Sun Devils open Big 12 era against Texas Tech in Lubbock

(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)

Adversity will never be completely absent from any college football team, let alone Kenny Dillingham’s at Arizona State.

There was plenty of it in present in 2023 — his first year as head coach of his alma mater — when the Sun Devils limped to their second consecutive 3-9 campaign with a -169 point differential and. Even on the way to a 3-0 start through non-conference play, the Sun Devils have endured some recent adversity, out-slugging Texas State and erasing multiple deficits in a gutsy Week 3 victory.

But the challenges will persist as the weeks go on, beginning with ASU’s inaugural Big 12 opener at Texas Tech (2-1), who was picked to finish ninth of sixteen teams in the conference’s Media Preseason Poll.

“We talked all camp about how there’s two types of adversity,” Dillingham said. “There’s response to success and response to failure… We’re an underdog in a game on the road versus a team that doesn’t lose at home very often, that’s why we’re underdogs… We’ve got to go in there and win a football game that people don’t expect us to win.”

When Joey McGuire was named the Red Raiders’ head coach in 2021, the team had posted losing campaigns in six of the nine prior seasons under Kliff Kingsbury and Matt Wells. Through two full seasons and 29 games with McGuire at the helm, Texas Tech has gone 17-12 (58.6 winning percentage) and won the Texas and Independence Bowls, marking the first time a head coach had claimed consecutive bowl games since the late Mike Leach did in 2006-07.

While successful across the board in the past two seasons, the Red Raiders have established a palpable home-field advantage in Lubbock, going 13-3 in games under their current bench boss at Jones AT&T Stadium. Texas Tech has two victories over AP Top-25 opponents at home, and visiting teams generally have had a difficult time leaving the Western Texas town victorious.

The Red Raiders opened their 2024 slate by outlasting Abilene Christian, 52-51, in an overtime thriller but proceeded to lose, 37-16, at Washington State the next week, beginning the season 1-1 despite allowing at least 491 yards of offense in both games. Texas Tech then put forth its best performance of the year which saw it down North Texas, 66-14, to end non-conference play on a high note.

“I’m excited for the tortillas, I heard there’s tortillas that get thrown around,” Dillingham joked. “I’m excited for it, because it’s a challenge, but it’s what college football’s supposed to be… It’s going to be loud, their fans are diehard fans, it’s a college town. It’s going to be an unbelievable environment for our guys to play in.”

Offense (2024 Big 12 Rankings)

Total Offense: 1,616 yards (2nd)
Passing: 1,075 yards (1st)
Rushing: 541 yards (8th)

Upon his arrival in Lubbock, McGuire was joined by an offensive mastermind in Zach Kittley, who was named the team’s offensive coordinator in 2022. Kittley was a student and graduate assistant for the Red Raiders from 2013-17, working with Kingsbury and future three-time Super Bowl Champion Patrick Mahomes II before serving as offensive coordinator at Houston Baptist (2018-20) and Western Kentucky (2021).

Houston Baptist’s attack flourished under Kittley, as it went from posting middle-of-the-pack numbers in the Southland Conference in his first year to being one of the Southland Conference’s best in 2019, boasting the third-most yards in the league (5,551).

He moved up to the FBS level by becoming the offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky and brought more success in his lone season, leading current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Bailey Zappe and the Hilltoppers to a Conference USA Championship Game appearance and Boca Raton Bowl victory. This strong season was made possible by an elite air raid offense, which paced the C-USA in total and passing yards.

Needless to say it’s more than likely Texas Tech will put up points early and often on Saturday, using deception to keep opposing defenses off-balance.

“They score a lot,” Dillingham said. “That stands out. I know it’s a stupid answer, but they score a lot. They’re very creative… I have a lot of respect for what (Kittley) does offensively, and he knows how to score. He’s really creative, you never see the same thing in back-to-back games… Different formation, different motion, different shift, you may see the same plays but you’re not going to see the same copy/paste picture from game to game.”

So far, Kittley’s football acumen has proved an asset to the Red Raiders, helping them accumulate the seventh-most total yards (1,616) in the nation and the second-most in the Big 12, only 96 yards behind UCF. A big reason for this is the play of junior quarterback Behren Morton, a player with ample experience at Texas Tech — he’d recorded 278 completions, 2,874 passing yards and 22 touchdowns to 14 picks in 19 games across 2022 and 2023.

