but was plagued by turnovers in their first-ever postseason bowl appearance.
AN ASU VICTORY WOULD...
- Improve ASU to 15-14-1 all-time in bowl games.
- Move ASU to 2-1 all-time against N.C. State, though the two teams have not played since the 1974 season.
- Give the Sun Devils a 4-1-1 record all-time in the Sun Bowl. ASU's six appearances are the third-most in Sun Bowl history and the most outside of the state of Texas (Tech Tech 9, UTEP 8).
- Be ASU's fourth straight victory in the Sun Bowl.
- Give ASU eight wins in a season for fourth time in the last six years. It would be the first time with four such seasons in a six-year span since doing it four times in the 1981-86 seasons.
- Give ASU three straight wins to end a season for the first time since 2012 and four wins in the last five games for the first time since 2005.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
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1. N'Keal Harry is the only sophomore in the country to have a reception in every single game he has been at Arizona State - 24 consecutive games.
2. .@FootballASU is 1st nationally in red zone scoring at 95.8% (46-of-48) trips with lone blemishes coming while kneeling at end of UW and UA victories.
3. In terms of eligibility, ASU cornerback Chase Lucas is the youngest player represented on the Pac-12 first and second teams. He is a redshirt-freshman.
4. With two players reaching double digit tackles for loss on the season (Wicker, Calhoun and Latu), ASU has had 20 such occurrences of that since 2012. It had 17 TOTAL reach the milestone from 2002-2011.
5. At 127 tackles this year, @ShowinStatsSam is 7th in Sun Devil single season history and has the most since Mark Tingstad set the school record (172) in 1988.
6. Demario Richard needs just 23 rushing yards to become only ASU's third player in history to have multiple 1,000-yard seasons.
7. ASU the 14th highest-graded offense in the FBS this season according to Pro Football Focus, including the 10th highest-graded passing attack in the nation. Notable as ASU was graded 54th in the nation in total offense last season and 86th in the passing game on the year.
8. .@MannyWilkins5 has a 125.5 NFL quarterback rating on deep passes (passes of more than 20 yards), good for 4th nationally - second in the Power Five behind only Baker Mayfield - and first in the Pac-12.
9. Last season, @dj_calhoun was 8th among all inside linebackers with 18 missed tackles on the year. This season, he's one of just 9 ILBs nationally to have 2 or fewer missed tackles.
10. ASU tied for first in the country facing 10 eligible bowl teams this season. 5 teams played 10, only 2 made bowl games (ASU joins Boston
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
- Arizona State was the 31st-highest graded overall team in the nation this season, per Pro Football Focus - a year removed from being the 67th ranked program in the nation. The +36 swing marked the eighth-largest turaround for a Power Five team in the PFF rankings this season.
- The Sun Devils have the 14th highest-graded offense in the FBS this season according to Pro Football Focus, including the 10th highest-graded passing attack in the nation. This is notable as ASU was graded 54th in the nation in total offense last season and 86th in the passing game on the year.
- The offense turnaround (+40 positions) was the eighth-largest in the FBS last season and they were one of just three programs to move from outside the Top 50 to inside of it in just one season. The 76-spot swing in the passing game rankings was the third highest in all of the FBS (second among Power Five schools).
- ASU is tied for first nationally in converting on 95.83 percent of its red zone appearances this season (46-of-48). HOWEVER, the Devils took a knee in the red zone in the final seconds of the team's victories over fifth-ranked Washington and in the Territorial Cup contest against Arizona - the only two blemishes against the Sun Devils this season.
- With 23 more yards, Richard would become the first Sun Devil with multiple 1,000-yard seasons since Freddie Williams in 1974-75 and thus the first Sun Devil in the Pac-12 era to do so.
STRIKE FIRST
- Arizona State has scored first in 50 of the 77 games since 2012 and is 37-13 when doing so.
- The Devils are 5-2 this season when scoring first (wins vs. NMSU, ORE, WASH, UTAH, OSU).
STRIKE FAST...?
- 287 of the Devils' 428 scoring drives since 2012 have come in three minutes or fewer (67.1 percent).
