THE GAME - Sun Devil Football continues the 2018 season at home this week, taking on #15/13 Michigan State on Saturday, September 8 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. The game, scheduled for a 7:45 p.m. PT kickoff, will be broadcast live on the ESPN with Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy and Tom Luginbill on the call.
To help expedite entry into Sun Devil Stadium, we encourage fans to approach the gates early and have your tickets ready.
AN ASU VICTORY WOULD...
- Improve ASU to 10-0 in games played in Sun Devil Stadium against teams from the Big Ten.
- Give ASU its fourth victory over a nationally ranked opponent in Blackout games played in Tempe (#5 UW in 2017, #20 Wisconsin in 2013 and #21 Missouri in 2011).
- Be ASU's fourth-straight win over a nationally ranked non-conference opponent in the regular season (#8 Notre Dame in 2014, #20 Wisconsin in 2013, #21 Missouri in 2011).
MILESTONE COUNTDOWNS
- 164 passing yards needed for Manny Wilkins to reach 6,000 passing yards in his career.
- 2 touchdowns needed (passing OR rushing) for Manny Wilkins to reach 50 career touchdowns accounted for.
- 1 rushing touchdown needed (passing OR rushing) for Manny Wilkins to move into 3rd in school history among QBs (13, currently at 12).
- 4 completions needed for Manny Wilkins to move into 7th in program history (477, currently at 473).
- 59 receiving yards needed for N'Keal Harry to reach 2,000 career receiving yards
- 78 passing yards needed for Manny Wilkins to move into 8th in program history (5,914, currently at 5,836).
- 10 receptions needed for N'Keal Harry to move into 7th in program history (156, currently at 146).
- 1 field goal needed for Brandon Ruiz to reach 20 in his career.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. Jalen Bates and Doug Subtyl combined for 11 QB pressures (6 and 5), leading the Pac-12's defensive ends and ranking 2nd/7th among all FBS d-ends in week one.
2. N'Keal Harry averaged 19.0 yards after the catch on Saturday - 6th best in the nation - and forced six missed tackles, good for second nationally.
3. ASU has 17 interception returns for a touchdowns since the 2012 season, a total that is tied with Alabama and Ohio State for most in the country in that time.
4. Chase Lucas allowed a paltry 43.8 NFL QBR when targeted on Saturday, allowing just two catches for 20 yards with a pass breakup while also logging a team-best 3.0 tackles for loss.
5. No ASU running back has coughed up the ball in 562 consecutive carries (20 straight games without a fumble).
6. Despite facing pressure on 52% of his dropbacks on Sat., Manny Wilkins took no sacks and was 7-of-12 for 86 yards and 2 TDs and a 120.1 NFL QBR - 11th best in the country for QBs under duress.
7. Sun Devil Football gained 3.9 yards per carry on the ground BEFORE contact during the opening weekend of action - the highest total in the country.
8. ASU posted 19 plays of 10 or more yards in the opener against UTSA, the 26th-highest total in the country.
9. N'Keal Harry has a reception in all 26 games of his career at Arizona State, the eighth-longest active streak of games for any returning player in the NCAA.
10. Arizona State and Louisiana Tech are tied for the active FBS record of 122 consecutive games scoring more than 7 points.
FOCUSING ON FOOTBALL
- The Sun Devil football team performed well in numerous categories during the opening weekend of action, according to the weekly grades produced by Pro Football Focus.
- The Sun Devil rushing game was largely successful, finishing with the 10th-highest offense success percentage (a play that results in a "win" for the offense according to PFF formulas) in the country at 51.6 percent against UTSA.
- According to PFF, the Sun Devils created pressure on the quarterback on 52.7 percent of Saturday's pass rushing plays - the 10th-highest total in the nation. The team earned a "win" on 65.5 percent of its pass rush plays - the 26th-best total nationally.
GOLD ZONE
- The Sun Devils were a perfect 4-for-4 in the red zone in the team's opener, continuing a trend that has been commonplace in the last two seasons.
- ASU finished fifth nationally in converting on 96.23 percent of its red zone appearances last season (51-of-53). 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 last year.
- 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 is the only team in the country to be ranked in the Top 10 in red zone scoring in each of the past two seasons.
DON'T CROSS THAT LINE
- ASU recorded nine sacks against UTSA, the most since the Sun Devils sacked the UCLA Bruins the same amount of times on Nov. 23, 2013 at the Rose Bowl. Darius Slade and D.J. Davidson each record two sacks - good for third nationally through the opening weekend of action.
- ASU recorded 15 tackles for a loss, the most since the Sun Devils recorded that same amount against Washington State on Oct. 30, 2010.
