(Photo: Jack Simon/WCSN)
TEMPE – Arizona State football left London with more than they came with.
The average tourist might come back from England with teabags, biscuits or some Cadbury chocolates. The Sun Devils flew home with the trophy from the inaugural Union Jack Classic.
Despite the 24-17 victory, Sun Devil fans are upset. ASU’s offense was significantly outgained by Kansas, committed more penalties and was frustratingly inefficient on late downs.
Though, as the old saying goes, “a win is a win.” Head coach Kenny Dillingham thoroughly enjoyed the trip across the pond and is glad to have come away with a victory, but he loves that the fanbase is upset with ugly winning.
Both Dillingham and the fans want more out of the Sun Devils.
“That’s a great sign for a program, if people are frustrated with winning,” Dillingham said.
ASU is using its upcoming bye week as a reset to get over jet lag and offensive struggles.
The Sun Devils’ biggest issue against Kansas was their offensive line. It consistently broke down in the run game and pass protection, often leading to quick pressure and broken plays.
Third-year quarterback Cutter Boley saw pressure on 44.4 percent of his dropbacks at Wembley. The constant pressure was a large part of why Boley passed for a season-low 95 yards – the second-lowest mark of any FBS quarterback this past weekend.
ASU’s offensive line has already seen considerable variation this season. Third-year right guard Wade Helton went down with an injury against Texas A&M. His replacement, second-year guard Rob Lapuaho, was then injured the following week against Kansas. That left third-year offensive lineman Siosaia “Leni” Lapuaho to come in for relief. Lapuaho logged only his second ever game action as a Sun Devil.
Meanwhile, fourth-year offensive tackles Jalen Klemm and Luke Baklenko rotated at right tackle throughout the game. ASU’s right side of the offensive line has seen five different players occupy its two positions.
Boley has only played three games at ASU and has already seen more offensive line combinations than he did at Kentucky last season.
The offensive line struggles have also affected the run game.
Against Kansas, fourth-year running back Kyson Brown rushed for 81 yards across 24 carries, averaging out to 3.4 yards per rush. Brown time and time again was met in the backfield by unblocked defenders.
Dillingham said the Sun Devils’ run game has emerged as one of the team’s most pressing areas in need of improvement. An effective run game can unlock an entire offense.
“At the end of the day, if you want to throw the ball effectively, you have to run the football,” Dillingham said. “I just believe that to my core.”
Another issue that Dillingham looks to fix heading into the bye week is the team’s usage of fourth-year wide receiver Omarion Miller.
Miller was touted as a long, physical receiver who is strong at the catch point. Before the season, he was projected to be a good deep-ball, one-on-one threat for the Sun Devils.
So far, ASU has almost exclusively sent Miller to run screen passes.
His average depth of target this season is 3.9 yards, a stark contrast to last season’s 14.2-yard average.
When presented with that statistic during his weekly press conference, Dillingham said that he is looking to change it going forward.
Dillingham has previously talked about his disregard for advanced metrics, even saying that stats “are for losers.”
When discussing Miller’s usage and depth of target, Dillingham went back on that statement.
“Stats like that I don’t think are for losers,” Dillingham said. “Those are real stats, those are things you have to look at.”
ASU faces Baylor after its much-needed bye week. But after a long-haul back trip from London, the Sun Devils look to take care of their own personal needs first, prioritizing rest.
In London, Dillingham talked about spending his first 36 hours across the pond sleepless, game-planning for Kansas.
Since getting back to Tempe, he now looks to fix two things: his sleep schedule and his offense.
“The worst thing I did was manage the offense and manage myself over the last nine days,” Dillingham said. “I have to do better at both of those things.”
