ASU football has a good shot at beating its 2019 record and is second in the Pac-12 South with a 6-3 overall record and 4-2 conference record going into a week 11 matchup against the University of Washington.
The Sun Devils had a hot start to the season and were 5-1 after a big win against Stanford University on Oct. 8. The team was ranked 18th in the nation by the Associated Press going into week seven and No.1 by the Pac-12 football power ranking until it had two consecutive losses.
The team has won five out of six games at home, but that record will change when the Sun Devils head to Seattle to face the University of Washington on Nov. 13.
Despite the recent struggles within the team, ASU currently shares the same overall record with the University of Utah, the No.1 team in the Pac-12 South. With three games left in the season, ASU football might have a chance to attend the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 3.
“We can’t get comfortable when we lose,” said head coach Herm Edwards, regarding the back-to-back losses. “You got to have a pit in your stomach and walk around it every day, knowing that I want the joy of winning.”
The Sun Devils are averaging 30.33 points per game, which is the highest points per game recorded since 2017, apart from 2020, when the team recorded 40.25 points per game. The team has already recorded 37 touchdowns and a total of 273 points in nine games, passing the 36-touchdown record from the 2019 season.
ASU junior quarterback Jayden Daniels has recorded 1,880 passing yards with 67.3% completion this season. Yet his performance was not as impressive as his first with the Sun Devils in 2019 when he threw 2,943 yards with 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
“You got to battle through some adversity,” Daniels said following ASU's win against Stanford. “I give props to the team and the will, the will that want to finish.”
Redshirt senior running back Rachaad White leads the team in rushing yards with 685 while recording 12 total touchdowns.
Wide receivers junior Ricky Pearsall and redshirt freshman LV Bunkley-Shelton are two of the top receivers on the team, recording two touchdowns each and 417 and 357 receiving yards, respectively. The team as a whole is recording nine total receiving touchdowns this season.
“Football is a game of momentum, when you have it is fun to have, and it is fun to watch,” Edwards said at a press conference prior to the Washington State game. “It is important to figure out how to stop momentum when you don’t have it.”
On the defensive side, the team is reporting 21 sacks and an average of 10 interceptions.
“We still have a whole season ahead of us, this is a setback for sure, but it is not going to kill us,” graduate student defensive lineman Tyler Johnson said at a press conference after the Utah game in October. “Everyone in the locker room would not let this happen again.”
With last week’s big win against USC, ASU football will look for a key conference win against Washington. The Sun Devils take on Washington Saturday at 5 p.m. MST in a defining moment for fans and the team for playoff potential.
Reach the reporter at titusto@asu.edu.
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