It’s been a miserable few years for Arizona State football. Two consecutive 3-9 losing seasons and an NCAA investigation that began under the previous coaching regime cast a shadow over the program. The storm has passed and ASU has received a boost of energy and positivity since Kenny Dillingham took over.
Will this be reflected in the success statistics this season? Only time will tell.
For the second year in a row, there was significant turnover, which is not unexpected in today’s college football climate, especially for a school that has had some down years.
What do the Sun Devils need to see a more positive trend in win totals this season? Here’s a breakdown:
Consistent play as quarterback
A big reason ASU was predicted to finish last in the conference’s preseason poll was the question mark at quarterback. A team is only as good as its quarterback. The Sun Devils have an unproven player in Sam Leavitt, who transferred from Michigan State, who could outperform Nebraska’s Jeff Sims and returning veteran Trenton Bourguet.
Dillingham said the biggest reason Leavitt got the job was his ability to take care of the football; Sims, who transferred from Nebraska in May, had a knack for forcing turnovers in game situations, and that continued during the final two weeks of fall camp.
ASU ranked 109th out of 130 FBS schools in total offense (322.2 ypg) in 2023, which isn’t good enough for today’s offense-focused game. It also lacked explosive plays, but the personnel has been upgraded, and there are now several athletes who can make those big plays.
Some solidarity in advance
Last season, the offensive line was a mess. In fact, there was a game late last season where the Sun Devils only played seven scholarship offensive linemen. Most teams hope to have a good rotation of seven or eight among the 15 or so scholarship players, which shows how undermanned the Sun Devils were.
Center Leif Fautanu was an ironman who played every snap last season, but he was the only player to start at the same position on the offensive line.
The Sun Devils repositioned themselves through the portal and now have more depth, but there are already some issues. Sophomore Jalen Klemm, who transferred from Washington and could have competed for a starting spot, is out indefinitely. They had a transfer from New Mexico, Shancco Matautia, who was at ASU during spring practice but entered the portal for the second time in six months only to land at rival Arizona. He, too, would have gotten significant playing time.
Convert on third attempts
The Sun Devils ranked 117th in third-down conversions last season, making just 54 of 170 (.318). The only school in the Big 12 that ranked worse was Brigham Young, which ranked 128th with just 28.5% of conversions.
If you don’t move the chains, your defense will be more vulnerable because it’s been on the field too long. That was the case with ASU when their more than respectable defense dropped off and already had very little depth.
ASU will play four teams this season that are ranked in the top 11 nationally in this category.
Generate sales
That’s one of the hallmarks of a Brian Ward defense, so it’s surprising the Sun Devils didn’t fare better in that regard. ASU ranked 127th out of 130 teams in turnover margin; the only schools that fared worse were Rice, Nebraska and Temple.
ASU had four fumble recoveries and five interceptions on nine takeaways against 20 turnovers. The numbers are even more staggering when you consider that four of the takeaways came in the loss at Washington, meaning the Sun Devils had just five total in the other 11 games. Free safety Shamari Simmons was ASU’s best player with three takeaways (one interception and two fumble recoveries).
ASU’s offense struggled so much in 2023 that it needed some open possessions to even be in the game, and it certainly didn’t get enough of those.
Avoid injuries
Every team says that, but never was it more obvious than it was last year at ASU. It didn’t have enough healthy players to field scout teams, and for the rest of the season, it couldn’t practice the way it needed to to improve.
In total, 31 players missed 143 games, with the offensive line and quarterback positions being hit particularly hard. Nine different offensive linemen were out, most of them missing six or more games. That’s tough to take, especially for a team that didn’t have much depth to begin with. It got to the point where running back Cameron Skattebo and tight end Jalin Conyers had to play quarterback and defensive linemen had to move over and work out on the offensive line.
On the positive side, several players who weren’t expected to play as much gained valuable playing experience. These include offensive lineman Sean Na’a and defensive lineman CJ Fite, both of whom were complete rookies and have now been thrust into important roles.
There were some setbacks early on, with defensive player Anthonie Cooper (knee) out for the rest of the season and several other players also unable to play.
Dealing with adversity
Dillingham said this point deserves special emphasis because his team has not handled obstacles well over the past year, whether it was a crucial penalty, losing the ball at an untimely time or recovering from a serious injury.
Just look at the loss to Fresno State, where ASU committed eight turnovers. The Sun Devils were unable to recover from their early problems. Instead, things got worse and worse. In that game, four quarterbacks were forced to sit out due to injuries during the game.
Dillingham believes this team’s leadership is better than it was a year ago, especially on offense.
