ASU Football: Previewing Sun Devils tilt with Sacramento State

(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)

After an opening-week win over Kent State, head coach Herm Edwards and Arizona State welcome Sacramento State to Tempe Friday night. A win for the Sun Devils would improve their record to 2-0 before ASU heads to East Lansing, Michigan, for a matchup with No. 19 Michigan State.

Sacramento State comes into Friday night’s contest with the attention of Arizona State’s coaching staff, having scored 77 points in its Week 1 win over Southern Oregon. The Hornets balanced offensive attack passed for 340 yards and rushed for another 345 in their opening week win.

Sacramento State’s offense is led by quarterback Kevin Thomson, who went 14-for-20 with 303 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in the opening win. Thomson also showcased the ability to use his legs as a weapon, as he was the Hornets leading rusher in week one, carrying the ball four times for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Despite the 685 yards of total offense and 77 total points being scored against an NAIA school, offensive coordinator Rob Likens said the Sun Devils offense would be ready for a high-scoring contest should that be the case.

“Whenever a team scores 77 points, I don’t care who they played, it’s hard to score 77 points on air, just because somebody is going to screw it up,” Likens said. “For them to do what they did, your ears pop up and you go ‘uh oh, what?’… We’re prepared for that type of game at any point of time because of how we practice.”

On the defensive side of the ball, the Sun Devils will look to improve upon an up-and-down tackling performance in last week’s 30-7 win over Kent State. Following the Week 1 win, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales voiced his praise for punter Michael Turk’s ability to flip the field. Monday, Gonzales told reporters the defense should be better on Friday night.

“You should see drastic improvement from week one to two,” Gonzales said.

Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels and punter Michael Turk each took home honors this week. Daniels’ 284 yards passing and three total touchdowns helped him earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, while Turk’s NCAA record-breaking 63 yards per punt earned him the honor of Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week.

In the all-time series, Arizona State leads Sacramento State 1-0, with the only contest coming in the Sun Devils season-opener in 2013. In that game, ASU quarterback Taylor Kelly threw for 300 yards and tallied five touchdowns, in a 55-0 Sun Devils win.

Kickoff between the Sun Devils and Hornets is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will also be televised on Pac-12 Networks.

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