Practice what you preach: ASU generates three turnovers against Wyoming

Four games. That’s how long it took for the Arizona State defense to generate its first turnover in 2023.

Forty seconds. That’s how it long it took for ASU to get its first turnover for this 2024 season. 

Redshirt junior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu read Wyoming junior quarterback Evan Svoboda perfectly and intercepted the Mesa Red Mountain alum on the second play of the game, returning it for a touchdown to start the year in near-perfect fashion for the Sun Devils to establish an early 7-0 lead.

They didn’t stop there either.

On the very next offensive drive for the Cowboys, facing a long third-and-23, the ASU defense again capitalized on a mistake from Svoboda, this time as another linebacker – junior Keyshaun Elliott – intercepted Svoboda on an overthrown pass. Seven plays later, redshirt sophomore Ian Hershey booted a 29-yard field goal to make it 10-0 at the 6:19 mark in the first quarter.

Coach Kenny Dillingham called the linebacker room the “most improved” during the preseason. And less than 10 minutes into the first game, the group proved him right. It’s also a testament to ASU’s ability in the transfer portal as both Fiaseu and Elliott are transfers. The Sun Devils picked up 30 transfers this past offseason, with the class ranking No. 30 in the nation and fourth in the Big 12, according to 247Sports.

ASU added its third turnover of the game in the third quarter when Svoboda attempted to hit wide receiver Tyler King on a swing pass to the left, but threw the ball behind his intended target. ASU redshirt senior Justin Wodtly scooped it up and ran 6 yards for the touchdown to make it 41-0 with 6:07 to go in the third quarter.

It was all part of a superb evening from the ASU defense, which held Wyoming to just 53 yards of total offense in the first half. Wyoming didn’t score its first points until 2 seconds remained in the game.

One of the themes of spring and fall camp for ASU was emphasizing the need for turnovers.

Great play all around: Sam Leavitt leads ASU to convincing victory in 1st career start

“I expect us to run to the football, and I expect us to get takeaways this year,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said ahead of the season.

ASU didn’t get its first takeaway until the first quarter of the fourth game of last season against USC when linebacker Tate Romney recovered a fumble. The Sun Devils were the last team among FBS schools to force their first turnover last season.

ASU was a dismal 127th — out of 130 schools — last year in turnover margin. Rice, Nebraska, and Temple were the only schools to finish below ASU in 2023.

That trend is now shifting in favor of the Sun Devils. The message is starting to get through.

“It’s incredible,” Dillingham said in his postgame news conference. “Every single day — guys are probably bored of it — we start our team meeting and the only two things I show are: effort plays and takeaways. That’s it. Bad ball security, takeaways, effort. That’s it. I don’t show anything else. It’s those two things, over and over. It’s just to get in their mind that if you play really hard and you win the turnover battle, all these schemes that you’re about to go do are awesome, but they’re obsolete. And we have to be able to do those two things, and then go play smart football. That was game-changing when you turn the ball over at that rate. It was as close to a shutout as you can possibly get. So in my mind, it’s a shutout and it’s two defensive touchdowns. Awesome job by our defense tonight. They deserve it because they’ve been working hard.”

ASU also executed on running the ball as senior running back Cam Skattebo (11 carries, 49 yards, one touchdown) and redshirt senior running back DeCarlos Brooks (six carries, 47 yards, one touchdown) led a potent, multipronged ground attack. 

Even redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt got in on the action, showcasing his scrambling ability to the tune of 47 yards on eight carries.

In all, the Sun Devils rushed for 241 yards on 49 carries as a team. ASU had 499 yards of total offense on the night in a commanding 48-7 victory.

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.