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Sun Devil Football Lifts Lid on 2020 in Rare Conference Season Opener at #21 USC

by thesundevils.com
Nov 4, 2020

Herm Edwards Quotes (USC Preview/Nov. 2, 2020) | ASU Game Notes | Sun Devil Football vs. USC Series History | USC Game Notes

**Complete game notes in PDF above**

THE GAME -  The Sun Devil Football program will open the 2020 season this Saturday, Nov. 7 on the road against the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Coliseum in the program's first ever appearance on the FOX Sports Big Noon Saturday Game of the Week.

FOX Sports lead college football game broadcasters Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft call the action when the game kicks off at 12:00 PM ET, 9:00 AM local time, in the Pac-12's first contest scheduled in the network's featured time slot.

OPENER NOTES - ASU is 78-27-2 all-time in season openers, though the 2020 addition has its own caveats due to the COVID-19 crisis. It will be the latest start date for Sun Devil Football in modern history. It will be the first time the Sun Devils have opened a season against a conference opponent since opening the 1998 season at home against Washington, a 42-38 loss. It's the first time opening on the road against a conference opponent since Washington in 1995, a 23-20 loss in Seattle. It is the first time since 2002 that ASU has opened with a TRUE road game - that one coming in a 48-10 loss on the road against Nebraska in Lincoln. ASU is 17-22-2 all-time in Pac-12 openers (overall) and 17-23-1 in Pac-12 ROAD openers.

THE TROJANS - USC leads the all-time series, 23-13. After USC won 11 in a row from 2000-2010, the two teams have been fairly evenly matched in the last nine contests with USC holding a 5-4 lead in that time. The Trojans came out on top last season in a 31-26 victory that saw ASU come storming back at Sun Devil Stadium behind backup quarterback Joey Yellen but coming just shy in the waning moments of the game. 

KICKING OFF

  • Jayden Daniels will open the season with the nation's third-longest active streak of consecutive passes thrown with an interception at 154, trailing Nevada's Carson Strong (230) and UCF's Dillon Gabriel (166).
  • Cristian Zendejas will open the season with the nation's second-longest active streak of consecutive field goals made at 11, trailing only Florida's Evan McPherson (13).
  • The Sun Devils will have the seventh-youngest team in the nation in terms of underclassmen percentage with 68.1 percent of the roster with 77 total underclassmen (49 freshmen/28 sophomores) on a roster of 113. 
  • Chase Lucas trails only Oregon's Jordon Scott (37) for most defensive starts in the Pac-12 at 35.

#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)

1. ASU (11th in 2018) are one of just four teams nationally to rank in the Top-25 in turnover margin in each of the last two seasons (Georgia Southern, Syracuse, LSU) and only ASU and Syracuse have been in the Top-15 in the last two seasons. 

2. ASU has held opponents to 30 or fewer points in 17 of 26 games under Herm Edwards, notable as it allowed 30+ in 32 of the previous 43 games prior to Edwards tenure. 

3. ASU allowed just 17 plays over 30 yards last season, a total tied for 7th nationally. In 2018, The Devils gave up just 22 plays (34th nationally). In the previous four years, ASU had given up 38, 44, 40, 40 such plays, ranked 116th, 124th, 117th and 119th. 

4. Aashari Crosswell (@YkgAashari) has been credited with just two missed tackles last season, a total that led the nation's 300+ graded safeties.

5. .@jayd__5 has not thrown an interception in 154 consecutive pass attempts, the 3th longest active streak in the country. 

6. .@_SavageSZN8 was the Pac-12's10th-highest graded wide receiver (69.7) among players with 600 snaps, but also did his part off the ball in recording the third-highest score in the FBS among receivers as a run blocker (80.6).

7. The Sun Devils will be the only team in the country that starts this season with zero total Division I carries by a running back on the travel roster. The 30 career starts on the offensive line are the 6th-fewest in the nation.

8. ASU had the 9th-highest SFEI special teams rating at .10, which represents the per possession scoring advantage a team's combined ST units would be expected to have on a neutral field against an avg. opponent.

