The Arizona State Sun Devils and head coach Kenny Dillingham are now 1-0 in Big 12 play.
This comes after the two parties came out on top vs. Kansas in a historic road trip to London, England. The Sun Devils won the contest 24-17 in a game filled with operational errors, penalties, and choppy offense.
Read more about key things Dillingham reflected on from the conference victory below.
Dillingham Makes Bold Indictment on Arizona State Offense
Arizona State is the victor against Kansas for the second time in Big 12 play. The victory did not come on the heels of a strong offensive effort, which was a point by Dillingham following the game (Devils Digest).
“I thought offensively, we played significantly better last week.”
Dillingham’s offense (prior to the fourth quarter) looked incredibly sharp against Texas A&M. Quarterback Cutter Boley was comfortable. The Arizona State receivers created much space and made crucial plays on the ball. The running game was flowing behind starter Kyson Brown.
This contest (save for a few plays) was the exact opposite.
Boley was out of sync in this game, missing several routine throws, taking two sacks, and fumbling a ball in the process. While the Kentucky transfer did make a small handful of plays to save the game, this was not a strong performance.
Beyond Boley, the offensive line is also shuffling around due to injury, while the run game didn’t pop off much at all either. Marquis Gillis provided a spark with a 27-yard run, but explosive plays were tough to come by.
On the other hand, Kansas’ offense caught on fire late in the game. The Jayhawks out-gained Dillingham’s offense 414-228, which simply demonstrates how massive the touchdown at the end of the first half, and kickoff return touchdown to begin the second half were.
There’s reason to believe areas of concern will be addressed in the weeks ahead, but the concern exists nonetheless.
Key Arizona State Starter Suffers Significant Injury
Despite the victory, the Sun Devils are facing a crucial loss that has a chance to shape the rest of the season.
Dillingham announced that fourth-year tight end Khamari Anderson is going to be out for a “significant amount of time” following the Kentucky transfer leaving the game in the first quarter (Gabriella Chernoff, SunDevilSource).
This is a major blow for both Anderson and the Arizona State offense. Anderson is fresh off of returning from a broken leg suffered in April. The starting TE put together strong performances (particularly in the blocking game) over the first two games, so this is a major loss.
Beyond this, Dillingham will likely be reeling as well. Arizona State’s tight end position is still a major question mark, with Anderson’s loss further stressing the group.
This will be a moment in which sophomore AJ Ia needs to step up. The former four-star recruit is a talented pass catcher, but has distance to grow as a blocker.
Arizona State is off next week before returning to action at home against Baylor on Oct. 3.
Kenny Dillingham Makes Scathing Claim After Arizona State’s Messy London Win