On paper, Arizona State’s highly anticipated home opener against Northern Arizona was a success. The Sun Devils won in a sold-out Mountain America Stadium, and the “The Inferno” fan base was awarded the inaugural Big 12 football “Student Section of the Week.”
But as the Sun Devils crowded around the victory bell last Saturday, no player or coach appeared excited to celebrate the 38-19 victory. It was a mistake-filled night for a team that received 12 penalties, 10 on offense, making it a struggle to put together more than a handful of strong drives.
Last year, ASU opened the season at Wyoming, and left with just four penalties and a win. After tripling that amount in their first game this season, the Sun Devils hope it was merely a case of early jitters. ASU averaged 53 yards in penalties per game last year, finishing sixth highest in the Big 12 Conference out of 16 teams.
Now, one week into the season, they rank first in the conference with 93 yards in penalties and only five FBS teams out of 133 have more. It’s a small sample size, but one the team hopes to quickly correct.
After dropping to No. 12 in the Associated Press’ first Top 25 poll of the season, ASU will have to limit the mental mistakes Saturday on the road at Mississippi State if it wants to improve its record to 2-0 in front of a crowd notoriously known for ringing cowbells throughout the game.
During this week’s practice, the Sun Devils simulated the rowdy, cowbell-ringing crowd that promises to welcome them Saturday. They used the practice field’s sound system to blast sounds of cowbells as players went through drills, along with having the ASU football staff ring cowbells during plays, hoping to mimic Mississippi State’s storied atmosphere.
“Cowbells, baby. It’s going to be fun,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said at Monday’s news conference. “They love their football down there. I think that we showed that we love our football here on Saturday. I think there was 105 or 106% capacity (at Mountain America Stadium).
“Down there, they will be there at 9 a.m. for a 6:30 kick. They’ll be getting ready to roll. It will be their first home game of the year. I am excited. The football down there is really good.”
Even veterans like receiver Jordyn Tyson, the Sun Devils’ number one target and a top projected pick in the upcoming NFL draft, struggled with mental mistakes like false starts against the Lumberjacks. Wide receivers coach Hines Ward knows that Tyson will take it upon himself to make up for mental mistakes.
“He’s hard on himself, so I don’t have to get hard on him,” Ward said. “ But collectively as a group, I thought we were a little sloppy.”
Ward also believes the Week 1 nerves played a big part in the struggle with penalties within the receiving core.
“We don’t get preseason games, so we go out thinking that you want to be flawless and everything to go good, but it just doesn’t happen that way,” Ward said. “We just have to continue to come back and work.”
On the bright side, the Sun Devils showed resilience and toughed out a victory despite the number of flags thrown against them. ASU had multiple plays called back due to penalties including holding, ineligible man downfield and illegal touching. One of the biggest plays derailed by penalties was an 80-yard touchdown by Raleek Brown after he burst out in front of the Lumberjacks defense on a short pass from Sam Leavitt.
Running backs coach Shaun Aguano was obviously not happy that the play that shook The Inferno section was called back, but he liked what he saw from Brown as he jogged to the huddle.
“His attitude coming back was, OK, we made a mistake but we’re going to go do it again,” Aguano said. “That’s what I’m looking for more than anything, I’m looking for the unselfishness on how we share the football, more than it’s about me.”
The Sun Devils’ attitude is locked on returning to the field and creating performances that ignite the players as well as the fans. Ward believes that’s what sets this receivers room apart.
“They’re excited about the win, but they weren’t excited about their performance,” Ward said. “They felt like they still could have done better, that’s encouraging to be able to self-reflect … that’s what I like, to come out here with purpose and put in good days of work on Tuesday and Wednesday, and now I’m looking forward to another challenge.”
Penalties can shift the momentum of a game and take a toll on a player’s mentality. Defensive line coach Diron Reynolds knows this ASU team is capable of great things, due to its ability to maintain a positive attitude despite small mistakes.
“The guys are still pumped up, they’re still thirsty, still hungry, they want to look like what we know we can look like,” Reynolds said. “That’s the big thing, there is a certain standard our guys have, a certain standard they want to leave on tape.”
but they were ready to play for a national title ? QUE PASO ?