9. Jermayne Lole recorded 72 tackles last season, the third most for a Sun Devil defensive lineman since 1990 behind only Shante Carver (79 in 1993) and Terrell Suggs (73 in 2002). 

10. .@zendejas88 enters the weekend with the nation's second-longest active consecutive field goal streak at 11.

BY THE NUMBERS

154 - Jayden Daniels will open the season with the nation's third-longest active streak of consecutive passes thrown with an interception at 154, trailing Nevada's Carson Strong (230) and UCF's Dillon Gabriel (166). With two interceptions on 338 pass attempts last season, he set the ASU school record for fewest interceptions on 300 or more passes. It is also noticeable that one of those interceptions came on a half-ending Hail Mary against Utah midway through the season. Among quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts on the year, Daniels was tied for the FBS lead for the fewest.

72 - The Sun Devils had 72 passes defended in 2019, the 10th-highest total in the nation and the most since posting 75 in 2012. Jack Jones was tied for 10th nationally with 16 passes defended on the season and his 1.2 passes defended per game were 25th in the country. Additionally, Jermayne Lole recorded 72 tackles last season, the third most for a Sun Devil defensive lineman since 1990 behind only Shante Carver (79 in 1993) and Terrell Suggs (73 in 2002). 

14 - The Devils turned the ball over just 14 times last season - the 20th-lowest total in the FBS. ASU was 6th nationally in turnover margin this season (1.08).  ASU forced a turnover on 17.5 percent of opponent possessions last season, good for 4th nationally. ASU (11th in 2018) is one of just four teams nationally to rank in the Top-25 in turnover margin in each of the last two seasons (Georgia Southern, Syracuse, LSU) and only ASU and Syracuse have been in the Top-15 in the last two seasons. ASU had 15 fumble recoveries last season, the third-highest total in the nation.

11 - Cristian Zendejas opens the season with the nation's second-longest active streak of field goals made with 11. Florida's Evan McPherson leads the FBS with 13 in a row. The former walk-on finished with 23 field goals, good for sixth in ASU single season history. The 23 field goals were the 7th-most in the nation (most in the Pac-12) and 5th among those returning this season. He was 20th nationally in field goal percentage (85.2). ASU had the 9th-highest SFEI special teams rating at .10, which represents the per possession scoring advantage a team's combined ST units would be expected to have on a neutral field against an avg. opponent.

10 - ASU was able to close games strong, allowing just 10.3 second half points per game against FBS opponents, good for 26th in the nation. At just 4.8 points allowed per fourth quarter, ASU was tied for 17th nationally and second in the Pac-12. ASU outsored opponents 117-65 in the fourth quarter of games and held opponents scoreless in the fourth quarter of 4 of the last 6 games of the year.Finishing halves was the forte with ASU allowing just 5.5 points per second quarter last season, good for 18th nationally - holding opponents scoreless in the quarter in seven of those frames one year. 

0 - The Sun Devils will be the only team in the country with a travel roster that features zero starts OR carries at the Division I level among the running backs to start the season. ASU's 30 combined starts along the offensive line are the sixth fewest in the country. The Sun Devils will have the seventh-youngest team in the nation in terms of underclassmen percentage with 68.1 percent of the roster with 77 total underclassmen (49 freshmen/28 sophomores) on a roster of 113. 

