A jumpscare could be in order for Washington State fans this Halloween weekend as ASU looks to secure a win against the Cougars this Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
The Cougars currently hold a 4-3 season record, which includes a 1-3 Pac-12 record for conference play. Spearheading the Cougar’s offense is junior quarterback Cameron Ward, who is ranked fifth nationally in passing yards and sixth in total offense. Ward has 2,217 passing yards so far this season.
Junior wide receiver Kyle Williams accompanies Ward at the top of the Wazzu leaderboard with 549 receiving yards, and redshirt senior running back Nakia Watson has generated only 173 rushing yards worth of offense.
In terms of the Sun Devils' offense, redshirt junior Trenton Bourguet will get his fourth straight start at quarterback for the Sun Devils this weekend. Despite the team's losing streak, Bourguet said he excited to continue improving the offensive unit and is looking for a win.
"To know we've lost the last three games by 14 points – two touchdowns combined – it stinks, it shows you just how close we are," Bourguet said. "I think we're super excited to just really break through, knock down that last wall, and just explode."
Graduate student linebacker Tre Brown will make his return on Saturday after sustaining an injury during the loss at California. Brown will be facing off against his former team, as he was a Cougar before making the transfer to a Sun Devil this year. Linebackers coach A.J. Cooper and defensive coordinator Brian Ward are also coming to ASU this year from Washington State. Despite the prior personal connection to the Cougars, the team is reiterating that this is just another opponent.
"We're gonna play to win," freshman defensive lineman C.J. Fite said. "Some people, some coaches, it means a little bit more to them, and it makes it mean more to us, so we're gonna play to win just like every other week."
Injuries are still a formidable obstacle for ASU, but the past week has seen the return of a few key players on the hobbled offensive line. Graduate student offensive lineman Aaron Frost returned as a full participant at Tuesday’s practice, and is available to play during Saturday’s matchup.
Redshirt senior offensive lineman Joey Ramos is also back in full swing and is slated to make a starting appearance against WSU.
During ASU’s preparations to host the Cougars, Fite has joined the field goal team amidst the lack of big bodies the unit needs to execute successfully. Fite has been practicing with the team in anticipation of taking the field with them on Saturday, if the circumstances warrant.
"It looked good," Dillingham said about the new additions to the field goal unit. "Fite's a big dude. You know, we have four defensive guys now working on that unit. Which like I said, I've never really had that. I've had maybe one big defensive end be a wing but I've never had a guy be an internal guy."
The defense continues to be the cohesive glue holding the Sun Devils together in their matchups. ASU’s defense has held their opponents to about five yards per play, which is a striking statistic given that the Sun Devils have competed against top-60 ranked teams in total offense.
As a collective unit, the defensive Devils have tallied 18 sacks this season, ranking them seventh in the conference. They’re also fifth in the Pac-12 for assisted tackles, 189 out of their 422 total tackles.
Dillingham has noticed a difference in the culture between the team’s defense and offense, highlighted by the bus situation from last week’s away game. Dillingham noted the defensive bus was kept clean, while the offense’s bus was dirty, a nod to the differences in play between the two sides.
Saturday’s homecoming matchup against the Cougars is set for 5 p.m. kickoff at Mountain America Stadium.
Edited by Alfred Smith III, Sadie Buggle and Shane Brennan
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