- ASU entered the season ranked fourth in the country in averaging 2.83 sacks per game in the past six seasons. Additionally, ASU was sixth in the nation with an average of 7.32 TFL per game since 2013.
- ASU allowed just 2 rushing yards against UTSA - the seventh-lowest total it has allowed against any opponent since the 1996 season.
- ASU has had 20 occassions of a player reaching double-digit tackles for loss in the last six years with 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 the past six years, something that happened just six times from 2002-11.
HOLD ON TO THAT BALL
- ASU did not turn the ball over in the season opener.
- No ASU running back has put the ball on the ground in 562 consecutive carries, dating back to the 2016 season - a streak of 20 consecutive games. That includes 27 running back carries in the season opener.
- The Sun Devils turned the ball over just 15 times last season (four on tipped ball interceptions), a total good for 27th nationally. ASU finished 82nd in the country in 2016 with 21 turnovers.
HE'S THE MANNY
- Wilkins has 5,836 passing yards in his career, good for ninth among all quarterbacks in ASU history and within 100 yards of moving into 8th in program lore.
- His 473 career completions are 8th in program history and he needs just four more to move into seventh all-time at ASU.
- His 12 career rushing touchdowns are fourth among quarterbacks in ASU history behind Mark Malone (21), Danny White (14) and Taylor Kelly (13). He had seven touchdowns on the ground last season, becoming one of just 10 quarterbacks in the FBS last season to pass for at least 20 touchdowns with at least 7 rushing touchdowns as well.
- Wilkins broke the school record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception last season at 192 between the end of the 2016 season and the first half of last year, breaking Rudy Carpenter's previous school record of 149 from the end of 2005 to 2006.
- Manny Wilkins opened to season with four touchdown passes and two of those came while he was under pressure. In fact, despite facing pressure on 52.0 percent of his dropbacks in the opener (the third-highest total in the nation), Wilkins didn't take a single sack and was 7-of-12 for 86 yards and two touchdowns for a 120.1 NFL QB rating - the 11th highest in the nation in week one for QBs under pressure.
- That said, Wilkins posted a nearly perfect 156.3 NFL QBR when kept clean - good for fifth nationally - going 9-of-12 (including two drops) for 151 yards and two touchdowns. His 91.7 percent accuracy percentage was seventh in the country.
- Wilkins became the first ASU quarterback to throw for 4+ touchdowns since Mike Bercovici (vs. West Virginia; Cactus Bowl Jan. 3, 2016) as he accounted three or more touchdowns for the third consecutive game and the eighth time in his career.
DIRTY HARRY
- N'Keal Harry has a reception in all 26 games of his career at Arizona State, tied for the eighth-longest active streak among all current FBS players.
- His 146 career receptions are good for ninth in Sun Devil school history and he is already within 208 yards of cracking ASU's all-time Top-10 in career receiving yards. He needs 10 receptions to move into a tie for 7th in ASU career receptions (156).
- With 15 career receiving touchdowns, Harry is within two of moving into a tie for 10th in ASU school history in that category as well and three would move him into ninth.
- Harry forced six missed tackles in the season opener, the second most among all FBS wide receivers.
- He was named to PFF"s Offensive Team of the Week, finishing with a 90.7 grade and accounted for 114 yards after the catch on his 140 total receiving yards.
- Harry's 19.0 yards after the catch per reception was the sixth-highest total among Power Five receivers in Week One of action.
AIR IT OUT
- ASU finished with the the 33rd-highest graded receiving corps in the country last season, according to PFF.
- The Sun Devil wide receivers were the ninth highest graded group among all FBS teams in week one with a 4.2 score, according to PFF.
GOLD RUSH
- ASU has 27 rushing TDs last 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).
- The Sun Devils have rushed for over 2,000 yards five times in the last six seasons seasons at ASU after doing so just one single time from 2000-2011 and only eight times total over 30 years from 1981-2011.
- According to Pro Football Focus, the Sun Devils had the 27th-highest graded rushing attack last season after having the 41st worst-graded attack in 2016.
- During Week One, the Sun Devils averaged 8.1 yards per attempt on the ground - good for 15th nationally. The offensive line played a big role in that, as ASU led the FBS this week in yards gained before contact at 3.9 yards per carry.
KEEPING MOMENTUM
- Arizona State and Louisiana Tech are tied for the active FBS record of 122 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 69 of those games (57.0 percent).
- The Sun Devils have won as least seven games in four of the last six seasons, marking the first time ASU has done so in a six-year gap since doing it four straight times from 2004-07.
- Prior to that, the last time ASU accomplished the feat was 1978-82, winning at least seven games four times in that five-year spread.
THE CHASE IS ON
- Chase Lucas was all over the field on Saturday, finishing with a career-best 3.0 tackles for loss and five tackles.