- The fast paced-offense was in full effect against Oregon with four drives coming under two minutes in that effort while five of ASU's seven scoring drives against Colorado came under the three-minute mark. Four of ASU's six scoring drives against Oregon State also fit the bill.
- Two of ASU's four scoring drives against NMSU came in under 30 seconds - marking the first time ASU had two scoring drives of 50+ yards occur in less than 30 seconds since the 2014 USC game.
...OR NOT?
- Despite the Sun Devils' previous modus operandi of quick-hitting scoring drives, ASU has been content with more methodic drives in 2017 with just 28 of 62 scoring drives coming under three minutes (45.2 percent).
- The Sun Devils finished the regular season 23rd nationally in averaging 31:53 minutes of possession a game, a total that was third in the Pac-12.
- In the last decade, the best ASU finished in terms of time of possession was third nationally in 2007 at 33:08 per game. Since that season, ASU has finished no better than 32nd in possession time per game (2014) and has finished below 50th seven times.
- ASU has 18 scoring drives this season that have lasted four minutes or longer after having just 10 total in the entirety of 2016. ASU had just eight scoring drives longer than four minutes in 2015.
- 18 of the last 41 Sun Devil scoring drives have been 10 plays or longer compared to just 3 of the first 21 scoring drives this season going into double-digit plays. ASU had 15 scoring drives last 10 plays or longer in the entirety of 2016 and has surpassed that total in 2017.
- ASU had three scoring drives over 5 minutes against Stanford and followed that with two drives over 6 minutes against #5 Washington, notable as the Devils had just four scoring drives total in 2016 that lasted longer than five minutes.
- ASU's 16-play, 8:08-minute scoring drive against Washington was the longest scoring by plays and by duration since Todd Graham's career began in 2012.In fact, it was ASU's longest scoring drive since a 9 minute, 43 second field goal drive against Oregon State in 2008. It was the longest touchdown drive by time since at least the 1999 season (as far back as drive possessions were readily available).
GETTING STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOT
- The Sun Devils have outscored their opposition 654-410 in the first quarter since 2012.
- ASU finished the regular season 27th nationally in scoring 8.3 points per first quarter in 2017 and scored in every first quarter of games outside of the Colorado contest.
- The Sun Devils are 28-4 under Graham when holding their opposition scoreless in the first quarter.
- ASU has posted an impressive 36-4 overall record under Graham when leading at halftime.
DON'T CROSS THAT LINE
- ASU forced 18 plays against Arizona that resulted in negative or no yardage (6 incomplete passes, 7 tackles for loss, 5 plays for no gain) of the 66 total plays in the contest (27.3 percent)
- This season, ASU has forced 272 plays resulting in negative or no yardage of 844 total (32.2 percent).
- Under Graham, ASU forced 1,930 plays that did not resulted in positive yardage out of 5,490 (35.2 percent).
SERIOUSLY, DON'T CROSS IT
- The Sun Devils are 14th nationally and third in the Pac-12 in averaging 3.00 sacks per game this season.
- ASU is second in the nation in averaging 3.10 sacks per game since 2012. Additionally, ASU is first in the Pac-12 and second in the nation (Clemson) with an average of 7.6 TFL per game since 2012.
- ASU has had 20 occassions of a player reaching double-digit tackles for loss in a season under Graham (2012-p) with three different players doing so this season (JoJo Wicker, A.J. Latu, D.J. Calhoun) after having just 17 TOTAL reach the mark in 10 previous seasons (2002-11).
- ASU has had at least two players reach 10 tackles for loss in a season in each of Todd Graham's years with the program, something that happened just six times from 2002-11.
#NOFLYZONE
- ASU has five games this season allowing under 200 passing yards, it's second-most since 2012 (8 in 2012) and matching its total from 2013. 2017 marked the first time ASU had at least three games in a row allowing fewer than 200 passing yards since opening the 2012 season with seven such games.
- ASU allowed just 467 total passing yards in its three-game stretch against Stanford, Washington and Utah. Again, for perspective, ASU had given up more than that in a SINGLE GAME on seven different occassions in the 29 games prior to that run.
