(Photo via Hailey Rogalski/WCSN)
As the final seconds ticked off the clock in Arizona State Football’s 24-21 season-opening victory against Southern Utah last Thursday, a sense of relief filled the air inside a nearly-empty Mountain America Stadium. After a lengthy weather delay that delayed the start of the second half by nearly three hours, the Sun Devils barely staved off the Thunderbirds, who outscored the home team 14-3 in the game’s final two quarters.
While ASU ultimately performed well enough to earn the win, its first victory of 2023 was very much a tale of two halves. Scoring on their final two drives of the second quarter – both passing touchdowns from freshman quarterback Jaden Rasahada – the Sun Devils appeared primed to take control of the game heading into the break. But a second half that featured eight penalties for 85 yards and otherwise sloppy play ultimately prevented ASU from building on its early momentum.
The Sun Devils will undoubtedly need to play a much cleaner game and learn from their miscues when they take on Oklahoma State, their first Power 5 opponent under first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham, on Saturday, Sept. 6 in Tempe.
“Every time you play football, you should get better,” Dillingham said. “Because you should learn from it, and if you don’t there’s a problem… The key is you don’t make the same mistakes multiple times, and that’s the challenge. Can we learn from game one, and fix those mistakes and apply them in game two.”
ASU welcomes an Oklahoma State program that seemingly always produces consistent results under head coach Mike Gundy, who has posted a 157-75 mark and is 11-6 in bowl games since taking over the program in 2005.
“[Gundy] is one of the legends in this profession,” Dillingham said. “He’s obviously been doing it a long time at the same place, just shows the consistency he’s had. The one thing about his team is they play hard, they play smart and he always wins. It sounds simple, but he always wins.”
Even with a 27-13 victory over Central Arkansas to start the season, Gundy’s program remains with some questions, the most imminent being who will see the most reps under center.
Throughout an up-and-down 7-6 campaign in 2022, the main signal caller in Stillwater was redshirt senior Spencer Sanders, who also started at quarterback for the previous three seasons. During his four-year Cowboys tenure, the Denton, Texas native threw for 9,553 yards, 67 touchdowns and nine interceptions while adding 1,957 yards and 18 scores on the ground. Sanders’ versatility was on display when OSU hosted the Sun Devils last season, as he completed 21 of his 38 passes with 325 total yards and three touchdowns – two through the air and another with his legs – in a 34-17 win.
But things drastically changed when Sanders transferred to Ole Miss in January. The preseason wasn’t enough for Gundy to name a starter, so he decided to let the battle carry over to game one. In its first win of the season, three quarterbacks saw similar workloads for OSU, collectively accounting for 304 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Beginning the game at quarterback was redshirt freshman Garret Rangel, who accrued 711 passing yards and four touchdowns, appearing in four games (starting three) while maintaining his redshirt. Of the 15 passes he attempted last Saturday, Rangel completed ten, throwing a touchdown and interception while pacing the Cowboys’ passing attack with 118.
Midway through the second quarter, redshirt senior and Michigan transfer Alan Bowman took over quarterback duties, going 13-for-24 with 80 yards. OSU’s final quarterback of the night was Mike Gundy’s son, redshirt sophomore Gunnar Gundy. Gundy was efficient through his four drives running the offense, completing seven of his nine passes and accruing 106 passing yards.
Despite the uncertainty that accompanies the prospect of facing three quarterbacks, defensive coordinator Brian Ward noted that all three quarterbacks are comparable in their styles of play and doesn’t expect his defense to see all three Cowboy signal callers on Saturday.
“They’re all pretty similar,” Ward said after Wednesday’s practice. “I think [Rangel] runs the ball a little bit better than the other two. I think [Gundy] is kind of a tweener in between both those guys. And the big guy [Bowman], he’s more of a drop back and tries to use his big arm to stretch the perimeter of the field horizontally and vertically.
“I’d be shocked if we saw all three [quarterbacks]. I think they’re really trying to see, because they’re all very similar and they all have slightly different games, but they all kind of fit for that offense. I would anticipate seeing one, and if one’s having a hard time, seeing another. But I doubt we’ll see all three.”
The Cowboys also have multiple receivers capable of making plays. Senior wideout Brennan Presley saw the heaviest workload against Central Arkansas, totaling six catches for 54 yards and OSU’s lone receiving touchdown. With 73 yards on 4 receptions and 66 yards on 5 receptions respectively, junior Washington State transfer De’Zhaun Stribling and redshirt sophomore Jaden Bray were also key pieces of the passing game.
Against the Bears, OSU’s rush was led by redshirt senior Michigan State transfer Elijah Collins, who accrued eight touches, 41 yards and a score. Sophomore running back Ollie Gordon II posted a team-high 44 yards while also finding the end zone on a two-yard rush.
Compared to its match against Southern Utah, ASU could see an increase in sacks as Oklahoma State will air the ball out more than the Thunderbirds did. And for Ward, the defense adjusting to the Cowboys’ style of offense will be paramount.
“I just think it’s going to be different types of games,” Ward said. “They’re going to give us a lot more tempo, they’re going to stress us with their substitutions… Last week, our communication wasn’t good enough. We have to continue to develop in that area, and it’s one thing to do it out here at practice. It’s [another] thing to develop depth, introduce a new system, and do it in front of 50,000 fans.”
Much like the offense, OSU’s defense will pose a major challenge for a Sun Devils’ offense spearheaded by a true freshman quarterback. Last week, the Cowboys tallied nine tackles for loss and five sacks, albeit against an FCS opponent. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Nickolas Martin and redshirt senior defensive end Xavier Ross were at the forefront of this chaos in the Bears’ backfield, each recording two tackles for loss and one sack.
After an impressive and productive 2022 campaign with the Cowboys, redshirt sophomore safety Kendal Daniels has emerged as one of OSU’s leaders on defense, tallying five solo tackles – tied for the team lead. The other defender to achieve this mark was redshirt senior defensive end Nathan Latu, who additionally contributed 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
OSU will likely sometimes play with three safeties as opposed to two, which helps the defense conceal plays. But offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin isn’t worried about this scheme, as many other programs in college football employ the same strategy on defense.
“Those teams that play the three safeties, they can disguise some things, get into the one-high or two-high types of looks based on what that middle player does,” Baldwin said. “But a lot of teams around the country have built different versions of that… No matter what their scheme is, we have to execute against very good, well-coached football players, and that’s what they are.”
Despite facing a tough test in their second game of the season, Saturday should provide a good barometer of how successful the Sun Devils can be in year one under Dillingham. Even with a stronger opponent coming into Tempe, Dillingham’s main focus remains on his team playing to the best of its ability and consistently improving.
“Winning is not the goal,” Dillingham said. “Winning is a byproduct. If you are the best you can be, when you have the talent to win the game, you will win. It is a byproduct of putting in the work.”
