ASU Football: No. 5 Washington visits rested Sun Devils

ASU football will play its toughest opponent of the season Saturday night as they host the reigning Pac-12 champions and fifth-ranked Washington.

The first half of the Arizona State football has been filled with ups and downs. After the bye week, the Sun Devils gear up for their toughest challenge of the season as the fifth-ranked Washington Huskies head to Tempe Saturday night.

The Huskies are a year removed from an appearance in the College Football Playoff, which saw them lose soundly to Alabama. Junior quarterback Jake Browning is back and off to a fantastic start leading the offense, and head coach Chris Petersen has brought a culture of winning back to the Pacific Northwest.

Washington has proven that last season’s success wasn’t a flash in the pan. A team that lost defensive talent to the NFL Draft has seamlessly been replaced and has won each of their first six games by an average of 33 points.

The Huskies defense has been so dominant that their team defense ranks second in the country. This unit is different, in that they don’t have one dominant player that racks up a lot of sacks or picks off a lot of passes. Junior linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven is UW’s leading tackler with 40 total.

For the Sun Devils, they still have the taste of the tough loss to Stanford two Saturday’s ago when Bryce Love ran free against ASU’s defense.

Manny Wilkins struggled for the first time this season against the Cardinal, throwing two interceptions and posting an abysmal 18.6 QBR.

Wilkins has shown signs of taking the next step for most of his junior season; his performance the remainder of the way can be tracked back to Stanford. Were his struggles just a bump in the road, or the peak of his powers?

A new wrinkle to the Sun Devil game plan will be the return of John Humphrey. Humphrey will now be utilized on both sides of the ball as a wide receiver and a cornerback.

Humphrey hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury against SDSU. Look for Humphrey to be lined up defensively as he looks to help a unit that has both struggled and been decimated by injury.

The challenge won’t get much easier for a Sun Devil defense that has faced its fair share of talented running backs. Washington junior running back Myles Gaskin has rushed for 559 yards and eight touchdowns thus far. Keeping him in check will be no small task, especially with Washington’s strong passing attack to keep Phil Bennett’s defense honest.

This matchup will undoubtedly be the toughest on ASU’s schedule. Washington is a team poised to be back in position for a College Football Playoff spot, not ideal for Todd Graham who once again finds himself on a scorching hot seat. A win for Graham will be to keep the contest close, and to avoid embarrassment at home.

Next: ASU Football: How many winnable games remain?

Kickoff for Saturday’s game will be at 7:45 p.m. PST and it can be seen on ESPN as Arizona State will make its first appearance on the network this season.