- After having just two interceptions in the first six games of the season, ASU had nine interceptions in the final six games of the season.
HE'S THE MANNY
- Despite being pressured on 32.5 percent of his dropbacks - the 18-highest total nationally and second in the Pac-12 - Manny Wilkins is 24th nationally with a 76.6 NFL QB rating under pressure - eighth-highest among all QBs pressured at least 30 percent of the time and second among all Pac-12 quarterbacks.
- His five touchdowns under pressure are tied for 21st nationally among all quarterbacks. Against Colorado, Wilkins had a 119.0 passer rating outside the numbers with two touchdown passes.
- Wilkins has shown what he can do in a clean pocket however, ranked 12th nationally with a 70.8 completion percentage when there's been no pressure this season - good for second in the Pac-12.
- Wilkins has three touchdown passes over 50 yards this season after not having any in his career previously.
- Wilkins has a 125.5 NFL quarterback rating on deep passes (passes of more than 20 yards), good for 4th nationally - second in the Power Five behind only Baker Mayfield - and first in the Pac-12.
MANNY OF THE HOUR
- Manny Wilkins needs just 82 more passing yards to become only the ninth Sun Devil in history to reach 3000 passing yards in a season.
- At 5,247 career passing yards, Wilkins is under 100 yards away from moving into ASU's all-time Top-10 in the category (5,332 by Miike Bercovici).
- Wilkins broke the school record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception at 192 dating back to last season before his first quarter interception against Stanford, breaking Rudy Carpenter's previous school record of 149 from the end of 2005 to 2006.
- Wilkins has just five interceptions this season (three of which have come on tipped balls). This number is notable as only one other time in the Pac-12 era has a quarterback had 5 or fewer interceptions in a season where they started over 75 percent of the games (Taylor Kelly with 5 on 278 attempts in 2014, missed three games).
- In fact, outside of Kelly, no quarterback in Sun Devil history with at least 275 attempts in a season had fewer than seven interceptions in a season (Wilkins is currently at 370).
GOLD RUSH
- ASU has 26 rushing TDs this year as it reached 25 rushing touchdowns for the fourth time in the last six seasons. Those four times are notable as the Devils had just three previous seasons with at least 25 rushing touchdowns from 1980-2011 (1985, 1986 and 1996).
- Six times in the Todd Graham era has ASU had gone over five rushing touchdowns in a game. The Devils had three such games TOTAL from 1997-2011.
- The Sun Devils had an incredible month of November running the football, finishing seventh in the country in averaging 297.00 yards per game in the month - notable as ASU was 114th in the month of October in the same category at 108.00 yards per game.
- Demario Richard led all Pac-12 running backs with 598 rushing yards in November (149.50 yards per game) - good for fourth nationally, as were his seven touchdown runs during the month.
- The Sun Devils have rushed for over 2,000 yards five times in Todd Graham's six seasons at ASU (2,159 this season) after doing so just one single time from 2000-2011 and only eight times total over 30 years from 1981-2011.
- ASU rushed for 1,188 yards in the final four games of the season (297 yards per game), 55.0 percentage of the team's total yards on the year.
- According to Pro Football Focus, the Sun Devils have the 30th highest graded rushing attack this season after having the 41st worst-graded attack in 2016..
- ASU's run-blocking grades from Pro Football Focus are 34th nationally in 2017 after being ranked 69th last season.
GOLD ZONE
- ASU is tied for first nationally in converting on 95.83 percent of its red zone appearances this season (46-of-48). HOWEVER, the Devils took a knee in the red zone in the final seconds of the team's victories over fifth-ranked Washington and in the Territorial Cup contest against Arizona - the only two blemishes against the Sun Devils this season.
- The Devils sit 11th nationally in red zone touchdown scoring with 36 touchdowns on those 48 attempts (75.00).
- The Sun Devils scored on 43-of-47 trips to the red zone in 2016 (91.5 percent), a total that ranked 10th in the nation. ASU scored a touchdown on 33 of those trips (70.2 percent). That percentage was ranked 22nd nationally and notable as ASU found the end zone on just 51.5 percent of its red zone trips in 2015 - a total that ranked 108th in the country.
