ASU football heads to Tucson for Territorial Cup showdown

The Arizona State University Sun Devils will wrap up the 2012 regular season on Friday as the squad heads down the road to take on its in-state rivals at the University of Arizona in the annual Territorial Cup. The Sun Devils snapped a four-game losing skid this past Saturday against Washington State and became bowl eligible for the second consecutive year after missing out in the three prior years. Arizona holds the all-time series lead at 47-37-1. The game is set to kickoff of Friday, Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on ESPN. The game will take place at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. ASU is 567-362-24 (.608) all-time on the gridiron.

ON THE AIR: The MidFirst Bank Sun Devil-IMG Sports Network will carry all 12 of ASU's football games live on their 10-station radio network, including flagship station Sports 620 KTAR AM. Tim Healey (play-by-play) and former Sun Devil quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst (color analyst) will call the action with Doug Franz reporting from the sidelines. This week's game will be broadcast on KTAR 620 AM. The game will be broadcast on Sirius and Sirius XM channel 91.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: This week's matchup will be broadcast on ESPN, marking the sixth time this season the Sun Devils have played on an ESPN affiliate. Carter Blackburn and Rod Gilmore will provide the call from the booth while Jamele Hill will report from the sidelines.

SUN DEVILS vs. WILDCATS: This will be the 85th Duel in the Desert, with Arizona leading the all-time series 47-37-1. Arizona downed the Sun Devils in a riveting matchup last season in Tempe. using a late drive to earn a 31-27 victory. ASU was victorious the last time it competed at Arizona Stadium, posting a 30-29 overtime victory. The visiting team was been the victors in seven of the last 12 match-ups between the two schools while six of the last eight games have been decided by a touchdown or less.

A NOTE ON FIRST YEAR COACHES: Friday's matchup will be the sixth time in the series history that the two teams have squared off with a new coach at the helm of the program. Prior to this week's meeting, the other instances occurred in 1914 (J.F. "Pop" McKale/George Schaeffer), 1933 (G.A. "Tex" Oliver/Rudy Lavik),1952 (Warren Woodson/Clyde Smith), 1980 (Larry Smith/Darryl Rogers) and 2001 (John Mackovic/Dirk Koetter). Arizona is 3-2 in those matchups, winning in 1914, 1933 and 2001. The two programs had a new coach in 1938 as well (Orian M. Landreth/Dixie Howell) but did not play that year.

NOTABLE NUMBERS: A couple season statistics to keep an eye on for Saturday's matchup:
--ASU is bowl eligible for the second time in two seasons
--Taylor Kelly finished the game against WSU with a streak of 18 consecutive pass completions, which will carry over into Friday's game
--Marion Grice has a knack for finding the end zone, leading the team with 14 touchdowns this year. Grice needs four more touchdowns to move into the top five on ASU's all-time single-season touchdown list
--ASU tight end Chris Coyle needs just five receptions set the school record for tight end receptions in a season. He current sits fifth on the all-time list with 51 while Zach Miller holds the record at 56. With five touchdown receptions, he needs just one more to match the school record for tight single season TD receptions - a mark held by Miller and Joe Petty.
--The ASU school record for pass completion percentage (over 301 attempts) is 61.8 percent. Through nine games,Taylor Kelly has a completion percentage of 65.3 percent (288 passes)

LAST TIME OUT: Quarterbacks Taylor Kelly and Michael Eubank accounted for six touchdowns Saturday, and Arizona State became bowl eligible with a 46-7 rout over Washington State that ended the Sun Devils' four-game losing streak. Arizona State (6-5, 4-4 Pac-12) had failed in four tries to become bowl eligible, bogging down against some of the best teams in the conference. The Sun Devils finally broke through behind their quarterbacks and a resurgent defense that turned Washington State's Air Raid offense into Air Dud. Kelly threw for four touchdowns and Eubank had one each on the ground and through the air. Arizona State's defense forced two turnovers in the first half and Chris Coyle had a pair of touchdown catches to put the Sun Devils up 32-0 in their final home game of the season. Washington State's defense allowed 561 total yards and its offense got no support from the running game, which produced 1 yard on 19 carries.