FOCUSING ON FOOTBALL

  • Pro Football Focus named eight Sun Devils to its All-Pac-12 team last season, five of which return this year:  Michael Turk (First Team P), Dohnovan West (Third Team OG), Jermayne Lole (Second Team ED), Aashari Crosswell (Second Team S), Cam Phillips (Honorable Mention S)
  • Among players with 500 defensive snaps last season, safety Aashari Crosswell was the 15th highest graded defender, overall, regardless of position (77.0). He will be the fifth-highest graded player returning to the field in 2020. Fellow safety Cam Phillips was the 30th highest-graded defender in the league (73.3).
  • Jermayne Lole checked in as the 20th-highest graded player in the Pac-12 with a score of 75.3 - the second-highest score among edge defenders in the league. His 81.9 score on running plays last season was in the Top-50 of all edge defenders on the year. 
  • Frank Darby was the Pac-12's 10th-highest graded wide receiver (69.7) among players with 600 snaps and also did his part off the ball in recording the third-highest score in the FBS among receivers as a run blocker (80.6).
  • Despite being one of less than 20 true freshman offensive linemen to start every game in the country, Dohnovan West was 5th-highest graded offensive guard in the Pac-12 last season (69.2).  He was the sixth-highest graded true freshman guard in the nation and the 10th-highest graded true freshman offensive lineman in the country. His 844 snaps were ninth among true freshman lineman in the country.

DAAAAMMNNNN DANIELS

  • Jayden Daniels became the first true freshman quarterback in program history to start the first game of the season.
  • He was 11th in ASU single-season history, finishing the 2019 season with 2,943 passing yards
  • Daniels became just the third freshman in ASU history to win his first career start, joining John Walker (1984) and Dennis Sproul (1974) as the only other QB's to win their first career starts as freshmen.
  • Only 12 times in ASU history had a freshman quarterback recorded a 300+ yard passing performance, of which Daniels had five. His five 300+ yard performances were tied with Andrew Walter (2004) and Rudy Carpenter (2005) for the most in a single season in ASU history.
  • Daniels' 8.86 yards per pass attempt were 13th in the FBS and third in the league.
  • Among quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts, he was tied for the fewest interceptions nationally with just two – one of which coming on a half-ending Hail Mary attempt against Utah. 
  • Daniels thrown an interception in 154 consecutive pass attempts, tied for the third-longest active streak as he enters 2020. With two interceptions on 338 pass attempts, he set the ASU school record for fewest interceptions on 300 or more passes.
  • Daniels was eighth in the country with 15 pass completions over 40 yards this season and 12th in the FBS with 24 passes over 30 yards. His eight completions over 50 yards were 10th.
  • Eleven of his 17 touchdowns passes went for at least 25 yards (64.7 percent).

ICE IN HIS VEINS

  • Daniels was exceptional on third downs last season, with his 744 passing yards on third downs good for 17th in the country (despite missing a game). His 160.13 passer rating on third down was 25th nationally.
  • Despite missing a game, Daniels accounted for 784 passing yards in the fourth quarter of games, good for 10th nationally while his 34 passing first downs were also 10th. 
  • He recorded nine fourth quarter passing touchdowns (fourth nationally) to one interception. His 183.84 QB efficiency rating in the fourth quarter was 12th in the country. 
  • Daniels completed 11 passes of 25+ yards in the fourth quarter of games (tied for 2nd nationally) and his 19 pass completions over 15 yards in the frame was tied for 11th. 
  • While under pressure last season, he posted the sixth-highest NFL passer rating of any quarterback in the FBS at 97.2. For reference, the national average was 68.6.

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS

  • Arizona State has played in 10 total games decided by four points or less in the Herm Edwards era, which is tied with San Diego State for the most in the FBS over the last two seasons.
  • ASU has seven wins in games decided by four points or less (7-3 record), tied for third behind Texas (10) and Nevada (9) for the most wins by four points or fewer in the last two seasons.
  • The Sun Devils have now played in 17 games decided by a touchdown or less in the last two years, going 9-8 in that time. The 17 games are second behind Texas (20) for the most in the country during that time. 
  • ASU played eight games last season decided by a touchdown or less - six of which decided by four points or less.

