ASU Football: Keys to upsetting No. 15 Michigan State

For the first time since 2014, ASU football will host a ranked non-conference opponent in No. 15 Michigan State with ASU leaning on their offense and crowd.

When the No. 15 ranked Michigan State Spartans enter Tempe, Arizona on Saturday night history will not be on their side.

Both recent and long-term history will be on the side of their opponent, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

The Spartans entered the season with aspirations of making the College Football Playoff but almost lost that chance in game one of the season as they narrowly escaped a near-upset to Utah State.

Michigan State was able to secure the near victory 38-31 behind a 287-yard passing performance from Phoenix native Brian Lewerke. While the Spartans struggled, ASU rolled to an opening victory 49-7 over UTSA.

While Michigan State remains a top-ranked team in the nation, their disappointing week one performance has opened a door for reasonable optimism that the Sun Devils can upset the Spartans.

The long-term history on ASU’s side? The Sun Devils enter the game 9-0 against Big 10 opponents at Sun Devil Stadium during the regular season.

Here are the keys for ASU to knock off Michigan State this weekend and remain undefeated at home against the Big Ten.

Get N’Keal Harry involved early and often

While this may seem like an obvious key for the Sun Devils, it is going to be extremely important this week as Harry will face off against one of the best corners in the country.

Lining up opposite of ASU’s number one receiver will be 6-3 cornerback Justin Layne. The junior cornerback will be tasked to limit Harry after the junior wide receiver went off for 140 yards and two touchdowns against UTSA.

The Spartans allowed 319 passing yards against Utah State on what was mostly short crossing routes that forced the linebackers into more coverage. The Sun Devils will pose a much more vertical threat and will look to the likes of Harry to lead the charge.

While Harry will be a key receiver for ASU, the maroon and gold will have to look to other options in the case that MSU puts two or more players on the junior standout.

Harry led ASU with six catches in week one with the next closest players being Frank Darby and Eno Benjamin with two catches apiece. The Sun Devils will need Harry to have a productive game while having contributions from a multitude of other receivers.

Establish the rushing attack

While ASU had a productive game on the ground against UTSA with 237 yards on the ground, the running game is still largely unknown with sophomores Eno Benjamin and Isaiah Floyd taking the bulk of the carries.

Benjamin received the bulk of the carries rushing for 131 yards on 16 carries after limited use last season. Floyd was the change of pace back for the Sun Devils as he ran the ball nine times for 79 yards and a touchdown.

The sophomore duo will face a much tougher defense against Michigan State as the Spartans ranked seventh in overall defense a year ago and second in rush defense.

Anchoring the defense will be a pair of defensive linemen in Mike Panasiuk and Raquan Williams.

The pair of interior defensive linemen will look to stuff the middle to be able to limit a running game that was highly successful a week ago.

Heat

As stated earlier in the article, ASU has not lost a home game to a Big Ten team in nine games. While a variety of factors may contribute to this, the heat will be a factor come Saturday’s game.

Temperatures are expected to reach 107 degrees throughout the day with the air cooling down to the low 90’s by kickoff.

This heat will allow the Sun Devils to push the pace of play and look to tire out MSU from the beginning. By playing at a fast pace and getting off as many plays as possible, this will allow ASU to have a better chance of breaking big plays to be able to pull off the upset.

What this also means for the maroon and gold is that they will need contributions from backup players to keep players fresh throughout the game. Expect to see a variety of players on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball for the Sun Devils in order to deliver a complete four-quarter performance.

While history may be on the side of ASU, the Devils will have to execute these three keys in order to replicate what history has shown at Sun Devil Stadium.