College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Arizona State Sun Devils season with what you need to know.
CFN in 60 Podcast: 2020 Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State preview in 60 seconds
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– ASU Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 8-5 overall, 4-5 in Pac-12
Head Coach: Herm Edwards, 3rd year, 15-11
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 37
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 33
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 30
NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Arizona State Sun Devils Offense 3 Things To Know
– It was inconsistent, it was occasionally ineffective, and it needed more pop, but the offense was able to come through here and there when it absolutely had to. It finished tenth in the Pac-12 overall, couldn’t run enough, and was dead last in first downs.
And now it loses two of its main parts.
RB Eno Benjamin and WR Brandon Aiyuk are off to the NFL, but Jayden Daniels is back after a strong true freshman season. He was a bit too conservative – often in a good way, only throwing two picks on the year – but he’s a dangerous passer who hit the 300-yard mark five times, highlighted by his 408-yard day against Oregon. But Aiyuk …
CFN in 60 Video: Arizona State Sun Devils Preview
– The star deep threat is done. Aiyuk is now a San Francisco 49er after leading the team with 65 catches. No. 2 target Kyle Williams is done, too, but Frank Darby is a dangerous big-play target who who averaged close to 20 yards per catch on his 31 grabs with eight scores. Finding a go-to receiver who can do a little of everything is a must.
– The offensive line has to be stronger. Donovan West is a star on the inside at either guard or taking over for Cohl Cabral at center, and there’s hope for an instant boost with transfers Kellen Diesch from Texas A&M and Henry Hattis from Stanford to help the cause. The line only paved the way for 123 yards per game and had major problems in pass protection.
Finding a replacement for Eno Benjamin is the bigger problem. 1,519 of the rushing 1,602 yards and all 13 touchdowns came from someone other than the available running backs on the roster. There are options – sophomore AJ Carter is the main one – but there’s little to no experience to handle the work.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Arizona State Sun Devils Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Arizona State Sun Devils Defense 3 Things To Know
– Herm Edwards’ defense is supposed to be fantastic. It wasn’t always a rock, but it allowed fewer than 400 yards and 23 points per game, it was terrific against the run, and it was amazing at taking the ball away. The Sun Devils were fourth in the nation in takeaways, it held six teams to 17 points or fewer and now eight starters are expected back.
– The linebacking tandem of Merlin Roberson in the middle and Darien Butler on the outside will be among the best in the Pac-12. They’re big veteran thumpers who combined for 162 tackles and should be a rock from the start.
They’ll clean everything up behind a talented front three led by 284-pound pass rushing junior Jermayne Lole, an all-star at one end, and 313-pound DJ Davidson a 51-tackle veteran in the middle.
– The secondary gave up enough big plays to be a problem – it allowed over 400 yards twice and over 300 to other times – but it was also terrific late in the year at coming up with picks. The interceptions were missing for most of the season – with just four in the first ten games – and then came on with nine in the last three.
Evan Fields is a good tackler – finishing with 83 stops – at one safety spot, and corners Jack Jones and Chase Lucas are solid corners who could use a little more help from the pass rush.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Arizona State Sun Devils Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Arizona State Sun Devils Players
Best Arizona State Sun Devils Offensive Player
QB Jayden Daniels, Soph.
Well that worked out well. There were true freshman mistakes, and the offense stalled way too often in the middle of the year, but the 6-3, 175-pound Daniels threw for close to 3,000 yards, threw 17 touchdown passes, and ran for 355 yards and three scores.
Along the way he pulled off a season-changing win over Oregon, showed great poise for his age, and he only threw two picks. He’s not all that big and he doesn’t have a huge arm, but he’s the quarterback to build around for the next few years.
2. WR Frank Darby, Sr.
3. OG Donovan West, Soph.
4. OT Kellen Diesch, Sr.
5. PK Christian Zendejas, Jr.
Best Arizona State Sun Devils Defensive Player
DE Jermayne Lole, Sr.
Take any of the five guys on the list and put them here in the top spot – the defense gets back more playmakers than the offensive side. The one difference is that Lole is the pass rusher in the backfield who’ll step up on the line.
The 6-2, 284-pounder doesn’t have a true role or type, but the 3-4 end gets behind the line with a team-high 6.5 sacks and ten tackles for loss. He got in on seemingly everything with 72 stops.
