LONDON – Freddie Mercury rocked Wembley Stadium. Madonna performed before 70,000-plus fans in the same setting. On Saturday, it’s the Arizona State football team’s turn to perform on London’s grandest stage.
In a first-of-its-kind neutral site clash, ASU will square off with Kansas at Wembley Stadium at 9 a.m. MST. The international Big 12 matchup will be the first game in England to feature two FBS teams.
The Sun Devils are no stranger to big venues. They played in front of more than 102,000 fans at Kyle Field last week in a 48-20 loss to then-No. 10 Texas A&M in College Station. But this will be a different vibe.
Wembley, which seats 90,000, won’t replicate a typical college atmosphere. It will likely feature fans donning jerseys from NFL teams and other college programs. Somewhere in between, the contingent of Sun Devil fans wearing maroon and gold will try to turn the crowd partisan.
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham isn’t taking the opportunity to play in this sports cathedral for granted.
“I’m expecting a fun crowd, like an unbelievable stadium and an unbelievably fun crowd that’s excited to watch college football,” Dillingham said. “Any time you get to play in an iconic stadium, it’s special.”
Logistically, the trip presents challenges. With the game fixed in Week 3, instead of being a traditional Week 0 game, the Sun Devils faced a difficult turnaround, playing in College Station last week and flying straight to London with no time back home.
Dillingham noted that Kansas received an extra day of rest, having lost to then-No. 23 Missouri 38-21 on Sept. 11, compared to the Sun Devils, who played the following morning.
“There’s no advantage from a football perspective,” Dillingham said. “Week 3 of a season to fly across the country to play a football game. There’s zero positive from a football perspective. The only positive is our kids get an experience that I wasn’t going to rob them of.
“Does it hurt? Yeah, that’s not a positive for my personal career. No way would I want our team to fly across the country, Week 3, to play this game. But this is an experience.”
Kansas coach Lance Leipold agreed that it has been difficult to plan for the game. The Jayhawks have faced similar challenges, although they arrived in London later in the week, leaving for England on Tuesday.
“It’s a huge undertaking,” Leipold told reporters Wednesday. “A lot of different people have made this happen. … Our rosters are a lot bigger than the NFL rosters, so there are just more things that are happening.”
Leipold dismissed notions that his team has a competitive advantage, even going so far as to suggest that ASU might have an edge.
“The game ended at close to 11 p.m., and they kicked off at 11 a.m., so I don’t know if it’s exactly as much as we want to make it out,” Leipold said. “I think they got the advantage maybe to come here and get acclimated. I don’t know.”
Dillingham has never coached a game overseas, so he sought guidance from NFL minds to help him plan for the trip. They discussed topics such as when the team should arrive during the game week.
“I’ve reached out to a bunch of people, not just one, to get advice,” Dillingham said. “Most of the teams that we spoke to that were our side were just saying to get out there fast, especially if you have an away game before. (There’s) no point to fly home and then fly back out two days later … that was the kind of advice I got from people was get out there fast.”
Once the Devils touched down in London, Dillingham went straight to work, toiling away in his hotel for nearly two days before stepping outside to prepare for Kansas.
The Jayhawks played well at home in a rivalry game against Missouri – at least for a half. After going into the break tied 14-14, Kansas wilted in the second half, much like ASU did against Texas A&M. The Tigers outscored the Jayhawks 24-7 in the final two quarters in what finished as a 38-21 Missouri win.
Similar to his team, Kansas’ starting quarterback, sophomore Isaiah Marshall, showed flashes of excellence at times, hitting receivers while facing pressure and throwing on the run. In other instances, he showed his youth, making questionable decisions, including tossing two interceptions.
For ASU, the key will be containing Marshall within the pocket, something the Sun Devils executed well, for the most part, against Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed last week.
“There’s a little bit of help from playing a guy who’s athletic, but we’ll face a lot of athletic guys this year,” Dillingham said of the experience his team got playing Reed. “That’s kind of what college football has gone to. It’s a lot of athletic guys back there.”
On the flip side, Arizona State will look to build on the offensive momentum it has developed in the first two weeks.
The connection between sophomore quarterback Cutter Boley and senior wide receiver Reed Harris has proved especially strong. The pair connected for two touchdowns and 189 yards against Texas A&M.
“Reed’s been awesome. He’s a worker,” ASU wide receivers coach Hines Ward said of Harris. “For me, it’s just about trying to help him be consistent, week in and week out.”
Harris, a 6-foot-5 wideout, emerged on the national scene last week with a signature performance against the Aggies and now has a chance to star on an international stage.
Dillingham has taken note of Harris’ relentless work ethic, noting that it shows up in practice every day.
“He goes full speed. He has one of the higher workloads in every single practice we’ve had. We have to tell him, ‘hey, hey, hey,’” Dillingham said, motioning to calm down with his hand. “I think that shows up on game day with not just how he catches the football, but I think that shows up with his effort, with how he blocks, and I think it’s an all-inclusive reflection of him.”
Turnovers proved to be problematic for Arizona State against A&M. The Sun Devils gave the ball away on three straight possessions in the fourth quarter.
With two offenses that have shown some promise early in the season – but with a taste of recklessness – the Devils and Jayhawks could deliver fireworks for the fans in attendance at Wembley Stadium for this historic event.
“They’re very talented. They were very similar to us with second-half turnovers, especially for them, it was in the fourth quarter,” Leipold said of ASU’s performance against Texas A&M. “They played toe-to-toe with them.
“I’m sure they came out of it with a lot of confidence they can play with a lot of people in the country.”
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