- Lucas was targetted six times on 31 pass coverage plays in the contest, allowing just two catches for 20 yards with pass breakup. His 43.8 NFL QB rating when targetted was a paltry 43.8 - seventh lowest among all Pac-12 corners and second-lowest among the league's corners who played at least 30 coverage snaps.
- Lucas was named a freshman first-team all-American last season by the FWAA and second-team by USA Today.
- Lucas earned Pac-12 Second Team honors at defensive back and was the only freshman to be named to either the Pac-12 First or Second teams last season and became the first freshman to earn First or Second team honors on offense or defense since Oregon running back Royce Freeman earned Second Team offense honors in 2014 .
- He was the first Pac-12 freshman defensive back to make the First or Second teams since Brandon Browner did so for Oregon State back in 2003.
- Despite being targeted more than any of the 23 Pac-12 corners that played at least 60 percent of snaps in the regular season (once every 4.6 passing plays), Lucas allowed the fifth-lowest completion percentage of any corner in the conference – regardless of year.
MAKE 'EM PAY
- ASU has outscored opponents 601-328 in points off takeaways since 2012.
- Since 2012, ASU has scored 68.7 percent of the time following an opponent turnover (101 of 147) while finding the end zone 77 times in that span (52.4 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).
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS
- Eno Benjamin had a debut to remember against UTSA, earning his first career start and rushing for 131 yards on just 16 carries (8.2 ypc) with a touchdown and adding 15 yards receiving with another touchdown as well.
- Benjamin forced five missed tackles on his 18 touches the first week and averaged 3.56 yards after contact, the 23rd highest total in the country and fourth-highest in the Pac-12.
- Benjamin had four rushing of 15 or more yards in the game, good for the eighth highest breakaway percentage in the country according to PFF at 65.6 percent.
- 43.8 percent of his touches resulted in a first down or touchdown, the 20th-best total in the country, while 50.0 of his touches resulted in a "win" for the offense - good for the 16th-highest total nationally according to PFF.
- Overall, Benjamin was the 26th-highest graded running back in the nation based on PFF's run-game scores with a 1.1 score for the week.
A HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR
- ASU has 17 interception returns for touchdowns in the last seven seasons, tied with Ohio State and Alabama for first in the nation in that time.
- The Sun Devils have 92 interceptions in the last six seasons, ranked in the Top 10 nationally.
- ASU has added four fumble return touchdowns as well for 21 defensive touchdowns since the 2012 season, good for fourth in the country in that time span behind Ohio State (25), Alabama (23) and Boise State (24).
KEEP THEM IN FRONT OF YOU
- Renell Wren only played 10 run snaps in the opener, but he made three tackles - all "stops" according to Pro Football Focus - for a 30.0 run-stop percentage that was second among all defensive tackles in the league.
- Jalen Bates and Doug Subtyl combined for 11 QB pressures (6 and 5, respectively) in the season opener, leading the Pac-12's defensive ends and ranking 2nd and 7th nationally among all FBS defensive ends in week one.
- The Sun Devils turned the tide on allowing explosive plays last season after being one of the worst team's nationally in the category in 2016. ASU finished tied for 16th in the FBS with just one play allowed over 70 yards last year after giving up 8 the previous season (127th nationally).
- ASU was one of just 28 teams in the country last year that DID NOT give up a 70+ yard play in a conference game after doing so six times in 2016.
RUIZ'S PIECES
- Brandon Ruiz set an ASU record with his 52-yard field goal in the opener of last season, 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 finished 12th nationally and led all FBS freshmen in touchback percentage (69.3 percent) and 10th nationally with 52 total touchbacks.
- Ruiz was second among all freshmen kickers in the country with 19 field goals last season - good for a tie for 18th among all kickers in the country.
HONORING DARRYL ROGERS - The Sun Devils and Michigan State will honor former head coach Darryl Rogers at Saturday's game. Rogers passed away at the age of 83 in July. He is survived by his wife Marsha, and daughters, Stacy and Jamie.
Rogers served as ASU's head coach from 1980-1984, going 37-18-1 during his time at the helm for the Sun Devils. After a 7-4 record in his first season, Rogers led ASU to a cumulative record of 19-4 in 1981-82. The 1982 squad finished 10-2 and culminated the campaign with a 32-31 win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. The Sun Devils concluded the 1982 season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll.
In 2012, Rogers was inducted into the ASU Hall of Distinction, the branch of the Hall of Fame honoring coaches and administrators. Rogers will be on this year's ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
Rogers had success in many of his head coaching jobs, as he also helped lead Michigan State to a Big 10 co-championship and took San Jose State to an unprecedented national ranking.
Rogers, who had a college coaching record of 129-84-7, was a wide receiver and defensive back at Fresno State (1955-57).