ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham's second season at ASU started with fireworks.
On the second play of the season, ASU football made one of its most dynamic statements in recent program history. Wyoming junior quarterback Evan Svoboda released a short pass into the flat, and redshirt junior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu jumped the route and returned the interception 29 yards for a touchdown.
The crowd at Mountain America Stadium erupted, as the play set the tone for an all-around onslaught that ended in a 48-7 victory for the Sun Devils.
ASU gained a total of 499 yards, 241 of which came on the ground. In contrast, Wyoming gained a total of 118 yards with only 78 through the air. The Sun Devils forced three turnovers from Wyoming's offense while conceding none to the Cowboys' defense.
"Our kids love football," Dillingham said. "The easiest thing to take away is the passion they have for the game. They play really hard. They practice really hard too, so it is really a reflection of how we've been practicing."
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Such a performance couldn't have come at a better time as Saturday's game marked the second-largest student-section attendance rate in program history. A total 13,698 students packed into The Inferno to watch the season opener.
"I thought it was huge that the crowd showed out," junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliott said. "I don't think they realize how much of the impact that has for our defense. It's always nice to see the stadium almost packed, and the energy was there throughout the fourth quarter, which was nice as well."
The Sun Devils' defense stole the show, and the discrepancy in talent between ASU's defense and Wyoming's offense was noticeable all night. Svoboda struggled to make reads and get rid of the ball.
The Cowboys, known to have a run-first offense, were stuffed in the backfield for most running plays in the first half while their receivers rarely got separation. The Sun Devils' defense forced three turnovers and scored two touchdowns.
"We don't play scared on defense," said Dillingham in the post-game interview. "We play to be as aggressive as possible. That's what our guys believe in. We're gonna attack and attack and attack and attack on defense."
The offensive effort for the Sun Devils could only be described as ruthlessly efficient. ASU made it into scoring position on eight of 10 drives by progressively moving the chains. The team converted 27 first downs with a high third and fourth down conversion rate of 56%.
A lot of this success can be attributed to redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt. In his debut, he operated mainly out of a quick passing game allowing for a high completion rate. When he wasn't getting rid of the ball quickly, Leavitt eluded defenders by scrambling for yards.
"I actually wasn't too nervous going in this game," said Leavitt in the post-game interview. "That's a testament to the coaching staff and the team preparing and having answers for every situation on film ... I didn't do anything special tonight, I just got the ball to my playmakers, let them make plays, and we got great results."
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Wyoming didn't appear to resemble the 9-4 bowl-winning squad from a year ago.
Still, Dillingham made the argument that the result was less about Wyoming than it was about his Sun Devil squad.
"(Wyoming's) a football team that returned 17 starters, that won nine games, that beat Texas Tech last year, and was tied with Texas in the fourth quarter," Dillingham said. "It was about ASU football, and I think our guys came to play our brand of football."
That ASU brand of football culminated in a strong win of 48-7.
It was a dominant performance for ASU, but not a perfect one. The red zone offense didn’t convert at every opportunity and the kicking game may also be a cause for concern after two missed field goals.
"I thought we responded to the success well tonight, but we will fail," Dillingham said. "This is not going to be a clear path. We're going to face adversity, and we got to be ready for it."
Edited by Jack Barron, Sophia Ramirez and Alexis Heichman
Reach the reporter at jwkartso@asu.edu and follow @kartsonis3 on X.
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Jack is a sophomore studying sports journalism. This is his second semester with The State Press. He has also worked at other student journalism organizations.