SUPER DEMARIO
- Demario Richard became the fifth running back in school history to surpass the 3000-yard career rushing mark, doing so against Arizona. At 3,152 career yards, he is second in the Pac-10/12 era in ASY history and needs 147 yards in the bowl game to become ASU's leading rusher all time in the era (J.R. Redmond at 3,299).
- Richard recorded his 13 career 100-yard rushing game this season, becoming the first Sun Devil in the Pac-10/12 era to reach 13 such games. He is now in sole possession of fifth place in school history with his 13 100-yard rushing games.
- Richard has a touchdown rush in nine of his last 11 games and has 33 touchdowns overall in his career (rushing and receiving) - good for eighth in Sun Devil football history.
- In 2015, Richard became the fourth Sun Devil in history to have at least seven 100-yard rushing games in a single season, joining Freddy Williams and Art Malone (8) and Woody Green (7, 2 times).
- With 23 more yards, Richard would become the first Sun Devil with multiple 1,000-yard seasons since Freddie Williams in 1974-75 and thus the first Sun Devil in the Pac-12 era to do so.
- In fact, he'd be one of just three players ever to accomplish the feat, with only Woody Green joining he and Williams on the list.
- Richard is just the fifth Sun Devil since 2000 to reach double digit rushing touchdowns in a season and his 12 touchdowns are good for 10th in ASU single season history.
CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALLAGE
- Kalen Ballage had 14 rushing touchdowns last season, making him just the fourth Sun Devil since 2000 to reach double digits and moved him into a tie for the seventh most single season rushing touchdowns in ASU history. He finished 26th in the nation in rushing touchdowns (14) and 34th among all position players with 94 total points scored.
- Ballage has six rushing touchdowns this season and now has 27 in his career, creeping up on ASU's all-time Top-5 in the category (the threshold being 28 rushing TDs).
- Ballage became the 26th Sun Devil to eclipse 3,000 career all-purpose yards and his 29 career touchdowns overall are 10th in Sun Devil History.
NO RUSH
- The Sun Devils held 25 opponents under 100 rushing yards in the Todd Graham era (77 games/32.5 percent), including four of 12 games last year and twice so far in 2017. (Texas Tech and #5 Washington). Colorado was held to just 109 rushing yards.
- In 2016, 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.
TAKING OFFENSE
- The Sun Devils have the 14th highest-graded offense in the FBS this season according to Pro Football Focus, including the 10th highest-graded passing attack in the nation. This is notable as ASU was graded 54th in the nation in total offense last season and 86th in the passing game on the year.
- The offense turnaround (+40 positions) was the eighth-largest in the FBS last season and they were one of just three programs to move from outside the Top 50 to inside of it in just one season. The 76-spot swing in the passing game rankings was the third highest in all of the FBS (second among Power Five schools).
- ASU is ranked second in the Pac-12 and 13th in the nation at 35.9 points per game in the Graham era.
- Arizona State and Louisiana Tech are tied for the active FBS record of 120 consecutive games scoring more than 7 points. The Sun Devils last scored a touchdown or less when they were shutout, 28-0, against eighth-ranked USC in the 2008 season. They have scored 30 or more points in 68 of those games (56.7 percent).
MAKE 'EM PAY
- ASU has outscored opponents 587-328 in points off takeaways since 2012.
- Since 2012, ASU has scored 68.8 percent of the time following an opponent turnover (99 of 144) while finding the end zone 75 times in that span (52.1 percent).
- Conversely, opponents have scored just 52.4 percent of the time following an ASU turnover since 2012 (55 of 105) with 43 touchdowns (41.0 percent).
A HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR
- The Sun Devils forced 144 turnovers under Todd Graham, which was tied for the 20th-highest total in the country from 2012-17.
- ASU had 16 interception returns for touchdowns under Graham, compared to posting just four total in the three previous seasons prior to 2012. The total was tied with Ohio State for first in the nation in that time.
