It will be the biggest Arizona State football game in the past decade when Brigham Young visits Saturday. Both teams are in contention for a spot in the Big 12 championship game but this game will eliminate one of them.
ASU is coming off a 24-14 win at Kansas State while BYU is fresh off a 17-13 loss that took it out of the spot as clear frontrunner.
Coach Kenny Dillingham acknowledged his opponent will have a little extra motivation and wasn’t happy his team seemed to have lost a little edge earlier this week in practice.
“We’ve just got to make sure that we’re not comfortable,” he said. “It’s really easy to get comfortable when you’ve had success, and everybody tells you how good you are, and we’re trying to fight against that, but that’s challenging.
“Human nature comes into effect. Human nature, there’s a reason it’s challenging, and they’re coming in here pissed off. So if we’re not prepared to play a team that’s pissed off with everything on the line, it’s not going to be pretty.”
The game sold out on Wednesday.
Let’s take a closer look at the matchup:
No. 14 Brigham Young (9-1, 6-1) at No. 21 Arizona State (8-2, 4-2)
Time/site: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Mountain America Stadium.
TV: ESPN (Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst)). Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Tim Healey, Jeff Van Raaphorst).
Last time they met: BYU won the last meeting 27-17 in Provo in 2021. That was the game in which ASU had 16 penalties for 121 yards, including a handful of false start penalties. Like this season, both schools went into that game ranked. ASU was No. 19 and BYU No. 23.
The series: This will be the 29th meeting between the teams with ASU holding a 20-8 advantage. Thelast time the teams played in Tempe was in 1997, with BYU winning 13-10 on a fourth-quarter field goal.
Storyline
No one would have thought these two teams would be in the Big 12 title hunt four months ago but that is the case. ASU was picked dead last in the preseason poll while BYU was 13th.
The Cougars were the frontrunner before being upset by Kanas 17-13 last Saturday while ASU furthered its cause with a 24-14 victory at Kansas State, which had not lost a home game this season.
Both teams are in this week’s CFP ranking with BYU at 14, dropping eight spots after that loss, and ASU breaking in for the first time this season at No. 21.
Coaching matchup
ASU: Kenny Dillingham (second year, 11-11), 34, is the youngest head coach in the FBS and came to ASU in November 2022 after serving as offensive coordinator at Oregon where he mentored eventual first-round draft pick Bo Nix. He is a local product, out of Chaparral, and served on the staffs at Auburn, Memphis and Florida State.
BYU: Kalani Sitake (ninth year, 70-42), 49, is a 2000 graduate of BYU, where he played running back. He now heads the program for which he played under Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards. He is the 14th head coach in BYU history but just the fourth since 1972 and is the first FBS head football coach of Tongan descent.
BYU will win if . . .
It doesn’t rely on last-second heroics: The Cougars won their first nine games, but that unbeaten mark went by the wayside last week. Two of their victories came in the closing seconds, and those are the wins over Oklahoma State and Utah, which are a combined 7-13 overall and 1-13 in Big 12 play. ASU has done a good job of making plays down the stretch and closing out games, so the Cougars aren’t going to want it to come down to that.
It contains the Leavitt-Tyson connection: When ASU needs a big play, it is usually Jordyn Tyson on the receiving end. He has eight touchdowns in the past six games and 624 yards (104.0 yards per game) on 44 catches in that span. Tyson now has nine receiving touchdowns this season, the most since N’KealHarry had nine in 2018. The nine receiving touchdowns are tied with Colorado’s Travis Hunter for tops in the Big 12 and eighth in the FBS. One of BYU’s strengths is its secondary so this is a matchup to keep an eye on.
The defense lives up to its billing: The Cougars are allowing just 315.3 ypg, first in the conference and 20th of 133 FBS schools. The charge is led by sophomore LB Harrison Taggert, who boasts 63 tackles, four quarterback hurries, three breakups and a forced fumble. Sophomore LB Isaiah Glasker has 49 tackles, two interceptions, four breakups, two hurries and a forced fumble. BYU is just 12th in the Big 12 in offense, so it is in this position largely because of its defense.
Arizona State will win if . . .
It can run the ball: This is usually ASU’s strong suit and the Sun Devils would do well to establish that early because BYU is second in the Big 12 and ranks 16th nationally in passing defense (176.1 ypg) and it leads the country in interceptions. Of course, ASU has also done a good job of not turning the ball over; Sam Leavitt has been picked off only four times in 10 games. You need some passing to keep the opponent from loading the box but this could be another big day for Cam Skattebo.