OTHER NOTES FROM WASHINGTON STATE:
-Taylor Kelly completed his final 18 passes, setting a single-game mark for most consecutive completions, topping the mark of 13 set by Dick Mackey vs. S.D. Navy in 1952.
-Arizona State allowed just one rushing yard to Washington State, its best performance since Oct. 10, 2009, also against Washington State, when the Cougars had -54 yards rushing. It is the fourth-best rush defense game in the past 17 seasons (1996-present).
-Will Sutton has recorded at least one tackle for loss in all ten games he's played in this season after nabbing one against WSU
-With four penalties for 30 yards against WSU, six of ASU's top-10 least penalized games since 2006 have come this season.
-Marion Grice's eighth receiving touchdown against WSU moved him into first in the nation for receiving touchdowns by a running back. This makes him the all-time leader in running back touchdown receptions in the Pac-10/12 era for ASU.

GOLD RUSH: ASU is now averaging 183.6 yards per game on the ground, which tied for the third-best mark in the past 25 seasons (since 1988). Only the 234.1 yards per game put up by the 1996 Sun Devils and the 200.0 yards per game in 1997 are better. ASU also averaged 183.6 ypg in 1995.

STRIKE FIRST...STRIKE FAST: ASU has made a habit of scoring first this season, doing so 10 times in 11 games. ASU is now 6-4 in such contests following the win against WSU. The Sun Devils scored on five consecutive possessions against the Utes (getting on the board first for the third time this season) to start the game and put it away early. Arizona State scored on six of its first seven possessions against NAU, four of its first five against Illinois and three of its first four against WSU for similar results. ASU has done itself favors early in games this year, outscoring opponents 124-63 in the frame and shutting out NAU, Illinois, Utah, Cal, Colorado and WSU. In addition, ASU has made a habit of taking little time to score on the year. The Sun Devils didn't have a scoring drive longer than three minutes in a rout of the Fighting Illini or the Cougars (14 total drives), their longest lasting 2:59. The quick-hitting offense has been the staple of this year's team, with 43 of ASU's 59 offensive scoring drives this season coming in three minutes or less.

FINISH STRONGER: While ASU has gotten out to several fast starts this season, the team has closed even more impressively, allowing just 41 points on the season to anyone in the quarter and giving up its most by allowing 10 to UCLA and USC. ASU has shut out six teams in the fourth quarter this year and has outscored opponents 102-41 in the period.

PUSH `EM BACK: ASU has prided itself on its aggressive defense through four games this year, having forced 98 tackles for a loss of 434 total yards - a 8.91 TFL per game mark that currently ranks second in the nation. To put that in perspective, the entire ASU team only had 76 total tackles for loss during the 2011 season and no student-athlete logged double digits in the category where this year's team already has four that have accomplished the feat (Will Sutton, Carl Bradford, Davon Coleman and Chris Young). Not only is ASU getting into the backfield, but it has been a team effort as 19 different players have logged a TFL through the year. As a whole, ASU has a combined 132 defensive plays that have gone for a loss or no gain out of 790 offensive plays the opposition has run. That means an impressive 16.7 percent of the plays run by opponents this year have not advanced beyond the line of scrimmage. If you tack on incomplete passes to the mix, then ASU has forced 292 plays that did not result in positive yardage (37.0 percent of opponent's plays from scrimmage).

AN IMPRESSIVE YEAR: On the topic of tackles for loss, the Sun Devils are on pace to set some serious marks this season. With at least one game remaining the team's 98 tackles for loss are well within range of some of the marks set by some of the great defenses of the last 15 years. In that span, Adam Archuleta, Pat Tillman, Jeremy Staat and friends had some impressive seasons in the late 1990s, posting 117 tackles for loss in 1998, 111 in 1996, 103 in 1997 and 102 in 1999. Terrell Suggs and Co. had 100 in 2002 and this year's Sun Devil team is right on the heels of those marks. Should the team keep up the current clip of 8.91 TFL per game and make it to a bowl game, it would come just shy of those 117 posted in 1998. Four players on this year's team have posted double-digit TFL numbers and two more are in range of that count. During that span (back to 1996), only the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 had four or more players with double-digit tackles for loss and only the 2000 squad (97 total TFL) had five players in double digits.