- ASU added four fumble return touchdowns as well for 20 defensive touchdowns since the 2012 season, good for fourth in the country in that time span behind Ohio State (25), Alabama (22) and Boise State (22).
TURNOVER FACTORY
- ASU is ranked 9th in the nation with a .49 average turnover margin per game since Graham took over the helm and is 9th in the nation with a +38 total turnover margin since 2012.
- The Devils were second in the Pac-12 and tied for 10th in the nation with 91 total interceptions in that span.
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 seven such plays against Oregon State and 110 total this season.
- The Devils are tied for 18th nationally with seven passing plays of over 50 yards this season. It had one in all of 2016.
- ASU is 34th nationally with nine plays over 50 yards this year after having just three total last season.
- ASU has taken the chunk plays up a notch against conference opponents, currently 21st nationally with 24 plays over 30 yards against conference opponents only and 38th nationally in such games with 124 plays longer than 10 yards.
- ASU had two 50+ yard scoring passes in the opener, something it had not achieved since the Jael Mary game against USC in 2014. They were the first two 50+ yard scoring passes of Manny Wilkins' career.
- The Sun Devils turned the tide on allowing explosive plays this season as well after being one of the worst team's nationally in the category last year. ASU is tied for 30th in the FBS with just one play allowed over 70 yards this season after giving up 8 last year (127th nationally).
- ASU was one of just 29 teams in the country this year tha DID NOT give up a 70+ yard play in a conference game this season after doing so six times last year.
KEEP IT CLEAN
- ASU has averaged just 37.4 penalty yards per game since 2012, tied for the fourth-lowest total in the country with Air Force behind only Navy (27.3), Georgia Tech (36.7) and Army (37.5).
- Since Todd Graham arrived at Arizona State, the Sun Devils have had just 340 penalties in 77 games (4.42 penalties per game).
- ASU was 39-17 since 2012 when it had fewer than six penalties in a game compared to a 7-14 record when it had 6 or more.
- ASU is currently seventh in the nation in fewest penalties per game (4.08) and is eigth in fewest total penatlies (49). It is 19th in fewest penalty yards per game (40.25) and 20th fewest penalty yards (483).
- ASU finished 19th or better in fewest penalty yards per game in five of six seasons under Todd Graham and no worse than 52nd nationally while finoshing 16th or better in fewest total penalties per game in five of six seasons as well and no worse than 45th.
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
- ASU was 30-10 at Sun Devil Stadium since Todd Graham took over in the 2012 season. The 30 wins were the second-most home wins under any Sun Devil head coach behind Frank Kush.
- ASU posted under 20 points in a regular home game just four times in Todd Graham's tenure - a 19-16 overtime victory over Utah in 2014 and a 13-7 victory over #5 Washington in 2017 but also a pair of tough losses to USC (a 42-14 loss to #19 USC in 2015 and a 48-17 loss to #21 USC in 2017).
- The Sun Devils are 287-106-3 (.730) all-time at Sun Devil Stadium since 1958, the 27th-highest active winning percentage in a stadium among all FBS schools.
HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS
- ASU has now gone 12-8 in games decided by a touchdown or less since the 2012 Arizona comeback in Tucson. ASU had gone 6-16 in such games since the 2007 season up until that moment. The Devils were 3-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less this season.
HOLD ON TO THAT BALL, ALSO
- ASU was 15-3 under Todd Graham in games where it does not have a turnover after the Washington victory this season and 3-0 in such games in 2017.
- The Sun Devils have turned the ball over just 11 times this season (three on tipped ball interceptions), a total good for 12th nationally. ASU finished 82nd in the country a year ago with 21 turnovers.
- ASU is 17th nationally with just five fumbles lost this season, and none of those have been by a running back.
- ASU's six total interceptions this season are the 17th-fewest in the country, and three occured on tipped balls.
TAKING DOWN THE TOP
- The Sun Devils have gone 10-9 in the last 19 games against ranked teams.
- In his time at ASU, Todd Graham was 10-12 against AP-ranked opponents after defeating Oregon and Washington this season. Those 10 wins were the 5th-highest total in the Pac-12.
