The bye week forced the Sun Devils to dwell on their lone loss of the season, 30-22, at Texas Tech, before having an opportunity to turn the page and earn another win on the year. Admittedly, for some players, their frame of mind failed to waiver from their next chance to add another victory to the team record.
For senior offensive lineman Ben Coleman, his off-week plan was not much different than that of his head coach's agenda, as Coleman watched college football for the majority of his Saturday. From the lineman’s perspective, all he could do was survey future opponents on ASU's schedule.
“I think that's tough, especially when you feel like you know you should have been 4-0, but the reality is that clearly we didn't do the things that we were supposed to go 4-0,” Coleman reflected. “So, you take that two-hour plane ride back home (from Texas Teach game), and that sucks, and you got to sit on, and you got to watch college football.
“It's kind of cool sometimes just to get back and be a fan, but I think the reality is, as you get more advanced in this game, you're not really a fan anymore. You turn on the TV, and all you're watching are guards, tackles, and centers. What scheme are they running? I think it was good to have an opportunity to sit back all day. I didn't leave the house on Saturday at all, from top to bottom.”
ASU tallied just 94 rushing yards against Texas Tech, the first game this season it failed to hit triple digits on the ground. Now, with a foe in Kansas on the horizon that allows only 3.6 yards per carry, ranking in the Big 12’s top five in that statistical category is just one more example of how season records can be deceiving.
Despite a 1-4 record thus far, the Jayhawks, who were ranked No.19 in the preseason poll, are still just a few plays away from changing the entire narrative about the team. Coleman knows this contest will offer a challenging battle in the trenches, featuring some of the better defensive linemen Arizona State has faced this year.
“I think it's more about us,” Coleman remarked. “We get credit when credit is due. We don't believe their record reflects how good of a full team they are. Our coaches keep it real at us in the exact thing, especially when they do their breakdowns, that ‘Hey, this is not a 1-4 team.’ They just haven't had the ability to finish games how they want to. So, I'm sure they have a similar feeling that we did Texas Tech. They just had that feeling multiple times.”
In Coleman's eyes, the blueprint for besting Kansas on Saturday is simple: work and focus on the team's foundation. The senior alluded to the opening weeks of the season, in terms of principle and attention to detail on display, which saw ASU play a dominant brand of football early on. Head coach Kenny Dillingham made complementary statements on Monday regarding how opposing coaches spoke about how hard the Sun Devils performed in weeks one and two, a narrative that was nonexistent with other opposing coaches in the weeks to follow.
“For us, we want to get back to how we played the first two weeks,” Coleman noted. “Just based off of performance as we underperformed. We felt we didn't do the little things right. So, thinking of the bye week, we just harp back on those things that, ‘Hey, let's get back to the basics. Let's get back to who we are.’ We want to play fast; we want to play physically. So that's something that we really wanted to harp on, is getting back to our original roots.”
Along with Coleman, his wide receiver and fellow senior teammate Xavier Guillory understands how crucial playing under control is to an offense's success. Arizona State’s receiving stats have steadily improved each game in the last two games as redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt has grown his confidence, and opposing defenses have primarily focused on stopping the potent run game.
For Guillory, improving as a wide receiver is all in the margins, and having former NFL wide receiver and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward as his position coach has been a major aid in his personal growth and understanding of the game, keeping his eyes peeled for the next matchup.
“I'm just focused on the next day,” Guillory said about his performance this season. “There are a lot of things I could have fixed and some things I did well, some things I need to get back on the drawing board. Coach Hines and I just got that detailed, it's the next game up that's the mentality every week, and the next game is the most important, so It's gonna continue to build up.”
Guillory used his team’s hiatus to step back from the game and take time for loved ones. The strenuous season can fly by quickly, with game weeks and practicing stacking up consecutively. The receiver claims his time away from football allows him to come back more focused and well-motivated.
“Getting some time just to mentally reset because it's a fast game, chaotic game at times if you allow it to be,” Guillory explained. “Taking my mind off football sometimes is good to take a little break throughout the day. But you know, I'm glad to be back, and I'm ready to get out there and play with my guys on Saturday.”
Guillory feels ready for Saturday’s battle with the Jayhawks. A team with similar defensive statistics to the Sun Devils in terms of defensive efficiency and passing yards allowed per game makes for an interesting matchup against a team looking to snap a four-game streak. Kansas’ defensive back, senior Mello Dotson, leads the Big 12 in interceptions this season with three, including a 33-yard pick-six in the team's season opener. For Guillory, having the chance to play against one of the conference's top corners is an intriguing opportunity.
“After watching the film, they're long, athletic, good feet, and they're involved in the run game,” Guillory said. “It's gonna be a fun matchup. When the scouts turn on the tape, they want to see how you play against players like this. So, this is what you train for. A lot of hours that you put in by yourself. You envision going against the top corners in the country and the plays that you make against these top corners. But these guys are gonna be fun.”
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