(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) For the last three years, ASU football has been among the worst defenses in the country statistically, rotating through a cast of coordinators and position coaches. Before a 13-7 upset victory over then-No. 5 Washington, the Sun Devils had allowed 30 points or more in 11 straight games. So
Football
ASU Football: Sun Devils overcoming injuries, showing improvement in depth
(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) “Next-man-up” can be an overused phrase, a fallback plan with a built-in excuse when misfortune strikes a football team. Every program in college football suffers injuries, an inevitable cost of doing business in a physical sport. Only a fraction of teams can sustain major absences; even fewer improve as top players
The WCSN Football Podcast: Episode Five
ASU Football: Nothing fancy behind Sun Devils midseason turnaround
(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) Over the course of the last two years, Arizona State had been dragged down a spiraling path to mediocrity. A seven-win season in 2015. A sub-.500 five-win record last year. A 1-2 non-conference start to this fall’s campaign. Over the course of the last two weeks, the Sun Devils have soared
ASU Football: Forget about bowl eligibility, Sun Devils are looking like Pac-12 South favorites
(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) Changing a narrative is never easy. In college football, it can be near impossible. There was a preconceived notion in Tempe even before this year’s season started about Arizona State: it had coach Todd Graham fighting for his job, quarterback Manny Wilkins having to battle with Blake Barnett for
ASU Football: Sun Devils dominate Utah, point to practice as a catalyst
(Photo: Chaz Frazier/WCSN) SALT LAKE CITY — We’re talking about practice, man. ASU football went on the road and walloped Utah 30-10 on Saturday, turning in its most complete performance of the season. ASU players don’t think it’s a product of personnel or circumstance; they attribute the last two weeks’ performances to
ASU Football: On the strength of defense, ground game, Sun Devils down Utah 30-10
(Photo: Chaz Frazier/WCSN) After the Arizona State Sun Devils changed the national landscape of college football by upsetting then-No.5 Washington last week, the expectation seemed to be that this team would crash back to Earth against a talented Utah team, reeling from a last-second loss to No. 11 USC, at Rice-Eccles
ASU Football: Sun Devils blank Utah, lead 16-0 at the half
(Photo: Chaz Frazier/WCSN) Arizona State picked up right where it left off last week in the first half of Saturday's contest, shutting out Utah 16-0. In hostile Rice-Eccles Stadium, ASU continued to display the various traits that led to last weekend's upset over then No. 5 Washington. The offense worked within the
ASU Football: Through complicated path, how Manny Wilkins has emerged as ASU’s quarterback leader
(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) Manny Wilkins’s career at Arizona State has been complicated. Most of his life has been too. Yet, the win of his career was highlighted by a simple moment of triumphant passion on Saturday night. With ASU leading No. 5 Washington 13-0 at the end of the third quarter, Wilkins looked toward
A Sleeping Giant: Renell Wren coming alive for ASU football
(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics) “Mark my words, I hope all y’all listen to this. Renell Wren is about to have a great rest of the season.” Redshirt freshman defensive back Chase Lucas isn’t shy about hyping up his teammates, even if it might border on hyperbolic. In Wren’s case, however, Lucas’s praise