HOLD ON TO THAT BALL, ALSO

  • The Devils turned the ball over just 14 times last season - the 20th-lowest total in the FBS. ASU was 6th nationally in turnover margin this season (1.08). 
  • ASU forced a turnover on 17.5 percent of opponent possessions last season, good for 4th nationally. 
  • ASU (11th in 2018) is one of just four teams nationally to rank in the Top-25 in turnover margin in each of the last two seasons (Georgia Southern, Syracuse, LSU) and only ASU and Syracuse have been in the Top-15 in the last two seasons. 
  • ASU's four interceptions thrown on the year were tied for the 4th-lowest total nationally. ASU was one of just five non-triple option offenses to rank in the Top-25 in fewest interceptions in the last two seasons - joining Auburn as the only other one of those to do so with a different primary quarterback in each of those seasons.
  • ASU collected 15 fumble recoveries last season, the third-most in the nation and the most since finishing the 2014 season with 13. ASU had 17 fumble recoveries during the 2011 season. It had one against Oregon State, the first fumble lost by the Beavers all season in its first 10 games. 
  • ASU has outscored opponents 758-379 in points off takeaways since 2012. ASU has padded that stat last season, outscoring the opposition 73-24. 
  • Since 2012, ASU has scored 65.3 percent of the time following an opponent turnover (128 of 196) while finding the end zone 93 times in that span (47.4 percent).
  • Conversely, opponents have scored just 49.2 percent of the time following an ASU turnover since 2012 (64 of 130) with 49 touchdowns (37.7 percent).

LOCKING IT DOWN

  • The Sun Devils gave up just three plays over 50 yards this season, tied for the 8th-fewest nationally. ASU was also tied for 9th nationally in allowing just 3 plays of over 50 yards in 2018 after sitting in the bottom 10 nationally in the previous four years.
  • ASU's 10 plays allowed over 40 yards last season were 25th nationally. In 2018, ASU was tied for 11th nationally in allowing just 8 plays over 40 yards, an area the Devils had struggled in in previous seasons (allowing 20, 16, 30, 21 in the previous four seasons and finishing 103rd, 79th, 128th, 110th, respectively). 
  • ASU allowed just 17 plays over 30 yards last season, a total tied for 7th nationally. In 2018, The Devils gave up just 22 plays over 30 yards, tied for 34th-fewest nationally. In the previous four years, ASU had given up 38, 44, 40, 40 such plays, ranked 116th, 124th, 117th and 119th. 
  • ASU's run defense was especially efficient, finishing 17th in the country with only 47rushing plays allowed over 10 yards last season. With just 8 rushing plays over 20 yards allowed last season, ASU was 8th in the country. 
  • In the last two seasons combined, the Sun Devil secondary has allowed just 15 total passing plays over 40 yards. For perspective, it had 12 alone in 2017, 22 in 2016 and 24 in 2015 – the latter two ranked second to last and last, respectively, in the nation.
  • ASU's defense has done it's part to limit opponents on short-field drives (drives beginning less than 60 yards for the end zone), holding teams to 2.83 points per drive in such situations (28th in the country).

KEEP 'EM OFF THE BOARD

  • ASU was 35th in the country and fifth in the Pac-12 in allowing just 22.4 points per game. The Sun Devils allowed just 25.5 points per game in 2018, good for 53rd nationally. The totals are notable as ASU was 103rd nationally at 32.8 points per game allowed in 2017 and had finished 99th or worse in three consecutive seasons prior to the marked improvement the past two seasons.
  • ASU was able to close games strong, allowing just 10.3 second half points per game against FBS opponents, good for 26th in the nation. At just 4.8 points allowed per fourth quarter, ASU was tied for 17th nationally and second in the Pac-12. 
  • ASU outscored opponents 117-65 in the fourth quarter of games and held opponents scoreless in the fourth quarter of 4 of the last 6 games of the year.
  • Finishing halves was the forte with ASU allowing just 5.5 points per second quarter last season, good for 18th nationally - holding opponents scoreless in the quarter in seven of those frames one year. 
  • ASU held six opponents under 20 points last year, its most since holding six under the mark in 2012. 
  • ASU has held opponents to 30 or less points in 17 of 26 games under Herm Edwards, notable as it DID allow 30+ in 32 of 43 previous games dating back in a span from 2013-17.