It maintains an edge: ASU always seems to play better when it is the underdog and flying under the radar. That isn’t the case anymore. This is one of the biggest games in the country this weekend and all eyes will be on what is going on in Tempe. Dillingham admitted the team was too “comfortable” earlier in the week. He’ll hope that edge comes back when it’s kickoff time.
It wins the turnover battle: ASU forced three last week and lost only one. This is another category where the two teams are eerily similar. In fact, they are tied for first in the conference and 14th in the country in turnover margin. ASU has 16 takeaways and only seven giveaways. BYU has more takeaways (22) but also has more turnovers (13).
They said it
ASU coach Kenny Dillingham on BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“He’s one of the best defensive minds in football. I’ve played him multiple times. He’s a phenomenal defensive coach. He’s definitely in the top three of the best people in the profession from a head coaching coaching perspective. You would want to have your child play for him. He’s just an unbelievable person. You can just see his energy with the players, his connection with the players. That’s why they play really hard for him and they play extremely hard. This team plays hard and physical, because the connection that you can see that he builds.”
Personnel notes
ASU has three players out for the season: DL Anthonie Cooper, DB Cole Martin and RB Raleek Brown. WR Jake Smith, who missed last week’s game, was dubbed “questionable to doubtful” earlier in the week by Dillingham. DL Justin Wodtly, who came out of last week’s game with an apparent leg injury, practiced all week and is expected to go.
Cross connections
Dillingham and BYU assistant strength and conditioning coach Christian Tupou were on the same 2022 Oregon coaching staff. Tupou, who was a member of the Arizona Cardinals practice squad in 2014, was also on the staff at USC while ASU DB coach Bryan Carrington was there in 2021.
BYU OL coach TJ Woods coached under ASU offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo at UNLV from 2021-22 when Arroyo was the head coach. Woods was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
The game also features brothers on opposite sides as Treyson Bourguet is a backup quarterback for BYU with Trenton and Coben at ASU, also playing in reserve roles.
Trenton and BYU S Chika Ebunoha played at Marana High together.
BYU OL Sam Dawe and ASU WR Xavier Guillory were teammates at Idaho State in 2021.
ASU LB Tate Romney was a part of the BYU football team before transferring to ASU for the 2023 season. Romney, RB DeCarlos Brooks, WR Justice Spann and BYU TE Nason Coleman and OL Sione Hingano all graduated from Chandler High.
ASU OL Kyle Scott and BYU QB Jake Retzlaff played together at Riverside CC (Calif.) in 2022.
By the numbers
66 – Points scored by ASU in the middle eight minutes (last four of the second quarter and first four of the third). It is an area Dillingham has emphasized. The Sun Devils have given up only 13 points in that same time frame.
17 – Interceptions by BYU this season. That is tied for first in the country with James Madison and California. The Cougars have also gotten those interceptions from 11 different players. Senior cornerback Jakob Robinson leads the team with three.
56 – Number of players on the BYU roster who have served on Mormon missions. They have traversed 32 different countries and speak 17 languages.
88.7 – The Pro Football Focus grade for ASU QB Sam Leavitt. Among players with at least 400 snaps, Leavitt is the nation’s highest-graded freshman player (true or redshirt) on either side of the football, leading Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith by 3.5 points. It is the eighth-best among all FBS freshman quarterbacks in the PFF era since 2015. Of the seven players ahead of him, six have started an NFL game this season (Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, C.J. Stroud, Spencer Rattler).
431 – Win total for BYU in the past 50 seasons. That trails only Ohio State, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State and Florida State.
3,329 – Snaps played by ASU center Leif Fautanu, third-most among active FBS centers,behind only New Mexico State’s Canaan Yarro (3,388) and Texas’ Jake Majors (3,333). He has started 47 consecutive games out of his 53 total starts. He started all 12 games for the Sun Devils a year ago, playing all but one snap of the season (helmet came off).
Who will win and why
Arizona State 32, BYU 28: Both teams have so much to play for it should be quite the showdown. ASU has all the momentum and is playing with house money at this point, so there is no pressure on the Sun Devils from that standpoint. ASU hasn’t lost in Tempe this season so we’ll give the home team the nod.
