(Photo courtesy of BYU Athletics)
On July 2, despite months of recruiting top talent from the portal and an entire offseason of work, ASU football found out, along with the rest of the world, that Big 12 Conference media voters didn’t think it was enough.
After a 3-9 finish in Kenny Dillingham’s first season as ASU’s head coach, the Big 12 preseason voters, deemed that the Sun Devils were probably headed for a similar finish in their first season in the conference. They ended up at the bottom of the Big 12 Preseason Poll, finishing just 16 points behind 15th-place Houston.
All season, doubters made their beliefs known. It was a surprise when the Sun Devils blew out Wyoming in their season opener. The win over Mississippi State was quickly devalued with claims that the Bulldogs were simply worse than many anticipated, not that ASU was better than expectations. Following a 3-0 start, ASU’s loss to Texas Tech brought them down to Earth, temporarily.
A few weeks later, ASU still didn’t receive full recognition when it beat then-No. 16 Utah. Beating a team, ranked or not, with a quarterback playing below 100% health didn’t impress the general public. And once again, a loss the next week knocked ASU down a peg. But then ASU went into Stillwater, one of the hardest places to play in the Big 12, and came out unscathed. It came back to Tempe and maintained its undefeated home streak against UCF without senior star running back Cam Skattebo. Last week’s win in Manhattan over No. 16 Kansas State was the final nail in the coffin for doubts about the Sun Devils’ legitimacy.
Now the team picked to finish last is one of just four still in contention for the Big 12 title game. The No. 21-ranked Sun Devils (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) have a legitimate shot at being the Big 12 champions in just their first year in the conference, and one of the last few obstacles standing in their way is a sold-out home matchup with No. 14 BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) on Saturday.
“I’m hyped to get the stadium jumping,” redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt said. “One of the biggest games in recent history and stuff like that, so being a part of that and something that ASU can do that’s really special, and being the catalyst for that is going to be really fun.”
The Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season, a stunning 17-13 defeat in Provo against Kansas. The surprising loss doesn’t make them any less of a challenge. Just one week ago, they were the No. 6 team in the country, according to the College Football Playoff Committee.
BYU has an impressive resume including road wins over SMU and Baylor and a home victory over Kansas State. Last week’s loss stung for BYU, and they’ll be looking for redemption Saturday at Mountain America Stadium. It’ll be a battle between the Sun Devils who are undefeated at home and the Cougars who are undefeated on the road.
“They’re very close to being undefeated in the season and it’s a great challenge for our guys,” Dillingham said. “Especially at home, especially we’re coming off an emotional win, they’re coming off an emotional loss … so they definitely have an advantage when it comes to mindset based off of last week’s game. They’re going to come into this game like it’s the Super Bowl, which it is.”
Offense
Total Offense: 31.6 points/game (6th B12), 397.3 yards/game (12th B12)
Rush Offense: 163.0 yards/game (9th B12)
Pass Offense: 234.3 yards/game (9th B12)
BYU’s offense runs in the middle of the pack in the Big 12. The Cougars don’t have the most gaudy offensive numbers. Four of their nine wins were determined by a one-score difference.
Redshirt junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff is the engine behind the Cougars’ offensive production. The talented signal caller averages 228.3 yards per game. He’s also tacked on 19 passing touchdowns, good for fifth in the conference.
Retzlaff’s willingness to spread the ball around could turn any of BYU’s receivers into the top threat on any given day. Redshirt junior receiver Chase Roberts, redshirt senior receiver Darius Lassiter and senior tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase all have at least three receiving touchdowns on the year. Roberts and Lassiter have combined for 1,235 of the team’s 2,343 total receiving yards. They’re also eighth and 10th, respectively, in the Big 12 in yards per catch.
“They also have big physical receivers that create a lot of mismatches,” defensive coordinator Brian Ward said. “They go up and get the ball. They’re difficult to tackle, and the quarterback is able to extend plays and has a big arm so he can push the ball down the field.”
On the ground, the Cougars have used a balanced approach as well. Sophomore back LJ Martin leads the way with 501 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Redshirt senior Hinckley Ropati has provided sufficient relief, picking up 357 yards on the ground across seven games. Retzlaff has established himself as a sneaky rushing threat as well with 312 yards and four touchdowns to his name.
“(BYU’s) quarterback extends plays,” Dillingham said. “He makes plates in big moments of the game. He’s hard and slippery to get down. They run the football really well. In some football games, they’ve been really, really efficient.”
Defense
Total Defense: 19.5 points allowed/game (2nd B12), 315.3 yards allowed/game (1st B12)
Rush Defense: 139.2 yards allowed/game (8th B12)
Pass Defense: 176.1 yards allowed/game (2nd B12)
The Cougars’ average offense is bolstered by arguably the best defense in the conference and definitively one of the best in the country. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake has found his niche on defense, with Dillingham calling him “one of the best defensive minds in football.”
“The versatility of (BYU’s defense stands out) …,” Dillingham said. “They’re not scared to play a safety at 18 yards deep over somebody and say, ‘Run it.’ … Or it’s cover zero, ‘Throw it. Throw it again.’ The way he dictates to offenses is unique. … (Sitake) does a really good job trying to take away a team’s strengths.”
BYU’s pass defense on the back end is what sets the Cougars apart. The Cougars are one of three teams to intercept a nation-leading 17 passes. 11 different Cougars have logged an interception in 2024, with five having more than one. Senior cornerback Jakob Robinson leads the team in picks with three. Robinson’s partner in crime, redshirt senior cornerback Marque Collins is tied for second in the Big 12 with eight pass breakups.
“They’re good from top to bottom,” wide receivers coach Hines Ward said. “Defensively, they get after it. They’ve got a veteran group of guys. They’re sixth in the nation in turnovers, 17 interceptions, five forced fumbles, so we’ve got to make sure we’re on top and detailed up as far as in the passing game cause they’ve got some players on their team.”
Up front, redshirt sophomore linebacker Isaiah Glasker leads the way. His 10.5 tackles for loss are second in the Big 12, and he adds those to his 2.5 sacks and 49 total tackles to wreak havoc on opposing teams.
While the Cougars reside near the bottom of the conference in total sacks, they bring just enough pressure up front to force rushed incomplete passes. Redshirt senior linebacker Jack Kelly leads the team with four sacks. He also adds seven tackles for loss.
“They’re masters of confusion, so they do a lot of stuff up front and within the box and give you different looks and stuff like that,” Leavitt said. “But I found a really good key strategy for me … to tell me what they’re in and where people are going to be and stuff like that.”
Saturday’s game looks to be an exciting matchup between two teams who weren’t expected to perform as well as they are. No one believed ASU versus BYU in the penultimate week of the season would have Big 12 title and College Football Playoff implications.
Yet, those are the circumstances at hand for Saturday’s game, and in front of a packed Mountain America Stadium, Dillingham and company will be looking to cement their status as a premier team in the Big 12.
