ASU Football: Post-season Fun with Numbers
By Don Hansen
The Arizona State Sun Devils, who are the Pac-12 South and Territorial Cup champions, completed the 2013 regular season with a 10-3 record. They finished 5-0 in the South defeating both USC and UCLA, while soundly beating rival University of Arizona Wildcats. Overall, the Sun Devils finished 14th in the final BCS Poll ever, and have a chance to get their 11th win at the Holiday Bowl against Texas Tech in San Diego on December 30.
This has been a tremendous season for ASU football, so here are some of the fun numbers from the 2013 season:
3.8 – Penalties per game committed by the Sun Devils in 2013, which is good for seventh in the nation. Last season, the number was 4.3, and under Dennis Erickson in 2011 and 2010, it was 8.0. The discipline pillar of Todd Graham is clearly showing on the field.
4 – True freshman who took the field for Arizona State. This included placekicker Zane Gonzalez, wide receiver Cameron Smith, linebacker A.J. Latu and linebacker Ami Latu.
5 – Interceptions returned for a touchdown by the Sun Devil defense. Each member of the starting secondary, Osahon Irabor (Notre Dame), Robert Nelson (Oregon State), Alden Darby (USC), and Damarious Randall (Arizona), along with linebacker Carl Bradford (UCLA swing pass) found the end zone.
6 – Games in which ASU scored more than 50 points. The defensive coordinators of Sacramento State, USC, Colorado, Washington, Washington State and Arizona had very long nights against Taylor Kelly and Mike Norvell’s offense.
8 – Wins by the Sun Devils in the Pac-12. This is the highest number of wins by any team in the nine-game conference schedule.
13 – Different players who scored an offensive touchdown this season: Marion Grice, D.J. Foster, Taylor Kelly, Jaelen Strong, Chris Coyle, De’Marieya Nelson, Michael Eubank, Richard Smith, Darwin Rogers, Kevin Ozier, Deantre Lewis, R.J. Robinson and Davon Coleman (jumbo goal line package).
14 – Turnover margin for ASU in 2013, which is tied for 7th in the nation with Michigan State. The Sun Devils had 21 interceptions along with 10 fumble recoveries compared against 11 interceptions and six fumbles lost. This was the best in the Pac-12.
20 – Touchdowns by senior running back Marion Grice in 11 games this season. Due to his lower leg injury suffered late at UCLA, Grice did not play against Arizona in the regular season finale or in the Pac-12 Championship Game against Stanford.
22 – Field goals converted by true freshman placekicker Zane Gonzalez. That is the most field goals by a Sun Devil kicker since Thomas Weber’s 24 in 2007.
41.0 – Points per game, which is good for 9th in the nation in scoring offense. The Arizona State offense was a force this season under Mike Norvell. This balanced and efficient offense featured a 3,500 yard passer in Taylor Kelly (not Tyler Perry, Lee Corso), a 1,000+ yard wide receiver in Jaelen Strong, and almost a 1,000 yard rusher in Marion Grice, who finished with 996 yards rushing before his lower leg injury.
62 – Tackles for redshirt freshman linebacker Salamo Fiso. That is the most tackles by an Arizona State freshman since Vontaze Burfict’s 69 tackles in 2009.
94 – Tackles for loss by the ASU defense, led by Bradford’s 18 TFL and senior linebacker Chris Young’s 16.5 TFL.
103 – Tackles by Chris Young, which led the Sun Devils.
996 – Yards rushing by Marion Grice, who is currently four yards short from a 1,000-yard rushing season. If Grice heals in time for the bowl game, he should be able to eclipse the century mark.
1015 – All purpose yards by D.J. Foster, as he ran for 369 yards while recording 630 receiving yards.
1094 – Yards receiving by first-year Sun Devils, including sophomore WR Jaelen Strong.
3510 – Yards passing for junior QB Taylor Kelly.
What are some of your other favorite numbers for the 2013 season? Let us know on Twitter and you could make it on the next ASU Devils Den Podcast.