Preview: Arizona State takes on Texas Tech
Heading into Week 4 Arizona State is 3-0, not ranked, and looking to leave Texas Tech still undefeated. Texas Tech is 2-1, looking to get to 3-1, and hand the Sun Devils their first loss of the year.
This will be the first ever Big 12 Conference football game for Arizona State.
With all the newness to the Big 12 Conference for the Sun Devils, this team comes into conference play averaging 36 points a game. ASU has notched wins over Wyoming, Mississippi State, and a thrilling come from behind win over Texas State.
Arizona State Head Coach, Kenny Dillingham, is excited to play in Lubbock for his team’s first ever Big 12 contest.
“Their fans are diehard fans, it’s a college town. It’s going to be an unbelievable environment for our guys to play in.” Dillingham said.
The Sun Devils are going to have find a balance between their running attack and their passing game. Against Mississippi State the Sun Devils got a Herculean effort from their star running back Cam Skattebo when he ran for 262 yards. Skattebo is averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Skattebo has scored three touchdowns across the first three games of the year.
Skattebo is a big, physical running back who is looking for contact. To tackle a running back like Skattebo he needs to be gang tackled. He will brush off defensive backs who come at him by themselves. What makes Cam Skattebo successful is that the physicality of his running style takes a toll on the opposition. By the fourth quarter defenses get tired and sore from taking on Skattebo. He then breaks tackles and gets easy chunks of yards. It’s something that the Red Raiders are going to have to be careful with as the game progresses.
This will be something that the Sun Devils will try to exploit against the Red Raiders who have struggled against the run so far in 2024. Texas Tech is outside the top 100 in rushing yards allowed in this young 2024 season. For Arizona State to be successful they will have to get Skattebo rolling on offense.
The passing game will have to be consistent for the Sun Devils as well. Sam Leavitt, who transferred from Michigan State, will need to get into a rhythm early and keep the Sun Devil offense ahead of the chains. The wide receiver who helps the offense get focused is Jordyn Tyson. He has certainly become one of Sam Leavitt’s favorite targets. Tyson had a great game against Texas State. His career high of six catches, 120 yards, and a touchdown against Texas State helped the Sun Devils close out the win against the Bobcats.
The part of the game that people will want to keep an eye on are both pass defenses against the passing game of both teams.
Texas Tech quarterback, Behren Morton, passed for four touchdowns in the Red Raiders win over North Texas. The Sun Devils gave up four touchdowns against Texas State. When you look at the Red Raiders pass defense which ranks 119th out of 133 pass defenses in D1, they have their work cut out for them as well. The Red Raiders gave up 506 passing yards against Abilene Christian which brought their season average 280 yards.
If the passing game gets going it could be a great night for Sam Leavitt and the Sun Devils.
All in all, this is certainly a winnable game for Arizona State. Not to be to cliche, but football always comes down to having a balanced offense, limiting turnovers/penalties, and taking advantage of red zone opportunities. If the Sun Devils can do those three things they’ll walk out of Texas Tech being undefeated at 4-0 and certainly ranked in the Top 25.
Michael Wilson-The Daily Waiver