NO FLY ZONE

  • Chase Lucas was credited with just one touchdown allowed in coverage last season, the lowest total in the Pac-12 and 5th-lowest total nationally - despite being targeted the 37th most times on an corner nationally (76).
  • Lucas trails only Oregon's Jordon Scott (37) in most defensive starts in the Pac-12 at 35. He will go down as one of the few Sun Devil secondary players to finish his career as a four-year starter. 
  • Jack Jones was tied for 10th nationally with 16 passes defended on the season and his 1.2 passes defended per game were 25th in the country.
  • Jones' five pass breakups against Washington State were the most by an FBS player this season. He was a part of 12 pass breakups by the Sun Devils - the fifth highest total in the FBS this season and the first time ASU posted 10 or more since 2011.
  • Jones was the 15th highest graded corner and the 37th-highest graded defender overall in the Pac-12 with a defensive score of 71.2
  • The Sun Devils had 72 passes defended in 2019, the 10th-highest total in the nation and the most since posting 75 in 2012.

MIDDLE OF THE LINE-UP

  • Darien Butler was the seventh-highest graded linebacker in the Pac-12 on run defense (68.5), according to Pro Football Focus. 
  • His 17 total quarterback pressures were tied for seventh among the league's linebackers, alongside teammate Merlin Robertson.
  • Merlin Robertson was credited with just eight missed tackles last season, the second-fewest among the Pac-12 linebackers on the season and the 20th-fewest among Power Five linebackers in the nation.
  • Robertson played on 881 defensive snaps last season, the eighth-highest total in the Pac-12.

SAFETY VALVE

  • Among players with 500 defensive snaps last season, safety Aashari Crosswell was the 15th highest graded defender, overall, regardless of position (77.0). He will be the fifth-highest graded player returning to the field in 2020. Fellow safety Cam Phillips was the 30th highest-graded defender in the league (73.3).
  • Among safeties with at least 200 snaps on run defense, Crosswell was not credited with a missed tackle on a running play last season (on 312 snaps), marking him one of just two safeties in the country to lay such a claim.
  • His two missed tackle on the season, period, were tied for first among over 300 FBS safeties in the country.
  • Evan Fields had 23 total defensive "stops" last season, a total that was tied for second among safeties in the Pac-12.
  • On run defense last season, Fields recorded 17 total defensive "stops" to lead all Pac-12 safeties and 46th nationally.

LO-LEEEEEE, LOLE, LOLE, LOLEEEE

  • Jermayne Lole checked in as the 20th-highest graded player in the Pac-12 with a score of 75.3 - the second-highest score among edge defenders in the league. His 81.9 score on running plays last season was in the Top-50 of all edge defenders on the year. 
  • Lole recorded 72 tackles last season, the third most for a Sun Devil defensive lineman since 1990 behind only Shante Carver (79 in 1993) and Terrell Suggs (73 in 2002). 
  • The sophomore had the 12th-highest positive run impact score in the country at 23.6 percent among players graded as interior linemen (percentage of run defense snaps where player earned a positive grade from Pro Football Focus).
  • Lole's 32 defensive stops on run plays last season were seventh among the nation's edge defenders. His 39 overall stops were 14th among edge defenders.
  • Lole was credited with just five missed tackle last season, tied for 35th among FBS edge defenders.
  • Fellow defensive lineman D.J. Davidson was impressive in his own right, recording 51 tackles on the season, a total that was among the Top-Five interior linemen on a Power Five team nationally.

BIG PLAY FRANK

  • Frank Darby earned Pac-12 honorable mention accolades in 2019
  • He hauled in a touchdown pass in four straight games in the back half of the season and accounted for two touchdowns in three of those outings. He had seven touchdowns over the four-game span (UCLA-USC-Oregon State-Oregon). Prior to the UCLA game, he had five total receiving touchdowns in his previous 30 career games to that current four-game stretch.
  • In those four games, he has made 16 catches for 387 yards (24.2 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns
  • His 125-yard performance in the upset victory over No. 6 Oregon was the fifth 100+ yard game of his career
  • Darby's 19.87 yards per reception last season was 10th in the country and second among Pac-12 receivers
  • When targeted last season, Darby posted a 133.1 NFL quarterback rating (31 catches for 616 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions) – good for the 21st-highest total among all wide receivers nationally and top-10 among those that return this season.
  • Frank Darby was the Pac-12's10th-highest graded wide receiver (69.7) among players with 600 snaps, but also did his part off the ball in recording the third-highest score in the FBS among receivers as a run blocker (80.6).

