Coming out of a bye week following a five-game losing streak, the Arizona State Sun Devils will go right back into the fire against a top-five team.
ASU will face its toughest opponent yet in the No. 5 Washington Huskies on the road.
Playing on the road will be a major factor in Saturday’s tilt. Washington is 11-0 at home over the last two years and has not lost in Seattle since November of 2021 when the Huskies’ in-state rivals, Washington State, dominated in a 40-13 victory.
ASU has had as little success on the road as a team can have over the last several years. Since 2015, the Sun Devils are 13-27 on the road. Arizona State has not won a road game since it went to Colorado and beat a one-win Buffaloes team last October.
“We’re due for some good luck. So hopefully that good luck is coming,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said.
It’s going to take more than just luck for the Sun Devils to pull it off this week.
ASU has beaten Washington in two of the last three matchups with the Huskies. However, this is not the same 4-8 Huskies team that allowed the Sun Devils to put up 35 against them in 2021.
For the second time in three games, ASU has to try to slow down a Heisman candidate under center. Huskies senior quarterback Michael Penix Jr. leads one of the most potent offenses in the country.
Washington currently ranks third nationally in total offense, first in passing and it has only committed six turnovers this year.
ASU head coach Dillingham and the team know opponents just hope to contain and slow down the Huskies’ offense. He talked about the importance of efficiency and controlling the amount of possessions Washington gets. He mostly stressed that they need to finish off their drives
“Our goal is not to limit the amount of points they score,” Dillingham said. “It’s to limit the points per possession and score more points per possession.”
The Sun Devils did a better job of that against Colorado, but throughout the season they have struggled to match scoring drives with touchdowns of their own. It’s another week of playing a bottom-six defense in the conference in terms of yards. Every Pac-12 team they have played so far is ranked below them in yards per game.
ASU’s offense will have to step up if they want to pull off the upset. The Sun Devils are 27.5 point underdogs, their biggest spread since facing USC. Washington has failed to cover the spread in eight of its last nine games in October. If ASU can keep it close, it will be on the shoulders of redshirt junior quarterback Trenton Bourget to make the plays to cap it off.
Sun Devil fans and redshirt junior quarterback Trenton Bourget both have fond memories of their last matchup against the Huskies.
Last year Bourget came off the bench against Washington completing 15-21 passes and leading a 10-play, 82-yard game-winning drive to upset the number 21 team in the country in Tempe.
Bourget won’t be coming off the bench this time, likely getting the start in his third straight game.
In several games this season, packed crowds and energy have filled Tempe. Dillingham’s efforts to activate the valley will have no effect this week. It will be another near-sold-out crowd, but this time ASU will be the ones entering a very hostile environment 1500 miles away.
Kickoff for the game is at 7:30 p.m. Pacific on Saturday and it will be broadcast on FS1.
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