- ASU's victory over No. 5 Washington this season was one of just four victories over a Top-Five team in program history and the first since a fateful 19-0 victory over #1 Nebraska in 1996.
- Graham 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.
- ASU is 30-23 in Pac-12 Conference games since 2012, the second-best total in the Pac-12 South behind USC (36-17).
DIRTY HARRY
- Possessing deceptive speed and elusiveness, N'Keal Harry has 439 yards after the catch this season on 1000 yards (43.9 percent) and is averaging 6.0 yards after catch per reception this season. The 439 yards after catch are second in the Pac-12 behind USC's Deontay Burnett (465).
- Harry has proved himself as a valuable possession receiver as well and has 69 receptions on 103 targets this season - both totals good for first in the Pac-12 this season and 13th and 18th nationally on the year.
- At 1,000 yards thus far this season, Harry is second in the conference and 16th nationally
- He is ASU's fifth 1,000-yard receiver in the last seven seasons after ASU had just six players reach the mark from 1990-2010.
- At 73 catches this season, Harry is seventh in receptions in Sun Devil single-season history. The single season record is 87 by Shaun McDonald in 2002.
- The sophomore has appeared in all 24 games at Arizona State - starting 23 of those - and has a catch in all 24 games. He is the only true sophomore in the country to have a catch in the first 24 games of their career.
- Harry is third in the nation with four first-down conversions on fourth down this season – three of which have been for over 15 yards. He is 21st nationally nationally with 19 catches on third down on the year – good for second in the Pac-12.
- He has 563 receiving yards in the second half of games this season - good for the seventh-highest total nationally – first in the Pac-12.
LIGHT 'EM UP
- ASU 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 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 Graham era (after having only does so three time in Territorial Cup history prior) and averaged 43.8 points per game in six years under Graham.
- ASU scored 35 or more points in six straight games against Arizona under Graham, something it hadn't accomplished in more than three consecutive games in series history prior.
BRING THE WOOD...OR THE WICKER...OR THE LATU
- Tashon Smallwood is seventh nationally among all FBS defensive tackles with 32 quarterback pressures this season.
- JoJo Wicker is third among 3-4 defensive ends with 37 pressures this season while also sitting 20th among all ends with a 5.9 run-stop percentage.
- With A.J. Latu's 27 quarterback pressures this season and Renell Wren's 15 pressures, ASU is one of just six programs in the country with four defensive linemen with over 15 quarterback pressures this season.
- Tashon Smallwood logged a career best 4.0 tackles for loss with two sacks against NMSU, becoming the first Sun Devil to have 4.0+ tackles for loss since Antonio Longino against Arizona in 2015.
- After having just 1.5 tackles for loss and no sacks in his career entering the season, A.J. Latu has 10.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks this season.
- Four times in the Todd Graham era has a defensive player had at least 10 sacks in a season. ASU had just two players reach the milestone from 2003-2011.
- ASU has had 20 occassions of a player reaching double-digit tackles for loss in a season under Graham (2012-p) with three different players doing so this season (JoJo Wicker, A.J. Latu, D.J. Calhoun) after having just 17 TOTAL reach the mark in 10 previous seasons (2002-11).
- ASU has had at least two players reach 10 tackles for loss in a season in each of Todd Graham's years with the program, something that happened just six times from 2002-11.
IN THE RIGHT HANDS...OR FEET
- Brandon Ruiz set an ASU record with his 52-yard field goal in the opener, his first career field goal to make him the first Sun Devil to have their first career field goal go for 50 or more yards.
- Ruiz became the first Sun Devil in school history to kick two or more field goals longer than 50 yards in their freshman season.
- The true freshman is currently 15th nationally and second among all freshmen in touchback percentage (68.5 percent) and 7th nationally with 50 total touchbacks – also second among freshmen.
- Ruiz is second among all freshmen kickers in the country with 18 field goals this season - good for a tie for 17th among all kickers in the country.
- Ruiz has twice been honored as the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week (vs. Oregon, at Utah).
AIR IT OUT
- 45 of Jalen Harvey's 58 career catches (77.6 percent) have gone for a first down (26 of his 33 catches this season) while he has averaged 16.6 yards per catch average in career and 47 yards per catch on two career touchdown receptions.
