Arizona State Brings Dillingham Offense to Challenge UW

On the surface, Arizona State shouldn’t pose much of a threat to the Washington football team.

The Sun Devils offense ranks last in the Pac-12 in scoring offense, averaging 18.7 points per game under first-year coach Kenny Dillingham.

Defensively, the ASU program is not much better, allowing on average four touchdowns per game through six outings.

Though the numbers aren't imposing, UW co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell knows of Dillingham's capabilities as an offensive mind, especially following the latter's stint as Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 2022.

“I think the biggest thing with Arizona State, I have a lot of respect for coach Dillingham — he’s an elite play-caller,” Morrell said. “Schematically, I think they’re going to be as challenging, if not more challenging, than anybody we’ve played this year.”

On top of that, the UW has beaten the Sun Devils since a Chris Petersen-coached team took a 27-20 win in 2018 at Husky Stadium. The Huskies have lost the two most recent games.

The Sun Devils have started three different quarterbacks this season. Freshman Jaden Rashada opened the first two games against Southern Utah and USC. Former Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne started against USC. Junior Trenton Bourguet has been the starter for three of the past four games.

Bourguet has been the most efficient and effective option for Dillingham, throwing for 300-plus passing yards against California and Colorado.

Last year against the Huskies, Bourguet came off the bench to replace starter Emory Jones, who took a hard hit from UW safety Asa Turner and went into concussion protocol.

Bourguet was up to the task, completing 15 of 21 pass attempts for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Sun Devils to the upset. With 7:27 left to play, he threw a game-winning 2-yard TD pass to wide receiver Elijah Badger to break a 38-all tie.

“It’s fairly similar, it's very diverse,” Morrell said of Dillingham’s offenses at Oregon and ASU. “I think the creativity that’s there is going to challenge you. There’s going to be brand-new scheme pieces and game-plan pieces every single week that you won’t have seen. You have to be ready to adjust and adapt once you find out what their mindset is for the day.”

On Tuesday, Dillingham said redshirt sophomore left tackle Bram Walden is out for Saturday while redshirt senior right guard Joey Ramos is questionable after picking up a new injury during the bye week. Junior left tackle Isaia Glass is expected to return for the Sun Devils against the Huskies to replace Walden.

With ASU struggling on the offensive line coming into Husky Stadium, UW edge rushers Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fatui could be a big problem for the Sun Devils.

“If you watch the game last week, the way those defensive ends were getting off the ball, utilizing the crowd noise to their advantage, was a distinct advantage,” Dillingham said.

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