SACK LUNCH: While those years of Archie and the Boys had some impressive TFL numbers, they pale in comparison to the sack count ASU has put up this season. The Sun Devils have 48 sacks already this season, a mark that is only approached by the 2002 Sun Devils, who had 43 on the season and the majority of those came on the heels of 18.5 from Terrell Suggs. At 4.27 sacks per game, the Sun Devils currently lead the nation.

A SUTTON IMPACT: Perhaps no player on ASU's roster has earned as much praise from Todd Graham as junior defensive tackle Will Sutton. Sutton has been a beast on the interior line for ASU, especially against Cal, where he finished the game with four tackles-for-loss, including two sacks, for a total loss of 21 yards. Sutton was honored as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Pac-12 Player of the week for the performance and has since been named as a Bednarik Award semifinalist. Sutton added another TFL against WSU and now has at least one in every game he has played this season. Sutton has posted 18.0 tackles for loss on the season (leads team), 10.5 sacks (leads team) and 53 total tackles (sixth on team). Sutton is currently ranked sixth in the nation at 1.80 TFL per game and fifth in the nation with 1.05 sacks per game and ranks first and second, respectively, in the Pac-12 in both.

FOREVER YOUNG: One of the driving forces behind ASU's tackle for loss numbers has been SPUR linebacker Chris Young, who has 13.5 tackles for loss this season. His 1.23 TFL per game ranks tied for 34th in the nation and is currently tied for seventh in the conference. To put that number into perspective, Arizona State had no player with more than eight tackles for loss on the entire season in 2011 (Oliver Aaron finished with 8.0). With 65 total tackles, Young is fifth on the team.

GRICE, GRICE BABY: Marion Grice is proving to be one of the top junior college additions to the conference as he currently leads the team with 14 touchdowns (eight receiving, six rushing) on the season. Grice had a coming out party against Colorado as he posted five receptions for 101 yards and three touchdowns - all career highs. Grice also had three touchdowns (two receptions, one rushing) against UCLA and three rushing TDs against NAU in the opening. Grice's knack for finding the end-zone has become commonplace, having posting touchdowns on 14 of his 109 offensive touches this year (12.8 percent). Grice is ranked sixth in the conference at 7.6 PPG. His eighth receiving touchdown against WSU moved him into first in the nation for receiving touchdowns by a running back. This makes him the all-time leader in running back touchdown receptions in the Pac-10/12 era for ASU.

THREE-HEADED MONSTER: Aside from the impressive defense and great quarterback play from Taylor Kelly, it has been ASU's stable of running backs that have helped propel the team this year, mainly on the backs of Cameron Marshall, Marion Grice and D.J. Foster. ASU running backs have have accounted for 32.7 percent of all the team's receiving yards this season. Of the 2,911 total receiving yards, running backs have collected 952. Grice, Marshall and Foster have accounted for 27 of the team's 46 total offensive touchdowns. Grice has 13 (six rushing, eight receiving), Marshall with seven (six rushing, one receiving) and Foster with six (two rushing, four receiving). That trio is averaging 4.8 yards per carry on the season. (1,310 yards, 274 attempts). Grice, Marshall and Foster are averaging 205.7 yards of total offense per game as a unit. The team is averaging 448.3 total yards per game.