- Harvey is a perfect 14-for-14 on third down receptions and conversions this season.
- John Humphrey introduced himself to the Sun Devil nation in a big way in the opener, catching seven passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. The debut was the second best for a first collegiate game in Sun Devil history, trailing only Calvin Demery's 1969 school record of 201 yards in his first game.
- Kyle Williams is currently the top rated receiver in the Pac-12 in terms of a quarterbacks NFP QBR when targeting a certain receiver, grading out at 124.0 with 61 catches on 77 targets (79.2 percent, easily the highest reception percentage in the Pac-12) with six touchdowns.
- The Sun Devils have had 5 different receivers with 100+ yards in five games this season, a total it had never reached in an entire season prior to this year.
- Only six times in school history has ASU had four different players with at least 100 receiving yards in a game in a single season (2004, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017) - notable as four of the six times in history it has happened have come since 2012 when Todd Graham arrived.
- ASU currently has the 30th-highest graded receiving corps in the country this season, according to PFF - improving 11 spots from its 41st place ranking last season.
GO D.J., THAT'S MY D.J.
- D.J. Calhoun is one of just nine inside linebackers in the country this season to miss two or fewer tackles on the year on 830 total snaps this season.
- He has missed one tackle on a running play and one tackle on a passing play, good for a 49.5 tackle efficiency rating from Pro Football Focus that ranks third among all inside linebabackers.
- The remarkable turnaround comes after Calhoun was eighth in the FBS among all inside linebackers for most missed tackles last season with 18
- Calhoun is third among Pac-12 inside linebackers with 29 combined tackles in the passing game. According to PFF, Calhoun has 15 "stops" in the passing game - or a non-productive play for the offense - a total that is first in the Pac-12 and 15th nationally.
- He is fourth in the Pac-12 in averaging 5.1 solo tackles per game and seventh with 7.8 tackles per game.
SAM, I AM
- Christian Sam reached double-digit tackles in seven consecutive games prior to the UCLA contest, more than any other Sun Devil had accomplished since AT LEAST 2000 - let alone in consecutive games. He has nine total games this season with double-digit tackles.
- Over the last three years, there have been 34 instances of a Sun Devil reaching double digit tackles. Sam is responsible for 13 of those while 11 other players combined for the other 21.
- His 127 total tackles are third among Power Five linebackers while his 87 solo tackles are second in the country.
- The 87 solo tackles are tied for fourth in ASU history and the most since Adam Archuleta had 93 in 2000.
- Christian Sam is currently ranked 2nd in the nation and first in the Pac-12 with 7.3 solo tackles per game.
- He is 7th nationally and first in the conference in averaging 10.6 tackles per game.
- He is 10th nationally among inside linebackers with a 12.4 run stop percentage - good for first in the Pac-12 - with 46 total stops on 365 run snaps played according to PFF. A stop constitutes a "loss" for the opposing team's offense.
- Sam has 31 tackles in the passing game this season, a total tied for 13th among all inside linebackers in the FBS and first in the conference.
THE CHASE IS ON
- Chase Lucas has played 662 snaps on defense this season - fifth-most among freshman cornerbacks in the Pac-12 - despite not entering the starting lineup until the fourth game of the season.
- He has allowed just 40 catches despite being targeted 78 times this season (second among Pac-12 corners) for a solid 51.3 completion percentage while allowing an NFL QBR of 72.4 with two interceptions and six passes defensed.
- He is third among freshman corners in the Pac-12 in tackling efficiency according to Pro Football Focus
- Lucas has allowed the second-lowest completion percentage (51.6) and third-lowest NFL QBR (72.4) among all freshman cornerbacks in the conference, despite being targeted the second-most in among those frosh.
- Despite being targeted more than any of the 23 Pac-12 corners that have played at least 60 percent of snaps this season (once every 4.6 passing plays), Lucas has allowed the fifth-lowest completion percentage of any corner in the conference – regardless of year.
- The frosh has done all of this despite not playing a single down at corner in his football career until this season.