Arizona State Sun Devils: What Do We Know?

The Arizona State football team is two weeks into their season and there are already people jumping ship. The Sun Devils currently sit at 1-1 after their loss at Mississippi State.

What do we know two weeks in about this team?

First of all, it’s not time to panic in Tempe by any stretch. Arizona State came into the season riding an unprecedented amount of confidence. We all know what happened last year. Picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference, winning the conference, and then getting a first round bye in the expanded College Football Playoff. Coming into this season ranked #11, getting a ton of buzz nationally, and having high expectations for the first time in years is something that the players and coaches have embraced.

However, with expectations comes with being the “hunted” instead of the “hunter”. Every game Arizona State plays is a game that is a big game for their opponents. It’s a circled game on the calendar for opposing fans, players, and coaches.

After a couple of weeks it is easy to see that the Sun Devils are still adjusting to be the hunted in college football.

The opening game with Northern Arizona was a victory, but it was not as dominating as people thought it should have been. Northern Arizona fought as best they could against a more talented Arizona State team. The Lumberjacks threw for 242 yards, but NAU was able to stay within reach for some of the game because of all the penalties that the Sun Devils stacked up. The Devils for the game had 93 yards in penalties. Discipline was a missing trait against NAU.

Against Mississippi State the Sun Devils came out absolutely flat footed. Mississippi State was looking to avenge their loss in Tempe last season. The Bulldogs came into the game with a different team, a younger team, than they had in 2024. The cowbells were loud, the fans were loud, and the Sun Devils were not ready to play.

The Sun Devils being down 17-0 at half certainly was not something Arizona State thought would be a reality, but it was. The offense was flat, the body language was horrible, and many thought that the game was over.

Except Arizona State.

Behind the Sun Devil running attack they got back into the game. ASU was showing the grit and determination that made them Big 12 Conference Champions last season.

Arizona State took a 20-17 lead late in the game and it appeared that the Sun Devils had wrestled a win out of the jaws of death. The crowd and cowbells had gone quiet for the time being.

All things that go well do not necessarily end well. A blown defensive coverage had Mississippi State walking off the field with a 24-20 victory. To say losing this way was disappointing would be putting it politely for the Sun Devils.

 “I really love how we all banded together and fought back. Like a lot of teams down 17-0 on the road. That’s it. So, I love how we were able to battle back. We just weren’t able to pull it out.” said running back Kanye Udoh (ESPN)

Arizona State knows that their level of play needs to get much better because they are closing in on conference play. The Big 12 Conference is a competitive, deep conference. With this type of average play so far the Sun Devils know that the other teams in the Big 12 will show no mercy. Arizona State needs to start showing why they are the conference champs quickly.

Michael J. Wilson-The Daily Waiver

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