FOSTER THE PEOPLE: D.J. Foster came to ASU this season as what many considered the "gem" of the Sun Devil recruiting class and he has lived up to the hype thus far. Foster currently leads the team in all-purpose yardage with 927 yards (443 rushing, 484 receiving). Foster also leads the team in yards per carry (5.2) for those with over 30 carries and is third in yards per catch (14.2). His ability to make what the ASU coaching staff calls "explosive plays" (rushes of 12 or more yards, receptions of 16 or more yards) has helped him stand out amongst an offense full of talented players as he leads the team in such plays with 30 total (17 receiving and 13 rushing). Foster's 34 receptions are the second-most receptions by a freshman in a season in school history (Zack Miller holds the record with 56 in 2004). His 486 receiving yards are the second most by a freshman in school history (Miller with 552 in 2004).

INTERCEPTION DARBY: Junior safety Alden Darby leads the Sun Devils with three interceptions this year, highlighted by a 70-yard pick-six against USC. Darby now ranks sixth all-time on ASU's single-season interception return yards list with 154. Nathan LaDuke has the record with 255. The interception against USC was the longest interception return for touchdown for ASU since Troy Nolan's 100-yard return in 2008 against UCLA. ASU has 15 interceptions on the season, a mark that has them tied for eighth in the nation.

WINNING BY WAY OF TKO (Taylor Kelly OFFENSE): While the running backs have been explosive for ASU this season, quarterback Taylor Kelly has been one of the many bright spots for the ASU offense. The sophomore is third in Pac-12 in passing efficiency at 157.33 and is 15th in the nation in that category. His ability to extend plays has also been exceptional, as demonstrated by his 393 net rushing yards on 121 attempts this year - a mark skewed by the fact that sacks count against his rushing total. If you take out sacks, Kelly would lead the team in yardage with 596 rushing yards this season. With four touchdown passes today, Taylor Kelly now has 25 on the season, tying for fifth in Arizona State history with Rudy Carpenter (2007)for touchdown passes in a single season. If the season were to end today, Kelly would also hold the school record for completion percentage (.669 percent, 208-311). The previous record was 61.8 percent set last season by Brock Osweiler (minimum 300 pass attempts). As if that weren't all enough, Kelly quietly put together another school record, completing 18 consecutive passes against WSU to set the mark for most consecutive completions in a single game - topping the mark of 13 said by Dick Mackey against S.D. Navy in 1952.

SECONDARY A PRIMARY: ASU's secondary has been among its driving forces this season. The unit ranks eighth nationally in passing defense (174.18) and is 12th in passing efficiency defense (104.73) and leads the Pac-12 in both. Not a bad start for a group that finished 11th and ninth, respectively, in those categories in the conference last season. In addition, the squad's 17 interceptions this year (giving some love to the linebackers, who have six of those and have returned two for touchdowns) is tied for sixth in the nation. Additionally, ASU has had 10 different players record interceptions this season - a mark that ranks third in the nation behind SMU (12) and USC (11). Keelan Johnson leads the way for ASU with four this year, including two against Washington State and he ranks tied for 13th in the country in total interceptions.

NOT PLAYING COY: Chris Coyle's performance against Illinois (10 receptions, 131 yards, two touchdowns) garnered him honors as the College Football Performance Awards Football Bowl Subdivision Tight End Performer of the Week. As of this release, Coyle is third in the nation in tight end receptions per game and receiving yards per game with 4.65 and 58.09, respectively. His 51 receptions lead the Sun Devils, as do his 389 receiving yards on the year. He current ranks third in ASU history in single-season tight end receptions and needs five more to set the school record (Zach Miller holds the record with 56). Coyle also now has five touchdown catches on the year, one shy of the single-season tight end record set by Miller and Joe Petty.

MORE ON COYLE: Chris Coyle had a coming out party against Illinois, snagging 10 catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers put the junior in pretty select company at a school with a pretty decent history at the tight end position. His 10 grabs tie for the 15th most ever by a Sun Devil in history and also put him in a tie with Zach Milleras the most single-game snags by a tight end in school history. In addition, his 131 receiving yards are the second most for a tight end in school history behind only Todd Heap's 170 yards against Arizona in 1999. Here's a look at how Coyle's game stacks up against the greats.