NOBODY'S BUSINESS BUT THE TURKS

  • A semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, Michael Turk's 46.0 yards per punt average on 59 punts were 11th in the FBS and led the Pac-12.
  • He pinned 32 of those 59 punts inside the opponent 20-yard line (54.2 percent), a total that was second in the nation.
  • Turk had 21 punts out of 59 (35.6 percent) punts over 50 yards this season, six more than any other player in the Pac-12.
  • Turk held the top mark in the FBS this season for max hang time on a punt with a mark of 5.51seconds in generally unfavorable conditions in Week 8 against Utah. Pro Football Focus gave Turk the 10th-highest grade among FBS punters this season that played at least 10 games.
  • The 63.0 yards per punt mark by Turk on Aug. 29 vs. Kent State broke an NCAA record. The previous record for highest average yards per punt in a game with minimum five attempts was Braden Mann of Texas A&M on Sept. 22, 2018, as he had a 60.8 yards per punt average vs. Alabama on punts of 56, 65, 62, 61 and 60 for 304 yards. Turk punted five times for 315 yards with boots of 64, 62, 65, 49 and 75 in his Sun Devil debut.
  • Turk crushed Sun Devils school records for punting average, breaking the previous school record for average on five punts of 55.0 by Danny White in 1972. Turk's 63.0 yards per punt would have set records for every minimum number of punts in a game with the closest being Tony Lorick's 59.3 yards per punt on three punts in 1962.

KEEPING MOMENTUM

  • The Sun Devils have won as least seven games in six of the last eight seasons.
  • Sun Devil Football has had one of the top home field advantages in the FBS in recent history, recording a 40-14 record at Sun Devil Stadium since 2012. The 40 wins are tied for 21st nationally in that time while the 14 losses are the 28th-fewest in the FBS since 2012.

THE KIDS WILL BE ALRIGHT

  • The Sun Devils will have the seventh-youngest team in the nation in terms of underclassmen percentage with 68.1 percent of the roster with 77 total underclassmen (49 freshmen/28 sophomores) on a roster of 113. 
  • The Sun Devils will be the only team in the country with a travel roster that features zero starts or carries among the running backs on the travel roster.
  • ASU's 30 combined starts along the offensive line are the sixth fewest in the country. 
  • All told, 32 true or redshirt freshmen have played for the Sun Devils last year (21 true, 11 redshirt). That was tied for the third-highest total among FBS programs this season behind Clemson and Oklahoma.
  • Eight have started a game for ASU last year, tied for the second-highest total in the nation behind Alabama (9). ASU's 5 offensive true freshmen to start a game last season were the most of any team in the country.
  • The Sun Devils played 25 freshmen in the season opener (15 true, 10 redshirt) last year - the most ever in the modern era at ASU. That was the third-highest total in the country behind only Clemson (38 - 27/11) and Baylor (35 - 20/15). 
  • In 2019 - for the first time in program history - a freshman was named a team captain after Herm Edwards dubbed true freshman quarterback/athlete Ethan Long as special teams captain before the season. Additionally, Darien Butler was the first true sophomore captain in program history after the linebacker was named captain for the team's defense. 
  • The trend continues in 2020 with true sophomores Jayden Daniels and Case Catch earning the nod as captains. 
  • Prior to the last two seasons, no player that had been with the program for less than three years had ever been named a team captain in ASU history. 
  • Last season, Arizona State was the only team in the country starting two true freshmen on its offensive line.

 

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