Arizona State lost last year’s meeting with Oklahoma State 34-17
Last season, Arizona State entered its matchup with #11 Oklahoma State with a decent amount of enthusiasm and faith. They had put up 40 points on their FCS foe Northern Arizona in Week 1 and felt that transfer quarterback Emory Jones could be the guy to finally lead the Sun Devils to success in the Pac-12.
Sadly, Oklahoma State quickly reminded ASU that they were not an FCS team but a solid Power 5 squad.
The Sun Devils started hot with an early lead and five straight 3-and-outs from OSU, but the Cowboys exploded in the fourth quarter and sunk the Devils two late touchdowns.
This was the start of a 4 game losing streak that effectively killed the 2022 season for Arizona State.
This is a brand-new Arizona State team
The past is the past. Herm Edwards is gone and cannot hurt us Sun Devil fans anymore.
But can rookie head coach Kenny Dillingham secure a win against a big-time opponent in Week 2? With Arizona State slated to join the Big 12 in 2024, this is an interesting preview of future conference play for the young Sun Devils squad.
Both teams had some sketchy moments against their Week 1 FCS opponents. Arizona State barely squeaked out a 24-21 win over Southern Utah after completely losing control of the game in the second half. OSU needed a couple of late touchdowns to pull away from Central Arkansas in their 27-14 win.
Neither team showed a lot in Week 1 so we are largely walking into this game blind. The current spread is -3.5 Oklahoma State so even the oddsmakers are not completely confident in the Cowboys ability to take down the Sun Devils.
Quarterback questions
There are plenty of unknowns about both teams and one area where that is extremely noticeable is quarterback.
Last week, ASU started a true freshman in their opening week game, Jaden Rashada, for just the second time in program history.
Rashada performed admirably in the first half before losing steam and concentration in the second half and allowing an FCS team to come dangerously close to stealing a win over a FBS big brother.
He finished the night 18/31 passing for 236 yards and two touchdowns. He had some highlight reel moments but it is reasonable to question whether that is enough to have full faith in the freshman considering the quality of opponent against which he made his debut.
Arizona State true frosh QB Jaden Rashada might be good
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) September 1, 2023
Oklahoma State has been going through their own process of choosing a starting quarterback. In their Week 1 game, three quarterbacks saw playing time auditioning for the starting role.
A starter has not been named for Week 2 yet, but it looks like head coach Mike Gundy’s son, Gunnar Gundy, might have a solid shot at the spot. He finished the night 7/9 for 106 yards but most importantly led two scoring drives in the fourth quarter that prevented a major upset for the Cowboys. Gundy would have to beat out transfer-redshirt senior Alan Bowman and Garret Rangel for the job.
Dillingham and the ASU coaching staff are not sure which OSU quarterback they will face on Saturday, but it is confirmed that Jaden Rashada will get the start for the Sun Devils once again. Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne is currently recovering from injury but could be in the wings waiting for his chance if Rashada fails to impress this weekend.
Talented Arizona State pass catchers against a solid OSU defense
It looks like ASU has a pretty talented pass-catching duo of Elijhah Badger and Xavier Guillory that will be the bedrock of the 2023 offense.
Guillory had 5 receptions for 73 yards last week including a beautiful 47-yard touchdown. Badger didn’t play in the first half and was largely a non-factor in the receiving game but did have an amazing 80-yard kick return that has put him on the radars of special teams coordinators across the Pac-12.
https://twitter.com/TSV__1/status/1697447726965997717?s=20
https://twitter.com/TSV__1/status/1697507919703790023?s=20
On the opposite team and the opposite side of the ball, Oklahoma State is looking to improve on a less than stellar defensive outing in 2022. In the offseason they hired a new defensive coordinator, Bryan Nardo, that is looking to bring an aggressive outlook to team this season.
Speaking about Nardo’s 3-3-5 scheme, ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham had this to say:
“This defense hasn’t hit the Pac-12. That’s the reality is this defense isn’t in the Pac-12. This defense is in the Big 12. I don’t even know if it’s, I can’t even process, I never faced it in any other league other than the Big 12. This is a predominantly Big 12 and American conference defense — I faced it in the American, too. So those are the only two leagues that really run this, and you can’t simulate it until you play it. It’s like triple option, so it is very difficult from that standpoint.”
The key thing to look for on Saturday will be how an inexperienced quarterback in Rashada will connect with his pass catchers against a solid Power 5/future conference foe in Oklahoma State.
On the other side, OSU will be looking for more answers regarding their own quarterback situation and that potential rotation at the most important position on the field could give Arizona State some key opportunities to take advantage of a lack of rhythm during those transition moments.
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor currently gives the Sun Devils a roughly 30% shot at victory but I find this to be a bit overstated. Yes, there are a lot of unknowns still for this team, but I would place this game more in the realm of 50/50. It is easy for me to see either team taking away the win on Saturday.
A win for Dillingham’s new regime would go a long way to cementing his credibility within the Sun Devil community and would help bolster the image of a program that is suffering under a self-imposed postseason ban as it makes ready to enter a new conference in 2024.