Chris Coyle Career Highs
Receptions: 10 vs. Illinois (9/8/12)
Receiving Yards: 131 vs. Illinois (9/8/12)
Longest Reception: 49 vs. NAU (8/30/12)
Touchdowns: 2 vs. Illinois (9/8/12)
Todd Heap Career Highs
Receptions: 8 at Notre Dame (10/9/99).
Receiving Yards: 170 vs. Arizona (11/27/99).
Longest Reception: 50 vs. California (10/7/00).
Touchdowns: 2 vs. Arizona (11/27/98).
Zach Miller Career Highs
Receptions: 10, twice, last at Washington State (11/5/05)
Receiving Yards: 102, at USC (10/16/04)
Receiving Touchdowns: 2, vs. Iowa (9/18/04)

BETTER SUITED FOR HANDKERCHIEFS: The Sun Devils haven't given the referees much reason to reach for their pockets this season. ASU was penalized just once for five yards against Illinois (on what appeared to be a purposeful delay of game to create some space for a punt). That marked the lowest single-game total since 2006, when ASU was penalized once for five yards against Washington State. On the year, ASU has had just 46 penalties for 333 yards. ASU leads the Pac-12 and is fifth in the nation with just 31.18 penalty yards per game. Here's a look at ASU's lowest single game penalties since 2006, six of which having come this year:

FEWEST SINGLE-GAME PENALTIES SINCE 2006
Pen/Yards -- Opponent (Date)
1-5 -- Vs. Illinois (2012)
1-5 --vs. Washington State (2006)
2-10 -- Vs. Oregon (2012)
1-15 -- Vs. Cal (2012)
3-20 --Vs. UCLA (2006)
3-20 -- Vs. USC (2007)
3-30 -- Vs. OSU (2012)
4-30 -- Vs. NAU (2012)
4-35 -- Vs. UNLV (2008)
4-31 -- Vs. Washington (2010)
4-35 -- Vs. USC (2010)

MARSHALL OF THE TOUCHDOWN: With his rushing touchdown against Oregon State, Cameron Marshall has rushed for 35 touchdowns in his career with Arizona State. He is one of only four Sun Devils all-time to score at least 30 touchdowns on the ground. Marshall holds sole possession of second on ASU's all-time rushing TD list, just behind just Woody Green (43).

Most Career Rushing TDs in ASU History
TDs -- Player, Years
43 -- Woody Green, 1971-73
35 -- Cameron Marshall, 2009-Present
34 -- Leon Burton, 1955-58
32 -- J.R. Redmond, 1996-99
28 -- Art Malone, 1967-69
25 -- Ben Malone, 1971-73
23 -- Nolan Jones, 1958-61

RETURN RECORD: Jamal Miles now has 1,789 kickoff return yards in his career. With a 31-yard return to start the game against Illinois and one other kick return, Miles passed Rudy Burgess (2004-07) for the top spot in Sun Devil history. In his prior three seasons in Tempe, Miles had returned 69 kickoffs for 1631 yards and three touchdowns. Miles totaled 788 of those yards last season, the second highest single-season total in ASU history. Miles' total was second only to the 879 yards that Burgess gained in 2007. Miles has 77 career kick returns, giving him an average of 23.2 yards per return. Burgess had 68 returns, with an average of 22.3 yards per return. Miles has three kick return TDs, while Burgess had one.

WELCOME BACK, BRANDON: After sitting out Arizona State's victory against Illinois, senior Brandon Magee made up for lost time against Mizzou, collecting 12 tackles (eight solo) to lead the team while also nabbing his second interception of the season. Magee returned one 45 yards for his first career pick-six against NAU in the opener. Magee also had 12 tackles against Oregon State and matched his career high with 13 against USC. He currently is third on the team with 5.5 sacks on the season. Against Utah, Magee forced one fumble and recovered another while adding 10 tackles as he is proving to be a force to be reckoned with from his linebacker position. Despite his absence in that one game, Magee currently leads the team with 87 tackles and is third in the conference at 8.70 tackles per game. Magee missed the entire 2011 season with an Achilles injury. He now has 205 career tackles.

