After a first-half performance that saw Texas State score on three of its first five possessions, ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward took responsibility for what transpired on the field. Having a Thursday night game meant the team couldn’t practice with the same intensity as a traditional Saturday game, and it was difficult to adequately prepare the Sun Devil defense under those circumstances.

“Being in a short week, everything just came at us fast,” Ward said. “It starts with me and the coaching staff. We try to come up with a plan, and it comes down to what we can execute and what we can do in the short week in practice. First and foremost, I think we didn’t manage the process during the week starting with me as well as we could have. We came out with energy and played hard, but I don’t think our guys were executing at a high level to begin the game.”

Ward was pleased to see his players respond to a late first-half two-touchdown deficit, although it wasn’t the typical flip in a game plan or motivational speech. It was more of the defense embracing its identity and realizing the advantage that it had over the Bobcats.

“I felt like our guys did wake up at halftime,” Ward mentioned. “But at the same time, there were still mistakes made in the second half that are uncharacteristic for some of those guys from what we expect and what the standard is on defense. We didn’t make any adjustments in the second half; all the coaches just went up to the guys and said, ‘Hey, we’re better than these guys, and we’re not playing like it.’ These guys have had to go through a storm to get to this point, and I just reminded them of that.”

The turning point wasn’t in the second half either, but instead midway through the second quarter. After trailing the hosts 21-7, Arizona State stopped Texas State on their final possession in the first half, which allowed ASU to score with just six seconds left in the first half to tie the game and shift the momentum in their favor.

“I told the guys that they’re going to go through adversity,” Ward commented. “I asked them, ‘What are you going to do?’ I think our guys didn’t get it together, even in the second quarter, but we got a stop toward the end of the second quarter and only allowed one score in the last eight possessions. It’s really about executing; there’s no perfect game. You remind your guys it’s not about perfection; it’s about progress.”

Facing a potent Texas Tech offense will hardly be an easy task, as the inaugural Big 12 conference game for ASU will be the team’s toughest challenge this far in 2024. Headlining the Red Raiders’ roster is senior running back Tahj Brooks, who is coming off a formidable 2023 campaign where he tallied 1,538 rushing yards and ten touchdowns and is already making his mark in the two games he’s played this year, tallying 262 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

“They’re really well coached,” Ward noted. “They do a great job of self-scouting themselves, so we’ve done a deep dive into what they’ve done in the past for teams that are similar to our defenses. I know several guys on their staff as well, so we’re trying to anticipate what we think they’re going to do. Their running back sets the tone for them and their ability to run the football, and they try to throw your defense off schedule as much as they can.”

Joining Brooks in the backfield is junior quarterback Behren Morton. The signal caller threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns, as well as ran in a touchdown in the 66-21 win over North Texas, and is fifth in the country with 974 passing yards. With his defense up against the ninth-best offense in the NCAA this week, Ward feels his previous matchups as a part of the Sun Devils’ coaching staff have prepared him for Saturday’s contest.

“We’ve seen some pretty good quarterbacks since I’ve been here,” Ward admitted. “Our goal is to stop the run, challenge our routes, keep the ball in front of us, and get people off the field on third down. Our pressure is real and imaginary, so we’re trying to make that quarterback think we’re bringing pressure, and then we don’t, and vice versa. We’re going to try to get him to guess, and hopefully, we can get him off a spot and eliminate the quick throws so we can get to him.”

The Sun Devils have forced a turnover in every game, registered multiple takeaways in two of three contests, and scored three defensive touchdowns. Although the defensive line and linebackers in the first two weeks had the honors, this past game saw both turnovers come from the secondary, with junior safety Xavion Alford’s interception and graduate nickel back Shamari Simmons’ forced fumble.

Ward believes that this past week was the best showcase of what they’ve been trying to implement on defense and suits the character this group is attempting to build.

“It fits with our philosophy,” Ward recognized. “We work the pass rush a lot in our four down front philosophy because we want to be able to be stopped versus the run, but we also want to put pressure on the quarterback. When you only ever have at the most, even guys in coverage, you have to be able to disguise and get a quarterback to hold the football.”

Honing in on Simmons, he’s shown this season why he’s the reigning 2023 Team MVP for ASU. From forcing turnovers to blowing up plays behind the line of scrimmage with his relentlessness, he has been a model teammate for younger defensive backs to follow. Simmons is also one of the key leaders in the secondary and on defense, and the combination of these qualities has convinced Ward that this year isn’t the last time he’ll be on a football field.

“He’s a pro,” Ward professed. “He manages the process during the week, he loves ball, and if I put him at any position on our secondary, he’d be able to function well. It comes down to his preparation and mindset; he doesn’t have the mindset that he’s entitled to it; he earns it every day, and that’s why he’s going to play a long time at the next level. Having a physical nickel like that is a testament to his mentality, and he’s full of grit and toughness.”

Following Wednesday’s practice, head coach Kenny Dillingham announced that sophomore nickel Cole Martin will be sidelined for the rest of the season due to a hip injury. This is the second time in the last six weeks that Dillingham has lost his nickel back, with Macen Williams retiring less than a month before the season.

The team has seen true freshman Kyan McDonald take advantage of his opportunity, and Ward said his first impression of the newcomer was McDonald’s football mind and cerebral abilities, witnessing shades of Simmons’ traits in him throughout practice. The number of game-day snaps for McDonald this week and the rest of the season is still undetermined, but he's unequivocally Simmons’ backup in the nickel spot.

“He has a high football IQ,” Ward emphasized. “He has the same kind of mentality as Shamari, where he doesn’t say a whole lot, and he just comes to the field to work and gets better every day. He asks the right questions, and you’re not going to recruit a guy that has a higher football IQ than him.”

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