History will be made in Tempe on Saturday for yet another Saturday this fall. Arizona State’s (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) conference home opener will see the Sun Devils take on Kansas (1-4, 0-2 Big 12) in the first ever matchup between the programs.
On paper, ASU should face little resistance against the Jayhawks who, despite being picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 preseason poll, failed to win a game in over a month. Yet, this may not be the case in Week 5, as the Sun Devils gear up to play a Kansas team that has held fourth-quarter leads in all but one game this season.
Knowing the challenge, ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham spent the week imploring his team not to take the Jayhawks lightly.
“This is a good football team (Kansas),” Dillingham said. “Sometimes people can just look at the record and you can get skewed, but that isn’t accurate with this team.”
The Jayhawks return many key pieces from last season including junior quarterback Jalon Daniels and senior running back Devin Neal.
However, a change in offensive coordinator has not bode well early in the season. The Jayhawks’ offensive totals are down across the board including in the team’s points per game total (28), which is down from last season (34.77).
Additionally, turnovers have plagued Kansas in some close losses this season. Through the first few weeks, Daniels tossed eight interceptions, which doubled his career-high total for an entire season.
Despite experiencing a dip in the passing game, the Kansas rushing attack has not lost a step. Neal leads a Jayhawk backfield that ranks 15th in the country in rushing yards per game (224 ypg).
Facing a team with a strong running game and a quarterback who possesses the ability to push the ball downfield will force the Sun Devils to key in on the play-action game and remain disciplined defensively.
“We’ve got to be able to stop the run, while not giving up big plays,” Dillingham said. “That’s the fun part of playing a team that can run the ball. You have to be able to stop the run, but also not give up play-action passes.”
Meanwhile, the ASU offense looks to bounce back from a disappointing performance against Texas Tech that saw the Sun Devils produce a season-low 22 points.
This week, the team emphasized the importance of reviving the ground game after two weeks of uncharacteristically low rushing totals.
Getting offensive pieces such as sophomore running back Raleek Brown back at full strength helps ASU take a step forward. But their ability to re-establish their rushing will take a group effort from the offense.
“I think it’s a mentality more than a scheme,” redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt said. “It comes down to getting back to our main brand of football, which is tough, physical and smart.
The Sun Devils aim to get back on track against Kansas at 5 p.m. at Mountain America stadium.
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