Arizona State Football Surging — Don’t Doubt the Devils Yet
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The Arizona State Sun Devils are 4-1 on the season, yet it seems like some people are still sleeping on this team. A lot of people have the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Iowa State Cyclones above them in the Big 12. Here is why ASU is better than or on par with those two teams.
Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson
Out of the five games that ASU wide receiver Jordyn Tyson has played, he has over 100 receiving yards in three of them. He has also had at least six catches in each game.
Not only has Tyson statistically been amazing, but he passes the eye test with flying colors as well. Tyson has made all types of highlight plays, whether it be hauling gin long deep balls, jumping over defenders, or making clutch catches in the endzone. Tyson has truly done it all. Tyson's connection with ASU Quarterback Sam Leavitt has been incredible. Especially while on the run, Leavitt has hit Tyson for some big-time plays.
Compared to Iowa State and Texas Tech, they do not have a receiver close to the caliber of Tyson. Tyson has 223 compared to Texas Tech's leading receiver and 267 more yards compared to Iowa State's leading receiver. Not to say those teams don't have bad receivers, they don't. However, Tyson is simply on another level, which should give ASU the boost in Big 12 rankings.
Clutch Wins
Both of ASU's Big 12 wins this season, Baylor and TCU, have been clutch end-of-game victories. Sure, a more convincing win by ASU could be nice, but these close wins show that ASU has toughness and grit. It shows that they never give up, and you can never count them out of any game. Now, it is hard to say if Texas Tech or Iowa State has this, but it is something that ASU for sure has.
Coaching Staff
Piggybacking off of ASU's toughness, a lot of that can be attributed to ASU's coaching staff. Head Coach Kenny Dillingham is the face and voice of the grit that ASU plays with. Coach Dillingham has done an excellent job instilling confidence into his players, as during a lot of the post-game press conferences, Dillingham gives credit to his players. Dillingham's staff is also loaded with a lot of talent, such as former Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver Hines Ward as the Receivers Coach, Super Bowl-winning coach Diron Reynolds as the Defensive Line Coach and many more talented coaches.
Bend but don't break Defense
Speaking of the coaching staff, Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward has not allowed more than 24 points to a team this year. This is a very impressive feat, including the great offenses that ASU has gone against. Now, to give credit where credit is due, Iowa State and Texas Tech have also had really good defenses. However, this is more about ASU's defense being on the same level as those two rather than being better.
Multiple Running Backs
The final point of why ASU deserves more respect is that they have great running backs. ASU has shown that they have two number one running backs with Raleek and Kyson Brown both on the team. Just like the previous category, Texas Tech and Iowa State are great here as well, but ASU's running game deserves more respect.
Overall, even though ASU has not won every game, there is a lot to like about this team. Hopefully, they can prove people wrong in the next couple of games.
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Tanner Cappellini holds a mass communications degree from Arizona State University and is pursuing his dream of being the person at the games, practices, and events who takes others inside the team they love.