2. LB Darien Butler, Jr.
3. LB Merlin Robertson, Jr.
4. CB Jack Jones, Sr.
5. S Evan Fields, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Arizona State Sun Devils Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Arizona State Sun Devils Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Arizona State Sun Devils Offense
165 yards. That’s not all that many – it’s what a mediocre FCS ground attack should come up with a game – but that’s the magic rushing mark so far for ASU in the Herm Edwards era.
The Sun Devils were 115th in the nation in rushing averaging 123 yards per game, but when they had even a little bit of success, they won. Over the last two seasons, they’re 9-0 when hitting the 165-yard mark – it’s just that specific. They’re 6-11 when they run for fewer, losing twice in 2018 running for 164 yards.
Losing almost all of the running back production with the departure of Eno Benjamin – more on this in a moment – and with the offensive line needing some work, it’ll take the dates against Northern Arizona and UNLV to start to get this going.
Biggest Key To The Arizona State Sun Devils Defense
Toughen up in the red zone. For the most part, the defense was great in the losses. It was able to take the ball away, pressure wasn’t a problem, and the defeats were mostly the fault of the other side of the ball.
However, there was one key problem in the losses, especially in the four-game streak in the second half of the season – red zone touchdowns.
Only ten teams gave up a worse percentage of touchdowns when offenses got inside the 20. Allowing points isn’t all that big a deal as long as they’re threes and not sevens, and ASU gave up sevens a whopping 72% of the time.
In three of the four losses late in the year, three opposing offenses were a perfect 12-of-12 at scoring touchdowns in the red zone, and Utah was 2-of-3. By comparison, the ASU D allowed red zone touchdowns just 58% of the time in 2018.
Key Arizona State Sun Devils Player To A Successful Season
RB AJ Carter, Soph.
Or any one of the running back options who can fill in for new Arizona Cardinal Eno Benjamin. QB Jayden Daniels will do his part to keep the ground game going, and Carter was third on the team in rushing last season with just 50 yards – the Sun Devils need a workhorse back.
No one other than Benjamin or Daniels ran for a score last year.
Good recruits DeaMonte Trayanum and Daniyel Ngata will get their shot, and other young backs will be in the mix, but the loss of Benjamin and the transfer of a few options puts the pressure on the 6-0, 218-pound Carter to step up and shine.
Key Game To The Arizona State Sun Devils Season
at USC, Sept. 26
The Pac-12 opener for the Sun Devils is a really, really big deal. They’ve lost three of the last four games against USC, but the one win was on the road in 2018. Pull it off in LA, and with the next three games against Pac-12 teams that didn’t go bowling last year – Oregon State, UCLA, and at Colorado – there’s a shot to go on a big run to take control of the South early on.
– Arizona State Sun Devils Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Arizona State Fun Stats
– ASU 1st Quarter Scoring: 55 – ASU 2nd Quarter Scoring: 117
– Field Goals: ASU 23-of-27 – Opponents 6-of-12
– Fumbles: Opponents 26 (lost 15) – ASU 18 (lost 10)
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Arizona State Sun Devils Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Arizona State Sun Devils Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Can Herm Edwards rebuild a little bit?
He did a good job of taking what was in place and producing a winner over the last two seasons, but going 15-11 overall has been just okay.
There have been enough splashy victories – beating Michigan State and Arizona twice, taking down Oregon last year, and beating USC and Utah in 2018 – to make it seem like the era has been a success, but now it’s time to start doing more.
The defense won’t be the problem. The secondary is full of good veterans, there’s size and depth up front, and the linebacking corps has the potential to be among the Pac-12’s best.
The special teams shouldn’t be an issue. Punter Michael Turk took off for the NFL, but Christian Zendejas is a weapon, hitting 23-of-27 field goals last season. Even without Brandon Aiyuk, the return game will be okay.
The offense … that’s the concern. It has to be better.
Jayden Daniels might be a great-looking sophomore quarterback, but running backs have to emerge, more reliable pass catchers have to rise up, and the offensive line has to be more of a force. But even with the concerns …
Set The Arizona State Sun Devils Regular Season Win Total At … 8
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 8
ASU hasn’t hit the eight-win mark in the regular season since 2014, but the schedule sets up nicely to make a big push for the best year yet under Edwards.
Beating Northern Arizona, at UNLV, and BYU to start the season is a must, and going on a run in the Pac-12 with Oregon State and UCLA coming to Tempe is nice. It’s possible to go 6-1 to start the season, or 5-2 at worst.
There’s no Washington from the North, and there’s only one trip outside of Arizona over the final four games. This might not be a Pac-12 South-winning season, but the 2020 Sun Devils will be in the race until the end.
