(Photo: Grace Monos/ WCSN)
TEMPE — As soon as sophomore linebacker Martell Hughes fell to the ground with the game-sealing interception in his grasp, a collective sigh of relief washed over the fans in attendance at Mountain America Stadium last Friday night.
Arizona State overcoming a 17-point deficit to secure a 27-24 win over No. 24 Texas Christian and start out 2-0 in Big 12 play marked the second consecutive contest where the team prevailed in the final minute of play.
When sitting down to address the media Monday morning, head coach Kenny Dillingham as per usual conveyed no sense of panic or worry about the narrow finishes since he believed it said more about his players’ refusal to back down even when behind by multiple scores than anything.
“When you play hard and you care, you win a lot of close games,” Dillingham said. “I think every fan that watches, you may hate it if I go for a fourth-down. You may hate it if we don’t go for a fourth-down. You may hate the playcall, you may love the playcall. Everybody has to appreciate how hard our guys play.”
A major point of emphasis for Dillingham going forward lies in the Sun Devils’ inconsistency in-game. ASU’s defense allowed TCU to score on three of its first four drives before only giving up seven points throughout the entire second half. The offense, in particular, is without the question the biggest offender of the two as its average of 12.8 points in the first two quarters has led to ASU scoring more points in the final two quarters in all but one game so far this season.
“Let’s play our best ball at the same exact time for 60 minutes,” Dillingham said. “30 minutes first, then 45 and then 60. We’ve yet to do that. The good thing is that we’re finding ways to win.
“Good teams find a way to win. When the offense needs it, the defense picks them up. When the defense needs it, the offense picks them up. I think that’s what good teams do; great teams, they put it all together.”
If the coach hopes to see his vision of a more balanced approach on the field, he’ll need the offensive attack to find more success in the red zone. ASU had four drives in the second half within the TCU five-yard line, but could only come away with a grand total of 13 points. On the season, the Sun Devils have scored 11 touchdowns and 8 field goals on 22 red zone attempts.
However, Dillingham also made sure to point out the other areas where ASU’s offense has thrived. The Sun Devils’ 169 minutes of possession is the eighth best in the country while their combined four turnovers lost is 27th.
“Sometimes winning isn’t a statistic that you read,” Dillingham said. “But when you take care of the football, play good defense, that’s a recipe to win a lot of games for a long time.”
Through five games, ASU has established itself as one of the premier rushing offenses of the Big 12. Redshirt junior running back Raleek Brown’s 134 yards on 21 attempts against the Horned Frogs led to him taking over as the conference’s leader in rushing yards and average yards per game.
In order to keep up such a pace on the ground, ASU will continue to experiment with the personnel on the offensive line. Redshirt freshman and Iowa State transfer Wade Helton as well as redshirt junior Jalen Klemm saw time on the field last Saturday and look to potentially be part of the regular rotation going forward.
“We wanted to get Wade andJ Klemm in the game more,” Dillingham said. “We usually play seven offensive linemen, we didn’t do that in the first few weeks. I thought our guys were getting tired. We’ve played over 80 snaps back-to-back games on offense because of the control we’d be able to create.”
One critical component of the Sun Devils’ strong start to 2025 is the rapid improvement of the defensive line. After amassing just 24 sacks in 14 games in 2024, ASU’s front seven is currently second in the entire country in sacks with 19.
Six sacks from that total came as a result of a relentless pass rush against TCU quarterback Josh Hoover. After only being sacked 16 games last season, the Davey O’Brien award contender was rattled to the point of producing three costly turnovers while not throwing a passing touchdown for the first time since Week 14 of 2024.
While some people may be surprised at how someone like senior defensive lineman Prince Dorbah can enter a game with zero sacks and leave with three including a crucial strip sack, Dillingham never wavered in his confidence in dominating the trenches.
“Our guys are bigger and stronger than they were last year,” Dillingham said. “They understand how to work together as a team, they understand the value of that.”
“We saw it in camp, we saw it in spring ball. I kind of anticipated this happening. Not to this level, I mean second in the country in sacks? That’s almost as good as it gets. But I definitely expected a much improved pass rush cause we saw it.”
In terms of updates on injuries, Dillingham once again labeled redshirt junior Jalen Moss’s status as a “maybe” at best while he outright said that both senior defensive back Xavian Alford and senior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu will “probably not” return to the field during the team’s next game due to undisclosed injuries.
ASU’s next test in the Big 12 gauntlet takes them to Salt Lake City to face off against the Utah Utes on October 11. It was announced a few hours before the beginning of Dillingham’s press conference that the matchup between the former Pac-12 members would kickoff at 7:15 p.m. AZT on ESPN. The Utes themselves are also off to a 4-1 start following a 48-14 win at West Virginia, and appear to be a serious contender for the conference title under longtime head coach Kyle Whittingham whom Dillingham expressed immense admiration for.
“I think he’s one of the best coaches in this generation,” Dillingham said. “His ability to continually win and adapt and change, it’s really incredible what he’s accomplished there. Hopefully we’re getting closer and closer to creating a program similar to theirs.”
The latest AP Poll has Arizona State returning to the Top 25 for the first time since Week 2 with a ranking of No. 25. However, the media recognition doesn’t alter Dillingham’s plans for the team to continue to adopt an underdog mentality.
“It wasn’t a flash in the plan,” Dillingham said. “Last year, picked dead last. Of course, you’re going to play with a chip on your shoulder.”
For now, ASU is solely focused on using the bye week to give players much-needed rest by shortening practices for veteran players and prohibiting serious physical contact. At the same time, an added emphasis will be placed on working with younger players and tightening up special teams play. Approaching a stretch of in-conference play that will most likely define the Sun Devils’ season, Dillingham is determined more than ever to get his team as close to its potential as possible.
“Let’s go into this week, let’s find the areas of improvement individually and as a team,” Dillingham said. “Let’s attack them while also getting our bodies ready, resting our bodies. We’re not going to go out there and bang and hit. We’re going to rest our bodies. But we’ve got to get better at the things we have to get better at. We have to leave this bye week a better football team. Not getting ready for Utah, getting ready for us.”
