Jeff Sims legacy game leads Arizona State to unlikely victory

It wasn't the prettiest win, but despite the split decision of our experts pregame, Jeff Sims put the Sun Devils on his back on the way to a gutsy (and mildly stressful) 24-19 victory. We can all do our best Charlie Day impressions mapping out the situations, but Arizona State still finds themselves (mathematically) alive in the race for the Big 12 championship game.

The Good

Jeff Sims

Jumping right in to the good, and there is no better place to start than the performance by Jeff Sims. A full week of reps as the starting quarterback set him up for far greater success than his start three weeks ago at Utah. His legs were most of the story of the game but he was efficient throwing the ball as well, completing 13 of his 24 passes for 177 yards and 1 touchdown. That touchdown came to our favorite tight end Chamon Metayer, who Sims is building a solid rapport with. A perfect 6 catches on 6 targets, and back-to-back weeks with the two combining for a touchdown. Look for this tandem to continue working for the rest of the season.

Offensive Line

Without a strong performance from the offensive line, this week's rushing performance would be nowhere near what we saw on the field. The line created space to allow an incredible 6.3 yards per carry on the day, while not allowing a single sack. In total, Iowa State's defense recorded 5 tackles for loss but only 12 yards, speaking to the huge step up for the Sun Devil offensive front.

Red Zone Defense

This one is a slightly bitter pill to swallow as Iowa State did convert on all four of their red zone possessions, but credit to the Sun Devil defense on stepping up and holding the Cyclones to two field goals on those four trips. Forcing Iowa State to lean in to a kicking game that missed two other field goal attempts (49 and 55 yards) allowed Arizona State to dictate the play as Iowa State drove deep down the field.

The Bad and Ugly

Penalties

On sheer volume of penalties, Arizona State should not have been as in this game as they were. For the second time in as many weeks, the Sun Devils had more than 10 penalties accepted against them, this time 11 penalties for 119 yards. The lack of discipline was on display, and Coach Dillingham was particularly incensed at various points of the game. If a late season push is on the way, the discipline must be addressed down the stretch run.

Ball Security

For the second consecutive week, the Sun Devils also lost the turnover battle, two fumbles by Sims and one interception. Luckily Iowa State was unable to recover from their recent funk, but the ball security needs to be addressed in the bye week heading in to the last three games of the regular season.

Iowa State Kicking

Yeesh. The common quip is always "College kickers, man.", and Kyle Konrardy was the prime example. His two misses weren't exactly easy kicks, one from 49 yards out and the other from 55, but in a game where every point was of utmost importance, those 6 points made a huge difference in the long run.

Arizona State will be on a bye next week before returning home for the annual Salute to Service game against West Virginia on November 15th.