Arizona State defense in for a tough task against a vaunted Texas Tech offense

There is no easy way to put this. Saturday's game will either be the miracle of miracles, or it will be a complete and utter demolition. There's no real in between.

The No. 1 rated offense of Texas Tech (558.2 yards per game) comes to Mountain America Stadium fresh off a 42-17 home win against Kansas that saw them score all 21 points in the second half between the two teams. They were without quarterback Behren Morton after he left in the second quarter with a right leg injury, but that proved to be of little consequence as the Red Raiders rushed for 372 yards on the day.

Now with the news that linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu will miss the rest of the season on top of safety Xavion Alford missing "a significant amount" of more time, the outlook is bleak regardless of who lines up under center for Texas Tech.

Like most of the offenses Arizona State has faced this season, Texas Tech operates in a variation of the Air Raid system. Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich tweaks the pass heavy foundation of the Air Raid by working in a more balanced approach with a talented backfield that complements the backfield.

If Morton is cleared to play on Saturday, the aerial firepower will be on full display. The win at Houston on October 4th was his second game with at least 300+ passing yards. He is not immune to the injury bug, leaving the game early against Utah with a possible concussion in addition to last week's early exit.

If Behren can't play, redshirt freshman Will Hammond poses more of a dual threat for the defense to account for. He's thrown for 411 yards in relief of Morton, but it's his legs that are more concerning. His 231 rushing yards are good for third on the team, racking up 4 rushing touchdowns across 5 games.

No matter who starts at quarterback, the weapons will be plentiful. Caleb Douglas and Coy Eakin lead the No. 3 ranked passing offense (325.8 YPG) with a combined 736 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns, while Terrance Carter is the tight end that Sun Devil fans have been hoping Chamon Metayer would be, hauling in a team-leading 5 touchdowns alongside 297 receiving yards. Reggie Virgil and running back J'Koby Williams add depth in the passing game, giving the Red Raiders five players with at least 200 receiving yards on the season.

We said that Texas Tech has a balanced offense, and that can't be overstated. The rushing game for the Red Raiders enters this week No. 14 nationally (232.8 YPG) following last week's performance at Kansas, headlined by Cameron Dickey's 263 yard explosion. Averaging nearly 100 rushing yards per game, he will get a heavy workload if Morton is sidelined. A potential three headed attack with J'Koby Williams and Will Hammond is the embodiment of a nightmare for the Sun Devil defense.

In a fun (?) twist, Ian Hershey will be making his return to Mountain America Stadium after a tumultuous 2024 season that saw a revolving door at the kicker position for the Sun Devils. Upton Bellenfant has been the primary kicker for Texas Tech this season, but depending on the game situation, my curiosity has me wondering if Ian will make an appearance against his former team.

Arizona State and Texas Tech will kick off at 1pm on Saturday afternoon on FOX. Continue following all of our updates as we bring you all the news right up to kickoff.