He’s well on his way to demolishing that aforementioned total this season with the fourth-most completions (79), second-most touchdowns (10) and the fifth-most passing yards (974) in the FBS. But such a methodical air attack is also largely thanks to an abundance of viable receivers.

Texas Tech’s Week 2 contest at Washington State was a homecoming of sorts for senior wideout and 2024 Biletnikoff Award Watchlist nominee Josh Kelly, who spent the 2023 campaign with the Cougars and had a career year for receiving yards (923) and touchdowns (8) after four seasons at Fresno State. He’s off to a good start through three games this season with 287 yards and three scores.

Sophomore Coy Eakin and junior Caleb Douglas are two more wide receivers to look out for, and they own 200 and 137 yards respectively. The Red Raiders benefit from having a versatile tight ends room that features receiving ends like former Sun Devil Jalin Conyers. After not recording a receiving touchdown last season in Tempe, Conyers already has two this year to go along with 11 catches for 105 yards.

Conyers is joined by junior Johncarlos MIller II, another tight end capable of being used in the receiving game. Possessing a 6-foot-9-inch, 270-pound frame, senior tight end Mason Tharp is well-suited for blocking, part of an offensive line that tries to create lanes for redshirt senior Tahj Brooks, one of the Big 12’s premier running backs.

Bursting onto the radar in his fourth year at Texas Tech, Brooks finished 2023 with the nation’s fourth-most rushing yards (1,541) and second-most in the Big 12. Along with Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II, he is one of the top returning running backs in his conference, and has 262 yards and a pair of touchdowns in two games.

“He’s dynamic,” Dillingham said of Brooks. “You’re not a thousand-yard rusher by accident. He’s absolutely dynamic. Last year, he was making plays left and right… (Texas Tech’s rushing game) drastically turns when he’s in the football game, even if you look at the stats.”

Defense (2024 Big 12 Rankings)

Total Defense: 1,384 yards (15th)
Passing: 839 yards (13th)
Rushing: 545 yards (16th)

Texas Tech’s first two games of the 2024 slate didn’t reflect well on third-year defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter’s unit, especially following a strong two-year stretch that saw the Red Raiders surrender less than 30 points per game in consecutive seasons since 2008-09. After conceding over 600 yards of offense to Abilene Christian, Texas Tech visited Pullman, Washington and allowed Washington State to accumulate 301 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in a loss.

However, DeRuyter’s defense showed signs of its old self in its Week 3 win over North Texas, who was undefeated at the time, forcing three interceptions in less than five minutes in the second quarter. All of a sudden, an offense that averaged 43.5 points through its first two games managed only 21 at Texas Tech.

It was no coincidence.

“This is a team that just created four takeaways essentially on consecutive drives in a football game versus a good North Texas team who was 2-1 at the time,” Dillingham said. “They create takeaways.”

DeRuyter, like multiple other defensive coordinators ASU has faced this season, is aggressive with his scheme and is known for keeping offenses guessing with a variety of looks. In 2022, the Red Raiders led the Big 12 for sacks (31) and were second for forced fumbles (10). Those numbers didn’t carry over into 2023, but Texas Tech nonetheless enjoyed a solid defensive campaign.

This year, the Red Raiders are welcoming back several contributors from 2023’s defense. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Ben Roberts returns after pacing Texas Tech in tackles (107) during his redshirt freshman season, and already has 17 to go with two forced fumbles in 2024. Despite only playing in four games as a redshirt junior, fellow linebacker Jacob Rodgriguez leads the team in tackles (21) while also adding two tackles for loss and forcing a fumble.

Sophomore defensive back Chapman Lewis has established himself as a ballhawk early on, snagging two interceptions this season — one in each of the last two games. While he doesn’t yet have any picks in 2024, senior defensive back C.J. Baskerville has 16 tackles and a TFL on the young season.

Despite only being three games into the year, sacks have been difficult to come by for the Red Raiders, as their two are the second-fewest in the Big 12. Junior outside linebacker Isaac Smith leads the team with one for 15 yards. Redshirt freshman linebackers Miquel Dingle Jr. and Justin Horne each have half a sack to their name.

DeRuyter’s defense will ultimately prove a stiff test for ASU despite its numbers through the first two weeks of the season. Scoring over 30 points in each of their first three games, the Sun Devils will look to keep rolling against a smart, aggressive and experienced Red Raiders’ defense.

“He always does a fantastic job with his front, with his pressure, good coverage elements,” ASU offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said. “(He) knows how to contain the edges, good pressure package. He’s a heck of a coach… He’s got a group that’s mature, he’s been with them for three years.”