Eliav GabayVideo by Jordan Spurgeon
PICK SIX!
Be honest – how many of you had ASU’s first touchdown of the season coming from the defense?
After only forcing nine total turnovers last season, Arizona State’s pair of interceptions (and a fumble recovery), set the tone in the squad’s week one 48-7 victory over Wyoming.
“The play call was right,” LB Zyrus Fiasu said. “If I do my job and you do your job, and we execute, good things happen…It was more of seeing my teammates happy. I don’t gotta score it, I just did my job… seeing everybody hyped at the start of the season was just amazing.”
ASU football doing it all in the first half.
Defense is lights out. Offense is running the ball effectively.
Energy in the building is higher than it’s been in awhile. pic.twitter.com/Xpx65Ec5v0
— Jordan Spurgeon (@spurge_) September 1, 2024
Now be honest again – how many of you had the Sun Devils running the Cowboys out of Tempe by 41 points? I thought they’d win, but not like this.
Dillingham and his guys didn’t just win, they dominated in every facet of the game.
ASU finished with 27 first downs compared to Wyoming’s eight. They also forced seven penalties for 65 yards out of their opposition.
“It’s really a reflection of how we’ve been practicing,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “There were a few times we had personal fouls toward us, and our guys didn’t respond…Last year, we would’ve lost our minds. For us to be able to lock back in for the next play, continue to make the next play, is a lot of growth for our football team.”
For those concerned about QB Sam Leavitt, he passed his first test with flying colors, putting up 258 passing yards on 14/22 to go along with 47 rushing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
“I wasn’t too nervous going into this game,” Leavitt said. “That’s a testament to the coaching staff having answers for every situation… I didn’t do anything special tonight, just got the ball to my playmakers and let them make a play.”
“Really impressive,” Dillingham said. “His poise back there calling out pressures…I’m like, ‘Okay, this guy’s got it a little bit.’ He’s got the savviness. He got caught once… you get caught once in a football game as a true Freshman. Kudos to him.”
Arizona State’s student section also boasted its second highest total ever with 13,698 students in the stands.
Going into next week’s matchup against Mississippi State, there’s a whole lot of momentum to carry over for this group.
Dillingham made sure to mention that ASU is yet to beat an SEC school… so why not start now?
The Sun Devils will host the Bulldogs on Saturday, September 7 at 7:30 PM.
