ASU Football: Texas Tech vs Arizona State Preview

After an emphatic win vs Northern Arizona, Arizona State faces its toughest non-conference opponent as Texas Tech comes to town.

The Sun Devils are coming off a 44-13 win after a stagnant first half, in which it was only 10-3 at halftime.

Graham’s decision at halftime to not blitz as often paid dividends as Northern Arizona went 1-for-6 on third down in the second half.

With the defense making quick work, it allowed quarterback Manny Wilkins and the rest of the offense to get in a groove.

Wilkins led the Sun Devils to 37 second half points, with backup quarterback Brady White coming in for the final scoring drive of the game.

Wilkins was 20-for-27 with 180 passing yards to go along with 89 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, while also displaying his athleticism by hurdling two NAU defenders.

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With all that said, this week will be much tougher for ASU as they will look to stop Texas Tech’s air raid offense.

The Red Raiders are coming off a convincing win of their own as they defeated Stephen F. Austin 69-17 last week.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the offense, combining for 540 total yard and six total touchdowns.

Mahomes, a pick of some to be a dark horse Heisman candidate, will look to build off that performance and find ways to expose a blitz-heavy ASU defense.

ASU blitzed frequently in the first half and it allowed NAU quarterback Case Cookus to throw many passes for big gains.

Graham loves to blitz, but hopefully he saw how successful ASU’s defense was when they didn’t blitz, forcing Cookus to find an open window.

Mahomes will likely throw it 40-to-50 times and it’s important for ASU to get pressure on him while staying disciplined in coverage.

On offense, the Sun Devils will look to establish a quick tempo and a running game to help open up the passing game.

Something that worked real well for the Sun Devils was Wilkins running the read option and using his own legs to create big gains.

This will be a high-scoring affair as two high-powered offense square off. The key will be whether each defense can make enough stops and force turnovers.

Field position will be crucial as each offense will look to capitalize off a short field.

Prediction:

In a high scoring game, I like Arizona State to squeak it out in the end.

Arizona State 42, Texas Tech 38

Next: ASU Football: Scouting Report, Texas Tech

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