A dream season resoundingly defying the preseason odds continues for the Sun Devils, who upset No. 16 Kansas State on the road 24-14. Justin LaCertosa and I examine the aspects that contributed to this victory
Gave ASU eight wins in its first 10 games for the first time since the team finished the 2013 season with a 10-2 regular season record.
Guaranteed the Sun Devils will finish at least .500 in road games (excluding the shortened 2020 season) for the first time since 2014 (4-2).
Kept the Sun Devils within a game of second in the Big 12 standings.
Moved the Sun Devils to 5-2 through seven games in conference play for the first time since 2014 (also 5-2).
Handed K-State its first loss at home this season (was 4-0) and just its fourth in the last three seasons (was 15-3).
STARTING STRONG
It is the second time this season that Arizona State has not allowed a point on the first three drives of the game (also did so in the Wyoming game).
It was also just the second time this season that Kansas State had not scored in the opening frame, notable as ASU entered the contest ranked 70th in the country in allowing 5.7 points per first quarter.
Leading 21-0 after a half, it was the largest halftime lead vs. a ranked opponent since 2014 when No. 9 Arizona State held a 34-10 (+24) advantage at the break against No. 10 Notre Dame. They went on to win that game 55-34.
The last time Kansas State was shutout in the first half on home was vs Texas on 09/29/2018. The last time K-State was shutout in a half was the second half at TCU on 10/22/2022.The last time KSU was shutout in a half at home was the second half against Tulane on 09/17/2022. The last time Kansas State was shutout in the first half was at Iowa State on 11/21/2020.
The Sun Devils have not punted on an opening drive this season and have scored on the first drive in seven of 10 games. They have touchdowns in six of those (a field goal against Wyoming), threw interceptions on the opening drives against Utah and Texas Tech and turned the ball over on downs against UCF.
One area ASU had struggled with on the road this season was the last ten minutes of the first quarter and the first ten minutes of the second quarter (anything outside the first five minutes of the half and last five minutes), Prior to tonight, ASU was outscored 65-17 in the category before outpacing the Wildcats 14-0 tonight.
ODDS AND ENDS
Parker Lewis’ 47-yard field goal in the third quarter was his first made field goal since Nov. 27, 2021, while he was a member of the USC Trojans.
With Parker Lewis’ 47-yard field goal at the 11:00 mark in the third quarter, ASU has now outscored opponents 66-13 in the “middle eight” of games - the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half and 3-0 today.
The Sun Devils held Kansas State to just 14 points, the Wildcats’ second-lowest scoring output of the season. K-State was averaging 31.2 points per game entering the contest. It marked the 51st time in the last 77 games since 2018 that ASU has held an opponent under 30 points (66.2 percent) and the eighth time in 10 games this year.
RANK AND FILE
The victory was ASU’s first ROAD win against an opponent ranked in the College Football Playoff weekly rankings, with Kansas State checking in at #16 this week.
It was just the fourth win over a CFP ranked team overall (vs. #6 Oregon in 2019, vs. #15 Utah in 2018, vs. #10 Notre Dame in 2014).
ASU moved to 2-0 in games against AP Top-25 teams this year (#16 Utah) with K-State ranked #20 this week.
The win gave ASU its first official road win against an AP Top-25 team since beating #15 Cal and #18 Michigan State in 2019 (ASU’s 2021 road win at #20 UCLA was later vacated).
AIR JORDYN
Tyson’s 11-yard catch at 7:48 in the third quarter gave him a new career high for single-game yardage, surpassing his previous best of 137 yards against Oregon in 2022 while he was a member of the Colorado football team. He finished the game with 176 yards. He also set a new career high with 12 receptions in the game.
Wide receiver Jordyn Tyson has eight touchdowns in the last six games and 624 yards (104.0 yards per game) on 44 catches in that span. In the first four games, he had 14 catches for 209 yards with one touchdown.
Tyson now has nine receiving touchdowns, the most since N’Keal Harry had nine in 2018. His next touchdown would tie him for sixth all-time in Sun Devil Football history and mark him one of just 11 Sun Devils total to reach double digits in a single season. It would be the most since Jaelen Strong had 10 in 2014.
Tyson is the first Sun Devil to catch two touchdowns in two straight games since Frank Darby had back-to-back two-score games at UCLA (10/26/19) and vs. USC (11/9/19).
His 176 receiving yards are the most since Brandon Aiyuk put up 196 on Washington State back on Oct. 12, 2019. It is the most receiving yards in a road game since Devin Lucien had 200 yards at California on Nov. 28, 2015.
SAM I AM
Last quarterback to throw for three touchdowns in the first half was Jayden Daniels vs. UCLA on October 26, 2019.
WHY THEY WON
Arizona State owned the time of possession battle, including several clever maneuvers to drain the clock in the fourth quarter. ASU finished with a 36:36-23:24 advantage in time of possession.
The Sun Devils defense held Kansas State to just 1-of-3 success rate on fourth down, creating momentum by registering a few clutch stops.
Brian Ward’s defense forced three turnovers, including the game-sealing interception by Shamari Simmons in the endzone with 21 seconds remaining.
HE DOES IT ALL
Cam Skattebo was once again featured offensively in Arizona State’s win.
He finished with 73 rushing yards and 44 receiving yards, eclipsing the century mark in all-purpose yardage.
Since becoming a Sun Devil, Skattebo now has 100+ all-purpose yards in 12 of 21 games. That includes seven games this season.
