THE GAME - Sun Devil Football returns to the road this weekend for a nationally broadcast afternoon contest against the USC Trojans on Saturday, Oct. 27. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 12:30 p.m. on ABC (and ESPN2) with Adam Amin, Rod Gilmore and Quint Kessenich on the call. The game will also be broadcast over the airwaves on ESPN 620 AM.
ASU VS. USC - USC leads the all-time series against the Sun Devils, 22-12. The Trojans won 11 straight from 2000-10 before the series flipped into ASU's favor with a 3-1 record from 2011-14. However, the Trojans enter the contest having won the last three in the series by an average of 26.7 points per game. ASU is looking for just its second win at the Coliseum this century, with the only other victory coming in 2014 in the famous Jael Mary game.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. ASU is one of just three teams in the nation to have lost at least four games by a touchdown or less this year (EMU and WKU also at 4 each).
2. ASU's top three tacklers on defense this season had not played a single down of FBS football on defense prior to the 2018 campaign (Jalen Harvey, Merlin Robertson, Darien Butler)
3. Only 3 Pac-12 TRUE freshmen have played at least 350 defensive snaps this season and they all play for Arizona State (Merlin Robertson, Darien Butler, Aashari Crosswell). Robertson's 464 snaps are fourth-most among any Power Five true freshman in the country.
4. Jalen Harvey has made 31 tackles within 8 yards of the line of scrimmage as a safety - the second-highest total among Pac-12 safeties and th sixth-highest total nationally.
5. No ASU running back has coughed up the ball on a rushing play on 711 consecutive carries (26 straight games without a fumble).
6. .@eno_benjamin5 forced or avoided 51 missed tackles on the season, easily leading the country in the category.
7. Despite having three turnovers against Stanford, ASU still ranks tied for second nationally with only 5 turnovers this season. ASU is outscoring opponents 21-6 in points off turnovers this season.
8. 21 players have logged a tackle for loss this season for ASU, making the Sun Devils one of just one of 14 teams nationally to lay such a claim.
9. This is just the fifth season in the Pac-12 era that ASU has opened the year with seven consecutive games not allowing 30 points, joining the 1982, 1986, 1991 and 1997 campaigns
10. Quinn Bailey is one of just 24 offensive tackles on a Power Five team to not allow a quarterback sack this season and one of just 8 tackles in the Pac-12 to lay claim to such a feat.
BY THE NUMBERS
711 - No ASU running back has lost a fumble (or even put the ball on the ground) in 711 consecutive carries, dating back to the 2016 season - a streak of 26 consecutive games. That includes 136 running back carries this season (NOTE: this stat includes only RBs on rushing plays and does not include receptions). The fumble that ended the streak occured on a direct snap play to a running back. If only conventional running plays were included, the streak of carries without losing a fumble is 1050 carries over 38 games (since 2015).
128 - Arizona State and Louisiana Tech are tied for the active FBS record of 128 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. ASU has not allowed more than 30 points in a game this year, one of just 11 teams in the nation to do so. This is just the fifth season in the Pac-12 era that ASU has opened the year with seven consecutive games not allowing 30 points, joining the 1982, 1986, 1991 and 1997 campaigns.
51 - Eno Benjamin has forced 51 missed tackles this season (41 rushing, 10 receiving) - leading all FBS players in the category. He has posted a for a 106.9 elusive rating from Pro Football Focus, good for 9th nationally. Benjamin has forced a missed tackle 30.5 percent of the time - good for 9th nationally. 37.4 percent of Benjamin's rushes this season have resulted in a "win" for the Sun Devil offense, the 10th-highest total among FBS running backs with at least 300 snaps. 31.7 percent of his rushes have resulted in a first down or touchdown, the 9th-highest percentage in the FBS.
32 - N'Keal Harry has a reception in all 32 games of his career at Arizona State, tied for the 10th-longest active streak among all current FBS players. N'Keal Harry is now in 4th place in program history with 182 receptions, and just 6 shy of moving into the Top 3 in program history. Harry is currently 8th in school history with 2,373 career receiving yards, within 50 yards of 7th At 5.69 receptions per game in his career, Harry is second among the NCAA's active career leader in the category. His 74.2 career receiving yards per game are fifth among all active players. Harry is 9th in ASU history with 18 receiving touchdowns.
21 - The Sun Devils have allowed just 21.0 points per game this season, good for 32nd nationally and fourth in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils did not allow a single point in the first quarter of games against non-conference opponents and haven't allowed one in five of seven games this year. The tough scoring defense has kept ASU in every game this season, with five games this year being decide by one possession - tied for second most nationally. Unfortunately, ASU has been on the wrong end of four of those games - one of just three teams in the nation to have lost at least four games by a touchdown or less this year (EMU and WKU).
3 - ASU is tied for 4th nationally in allowing just 3 plays over 40 yards this season. an area the Devils have struggled in in recent seasons (allowing 20, 16, 30, 21 in the previous four seasons and finishing 103rd, 79th, 128th, 110th, respectively). ASU is also tied for 5th nationally in allowing just 1 play of over 50 yards on the year. The Devils have given up just 9 plays over 30 yards, tied for 12th-fewest nationally. In the past four years ASU had given up 38, 44, 40, 40 such plays, ranked 116th, 124th, 117th and 119th. ASU has given up just two running plays over 30 yards this season (22nd nationally), a far cry from the 14 it allowed last season that was 114th nationally.
FOR COMPLETE ASU GAME NOTES, STATS AND OTHER SUPERLATIVES, CLICK HERE OR THE PDF LINK ABOVE