It’s often been said that teams are usually where they deserve to be the more the season continues to play out, and for the No. 17 Arizona State Sun Devils (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12), things are no different.
In looking at ASU’s results through the first half of this 2019 season, underdogs wouldn’t seem an appropriate moniker for the team- especially the defense- considering their road victories over then No. 18 Michigan State and then No. 15 California. Yet, that’s where they’ve stood before three of their four matchups this season against power-five opponents, at least according to most official betting lines.
With Saturday’s forecast in Salt Lake City currently projecting rain during the contest scheduled for 4 p.m. local time- the Sun Devils may very well be in for their third defensive battle of the season when they visit the No. 13 Utah Utes. “Me personally, I’m focused on making sure we get the win,” Junior Tillman safety Evan Fields said. “Everybody’s been talking about their defense, the same way they did against Michigan State, so we’re just planning to do the same thing we did there.”
This contest will feature two of the Pac-12’s top three defenses in terms of yards and points per game allowed, with Utah ranking second and ASU right behind them in each category, Oregon being the one team that’s ahead in both.
Although the disparity between the two teams is significant, with Utah allowing 271.5 yards per game and 13.2 points, and ASU allowing 354.5 yards per game and 17.7 points, both units are in the upper echelon of the conference, as each’s respective ranking as a team suggests.
Still, even with both teams currently ranked amongst the nation’s top 17 teams, this game will air on Pac-12 Network, reaching tens of millions fewer homes than it would be televised nationally on ESPN. This is due to the conflicting interests of fans and the conference, which is explained far more extensively here.
But regardless of how many people can actually watch the game, the Sun Devils know everyone in the conference and across the nation will be paying attention to the score.
“They say if we win this one, the next game is even bigger than the last one,” senior linebacker Khaylan Kearse-Thomas said. “So, that’s the mindset that we’ve had, just want to keep it.”
This could very well mark the last game for a while in which the Sun Devils are considered underdogs, if the season continues to play out the way they want it to, that is. While there’s some justification for it, given the Sun Devils youth as a team and especially on defense, plus their propensity for dramatic victories, it’s somewhat of an unfair reflection of their success thus far.
That is why players want to continue taking the right mindset to success, despite how much many of them embrace that underdog label.
“I kind of like (the underdog role) because it just gives me an extra chip,” Fields said. “I just hope we keep that same energy when we keep staking success, because that’s our plan, to just keep stacking success.”
On that matter, starting redshirt freshman safety Cam Phillips added “we can’t be arrogant, nothing like that, that’s how you lose.”
What both players said is something that’s proven to be a challenge over the past several years for ASU, a program that’s struggled to handle success the right way time and time again since last playing in the Pac-12 championship game in 2013.
This, among many other reasons, is part of why starting sophomore defensive end Jermayne Lole believes ASU still doesn’t get lots of respect from its peers, even though only two teams in the Pac-12 are ranked higher nationally.
“I feel like we aren’t as respected as teams like USC, or like Utah, who we’re playing this week,” Lole said.
If the Sun Devils can manage another improbable win on Saturday, it’s hard to see this continue to be the case, especially considering it would be the program’s third road win against a ranked team this season, something that’s never been previously accomplished in program history.
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