Arizona State (1-0) came into Saturday night looking to start the season on the right foot, and in a 48-7 victory, it achieved that feat in impressive fashion by defeating Wyoming. The Sun Devil defense was a mere seconds away from securing the shutout, but that amounted to the only trivial blemish of the night. This ASU unit played spotless from start to finish, halting a normally potent Cowboy ground attack feasting on the passing downs it forced the visitors into.
The Sun Devil defense showed their teeth early in the contest, as on just the second play of the game, redshirt junior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu intercepted Wyoming junior quarterback Evan Svoboda and returned it 29 yards for a score. His teammate, junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliot, came right back the very next drive, intercepted a ball of his own at midfield, and returned it for 18 yards. The defense never let their foot off the gas pedal and continued their dominant play for the next three quarters. A group that described themselves as werewolves were true to that moniker, holding the visitors to 118 total offensive yards.
“I think that’s the identity of us,” Elliot expressed. “We have that no days off mentality. It doesn’t matter who the school is; we’re still going to do our jobs and trust to process. It’s a testimony to our work and what we’ve done in the off-season. Zyrus and I both had interceptions like that in practice. It showed up, it was a good play call, and the quarterback happened to throw right to us. We couldn’t have been in a better place.”
For the game, the Cowboys converted just three of their 13 third downs, ten of which were 3rd and 5 or more. Wyoming’s run game is deeply cemented in their program DNA, as they’ve recorded a 0-13 mark since 2019 in games where they posted fewer than 130 yards. That record moved Saturday night to 0-14 after they tallied only 40 yards despite a staggering 32 rushing attempts. The Cowboys were missing some key talent, though, with their starting running back senior Harrison Waylee and starting tight end redshirt junior John Michael Gyllenborg both sidelined. This put a lot of pressure on an inexperienced signal caller such as Svoboda, who was intercepted twice and completed just 6-15 passes for 42 yards. He was also sacked twice and never materialized as the running threat ASU expected, finishing the night with minus 30 yards on six carries.
The defense forced three turnovers tonight, with the two aforementioned interceptions alongside a fumble recovery for a touchdown by redshirt junior defensive end Justin Wodtly in the third quarter. Throughout fall camp, different position groups have focused on forcing turnovers first and then what follows once the ball is on the ground or intercepted. The linebackers specifically spent time focusing on their ability to catch interceptions and work on their hands. Tonight, they saw that come to fruition.
“I had no doubt those guys were going to come out and do what they do,” senior running back Cam Skattebo said. “They take the ball away from us at practice all the time. The defensive coaches preach getting the ball out every day. If Zyrus drops the ball, we don't score, or if Wodtly falls down, who knows? Those guys did a hell of a job of getting after the ball and getting off the field.”
“It takes a lot of pressure off of me,” redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt admitted. “I get to watch my guys go to work, it creates momentum in the stadium, and it lets me go out there and have fun. This wasn’t a coincidence type of thing either, these guys have been harping on this since day one. The fact that it happened in the first game is just a testament to the work they put in.”
The defensive line lived in the backfield, whether it was a sack, tackle for loss, or just pressuring the quarterback. They did their job in making the Cowboys’ offense feel uncomfortable and stayed off the field and fresh all game long. That allowed them to make the extra effort on plays and capitalize on the turnovers they forced because of it. Wodtly’s fumble recovery is evidence of that, as he made a great play before the fumble recovery as well.
“That’s a testament of me screaming bloody murder whenever the ball is on the ground,” Dillingham joked. “We fielded it and returned it because it’s a habit. That’s the stuff I show every day to start team meetings because you never know when it’s going to show up. On the play, before Wodtly returned the fumble, he made a great play and tackle, and an unbelievable job by him maintaining his focus on the next play.”
The defensive line establishing itself in the run game forced Wyoming to make more throws than they had planned. Svoboda only attempted 38 passes last year and attempted 15 tonight. The Defensive line made it impossible for him to make on-target throws, but even when he did, the defensive backs were right there to either break up the pass or make tackles to hold the Cowboys short on third downs.
“We play to be as aggressive as possible,” Dillingham implemented. “That’s what our guys believe in, is that we’re going to attack on defense. And tonight, we swarmed the football. You can see the effort when you’re watching Wyoming’s running back get tackled by four or five guys almost every single snap. It’s a testament to all those guys and the work they’ve been putting in.”
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