HOLDING DOWN THE FORT: The ASU defense has done an admirable job of limiting opponent's following turnovers by the offense. On the season, ASU's opponents have scored on just 33.3 percent of their drives following an ASU turnover and have scored just six touchdowns in that span on 21 turnovers. Conversely, the ASU offense has put points in the bank on 64.0 of their conversion opportunities and have scored 14 touchdowns off of 25 turnovers forced. ASU has outscored opponents 104-45 in points off turnovers.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP: The 2012 Sun Devil roster features 17 seniors, many of which have played pivotal roles as the season has gone on. Senior RB Cameron Marshall, OL Andrew Sampson, LB Brandon Magee and S Keelan Johnsonhave been named captains for the 2012 season.

JUST KICKING IT: Alex Garoutte bumped his extra point streak to 91 against Washington State, going 5-for-5 on extra points. He is now 98-for-99 in his career.

TAYLOR GANG: For the fourth time in as many years, the Sun Devil season opener featured a new quarterback under center. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Kelly made his first career start against NAU and followed Danny Sullivan (2009),Steven Threet (2010) and Brock Osweiler (2011) as the fourth different quarterback to start on opening day since Rudy Carpenter started three straight from 2006-08. Sullivan and Threet were making their first career starts period, while Osweiler had made a start later in the season in 2009 and 2010. Since 1997, ASU quarterbacks making their first career start are 9-5. According to research done by Jack Duggan at the University of Southern Mississippi, Arizona State is one of just 13 FBS schools that returned no quarterback with a start for the 2012 season. That list included: Akron, Arizona State, Boise State, East Carolina, Hawai'i, LSU, Memphis, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma State, Southern Miss, Stanford and Texas A&M.

ASU QB FIRST CAREER STARTS SINCE 1997

Taylor Kelly 2012/N. Arizona/W, 63-6 15/19, 247 yards, 1TD, 0 INT
Steven Threet 2010/Portland State, W, 54-9 14/21, 339 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Brock Osweiler* 2009/Oregon, L, 44-21 5/10, 14 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Samson Szakacsy 2009/UCLA, L, 23-13 15/22, 197 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Danny Sullivan 2009/Idaho State, W, 50-3 13/25, 165 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rudy Carpenter 2005/Washington, W, 44-20 27/34, 401 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Sam Keller 2004/Purdue, W, 27-23 25/45, 370 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Chad Christensen 2002/Nebraska, L, 48-10 6/16, 77 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Andrew Walter 2001/Arizona, L, 34-21 10/22, 132 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Jeff Krohn 2000/San Diego St., W, 10-7 18/42, 160 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Griffin Goodman 1999/Wake Forest, L, 23-3 10/16, 142 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Chad Elliott** 1998/Stanford, W, 44-38 OT 8/17, 92 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Steve Campbell 1997/Iowa, W, 17-7 5/11, 109 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Ryan Kealy 1997/New Mexico St., W, 41-10 11/19, 107 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

* -- Osweiler left the game early due to injury
** -- Elliott left the game early and Ryan Kealy led the team to the overtime victory

PUT ME IN, COACH: Jaxon Hood and D.J. Foster joined John Jefferson (1974), Terrell Suggs (2000), Zach Miller(2004) and Will Sutton (2009) as true freshmen to start season opener at ASU on offense or defense. The NCAA began allowing freshman to compete in 1972, with the 2012 season marking the 40 year anniversary. In total, 25 Sun Devils saw their first Division I action and seven true freshmen played (Evan Goodman, Laiu Moekiola, Carlos Mendoza,Easton Wahlstrom and Richard Smith in addition to Foster and Hood).

