With a 1-2 road record in the 2024 season and in search of their first Big 12 win away from Tempe, Arizona State's (5-2, 2-2 Big 12) struggles on the road have been quite apparent. Those who have averaged 31 points versus conference opponents Mountain America Stadium have seen that number nearly cut in half, posting 16 points on the road.
Traveling to Oklahoma State (3-5, 0-5) this weekend, matching up with a team in the midst of a five-game losing streak, could offer an opportunity to end the woes ASU has experienced in away games. Early game momentum swings have proven costly in road games, none more notable than three-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week running back Cam Skattebo’s fumble against Cincinnati that flipped Arizona State’s first-half dynamic on its head. For ASU offensive line coach Sage Tuitele, those dips in assurance are a byproduct of collegiate athletics, and growing as players mentally can prove as challenging as any other aspect.
“That's what you prepare for, young people respond in different ways,” Tuitele said. “You want them to respond the right way faster. And so that's just part of the development, getting guys to respond when bad things happen or when it's not going your way. And so it took us a little bit to respond. And for whatever reason, it was this and that and all that. But we just have to learn.
“It's life, when you're comfortable and something happens at home at your house or whatever you know how to fix it. You know where the band-aids are. On the road, you're kind of looking around where things are if you're in a hotel and something has happened. So that's just life; wherever you're more comfortable, you tend to respond a little better when they’re in a strange place when they're on the road in football. We want to develop these young men when they're uncomfortable, when they're in a strange place, when they're on the road in football.”
Offensively, ASU provided itself with key opportunities to improve its situation against Cincinnati. However, multiple fourth-and-short opportunities were blown as the team lost the battle of the trenches up front, turning the ball over on downs. Dillingham has uttered the importance of those plays concerning swayed spirit, and for running backs coach Shaun Aguano, those situations are vital to the success of the offense every week.
“We didn't take advantage of our third downs and fourth downs,” Aguano said. “That was huge. We turned the ball over that was not at the right time, and I think that momentum switched the other way, but if we take care of the football and convert on our third downs, I think we'll have a better chance to beat this next team in Oklahoma State.
“First of all, it's a mindset on fourth down that you're not gonna lose. Secondly, it's execution. So, Coach Dillingham has all of the utmost confidence in our offensive group. No matter where we're on the field to get that fourth down conversion. And so we just gotta execute.”
Executing in the rushing department hasn’t been a consistent challenge for the Sun Devils, although a heavy reliance on Skattebo has been admitted by the offensive coaching staff more than once, with redshirt sophomore Raleek Brown now being sidelined for the remainder of the season due to his hamstring injury, a door of opportunity for other players to make their impact in the backfield has been on Aguano’s mind.
“They're going to have to play their role,” Aguano noted in regards to the running back depth. “And then they're also the next man up to it if something never happens to [Skattebo]. But they understand their role and we didn't have really healthy probably through the whole entire season so far. And so They know what they need to get done and again it gives the opportunity for other guys to show what they got.”
Sophomore Kyson Brown has carried a heavy load during practices as of late. The elusive back found the endzone earlier in the season against Wyoming, yet he hasn’t been awarded consistent playing time since, not receiving any carriers against Utah and Kansas. With Raleek Brown sidelined for the season and five straight weeks of games remaining, Kyson Brown is inclined to be awarded more touches in the near future.
“He's done a great job,” Aguano said. “He spent that first spring with us his development is huge and I trust him with every play. Now, when he goes in, the quality of reps that he gets has been very productive, and so hopefully, he keeps on growing and growing and becomes the back of the future.”
Establishing the running game is no secret to the ASU offensive strategy, facing a Cowboys defensive that has appeared feeble at times in 2024, currently last in the Big 12 in total rushing yards allowed and yards allowed per carry. They allow over 250 yards per game on the ground, 80 more yards than any other team in the conference.
“Schematically, they know they're going to have to put people in the box to stop the run,” Aguano said. “I mean, that's no secret, and Skattebo is the guy that they want to stop, and so we think that we'll see a lot more guys in the box. Now, it becomes effort and execution. Do they play hard? Do we play harder? And so I think our advantage is that I think we play hard every down and so hopefully that will play out against Oklahoma State.”
Despite this lackluster resistance in the trenches, the Cowboys possess a culture and identity based on head coach Mike Gundy, who has helmed the helm in Stillwater since 2005. Tuitele assured his players during practices leading up to the matchup that a team desperate for a win wouldn’t be a pushover on Saturday.
“In Oklahoma State, you look at it closely in this conference, anybody can beat anybody, and they've lost a lot of close games,” Tuitele said. “They lost the last-minute game to BYU a couple of weeks ago, and they were going toe-to-toe with Baylor. They're coached well, and they just missed a couple of tackles here and there, but they're in the right spot. And so our guys know that numbers really don't matter. They just know that we got to play a team that's going to be at home, that's going to be hungry.”
On the defensive side the ball, stopping the run won’t be a simple task for the defensive line coach Diron Reynolds to game plan. Spearheaded by senior Ollie Gordon, who averages 71 yards per game with seven touchdowns, Oklahoma State will create awkward matchups due to Gordon's 6-foot-2 frame. The method for ASU is to hit harder than he hits you, and rotating players in and out of the game is a critical piece to maximizing this strategy.
“Try to play smash-mouth football,” Reynolds put simply. “Get guys off the ball, knocking people back and getting off blocks; you don't want to let a big guy like that get downhill on you, so that's definitely the game plan.
“Any time you get the interior, guys are going to be banging like that. You need to roll the fresh bodies in. What we want to put on tape is the most important thing. I try to make sure the guys don't get in their feelings about a rep count or anything like that. But when they're in the game, they're starters; they need to just get off blocks and be able to run to the ball. We just want to bring that presence of everybody to the ball when we're playing.”
Reynolds wasn’t shy about mentioning the Sun Devils' road woes, as they failed to stop the Bearcats often in the first half, allowing 24 points. Similarly to Tuitele, growth is key to being successful on the road for this group, as the players continue to improve their chemistry week by week.
“look at what we've done we struggled on the road,” Reynolds commented. “We got one road win, two road losses. We got to just rally the troops and have the guys play together, tune everything out, and play off each other. Because that's what it's about being on the road being together to feed off each other and to play with that emotion.”
A player who has superior statistics on the road is sophomore defensive back Keith Abney II. His first-quarter interception against Cincinnati was the final highlight play from the Sun Devils first half. Appearing as though they’d established a clear advantage, the trajectory of the game went downhill from then on. For defensive back coach Bryan Carrington however, the play of Abney has improved week to week regardless of his surrounding environment.
He's a guy that's very disciplined. He's a guy that's very detailed. He's a guy that's showcased a lot of stamina and he's able to put himself in situations to create plays for himself,” Carrington said. “He trusts this game. He trusts what we're teaching in that room. He's able to take what we talk about from a film standpoint to the field. So I'm pleased to see where he is. We got a really good one playing significant corner time. If he can just keep up that pace, I mean, we got a really good player on our hands.”
Carrington is excited to put the loss from the Queen City behind them. They are gratified by the team's 5-2 record. One more win awards ASU bowl game eligibility in just year two of the Dillingham regime. They are wanting to make the most of this weekend's opportunity.
“An opportunity to go on the road and come out with a win and be bowl eligible from where we were this time last year is an unbelievable feat to accomplish,” Carrington noted. “So I think guys are focused going into this week. The bye-week gave us an opportunity to get healthy, get an opportunity to self-scout, and reflect as we head into the final stretch of the season.”
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