EARN YOUR KEEP: ASU has had 11 players score their first career touchdowns this season: Taylor Kelly (pass), D.J. Foster (rush), Brandon Magee (INT return), Marion Grice (rush), Michael Eubank (rush), Richard Smith (reception),Chris Coyle (reception), Darwin Rogers (reception), Anthony Jones (INT return), Junior Onyeali (fumble return) and Alden Darby. Brandon Magee put his name on the top of that list with a 45-yard pick-six against NAU - his first defensive touchdown ever. Chris Coyle added his first career TD grab against Illinois, which also served as Eubank's first career touchdown toss. For Kelly, his first passing touchdown was the first of many as he now has 25 on the season and Marion Grice's three-touchdown performance in his career debut against NAU set the pace for the 14 touchdowns he currently has - a mark that leads the team.

PIN `EM DEEP: Redshirt senior punter Josh Hubner was among the best punters in the nation when it came to pinning opponents down the field, finishing the year tied for 17th in the nation with 24 punts inside the 20. He's back at it again in 2012 as he now has 19 punts on the year inside the 20 (out of 47 total punts) and is averaging 46.8 yards per punt, a mark that is first in the conference (with 40 or more pints) and is third in the nation. He also has 20 punts of over 50 yards this season, good enough to lead the Pac-12. The next closest in the Pac-12 entering today is 15 by Colorado's Darragh O'Neill. Hubner has had monster games against Oregon and UCLA, averaging 52.8 yards per punt on nine attempts with three downed inside the 20. For those performances, he was honored by the College Football Performance Awards Punter of the Week for consecutive weeks. Quarterback Taylor Kelly also showed off his talents in the category, having six pooch kicks this year with a long of 49 that have downed the opponents inside the 20 on five of those.

IF YOU GOT IT, FLAUNT IT: The Sun Devils played seven true freshmen in their season opener against NAU (Evan Goodman, Laiu Moekiola, Carlos Mendoza, Richard Smith, D.J. Foster Jaxon Hood and long snapper Easton Wahlstrom). The school record for true freshmen playing in season is 10, set back in 2008. According to research done by Colorado Dave Plati, the three true freshmen that started at their positions (Foster, Hood and Wahlstrom) ties with Washington for the most in the conference in the first week of action.

EMERSON HARVEY: Arizona State University football will commemorate a milestone this season by honoring Emerson Harvey, the school's first African-American football student-athlete 75 years ago and played a major role in breaking the color barrier throughout the Southwest. The Sun Devils will recognize Harvey, who joined the roster in 1937, with black-and-white circular helmet stickers with Harvey's jersey number (57).

LIGHT `EM UP: With 108 points in its first two games, Arizona State set its highest tally through the first two games of the season in ASU history (now in its 100th season). The prior record was 94 points, under Dirk Koetter in 2005 as his team put up 63 points in a season opening victory against Temple before adding 31 in a tough loss against LSU. At 36.0 points per game, ASU currently ranks 28th nationally in scoring offense.

INFO-GRAHAM: So you want to know more about what Todd Graham brings to the program? Here's a couple more stats and tidbits about the ASU head coach to give you an idea. Special thanks Doug Haller (@DougHaller) of the Arizona Republic for all this information:
--Over his past four seasons -- one at Pittsburgh and three at Tulsa -- Graham's teams have rushed the ball on at least 53.4 percent of their total plays. In 2008, Tulsa rushed on 61.4 percent of its total plays. Last year, ASU rushed 44.5 percent of the time.
--Over the past six seasons at Pitt, Tulsa and Rice, only one Graham-coached team has ranked outside the top 50 nationally in sacks. Last year, Pittsburgh averaged 3.31 sacks, which ranked third nationally.
--In six seasons, Graham is 19-17 in true road games. Over the past four, ASU is 5-16.
--In five of the past six years, Graham's teams have ranked 39th or better nationally in fewest penalty yards per game. In 2008, Tulsa averaged just 37 penalty yards, which ranked 11th in the nation. Last season, Pitt averaged 39.5, which ranked 18th.

FIRST IMPRESSION WAS GOOD: ASU's 63 points vs. NAU in the Todd Graham debut is the most by a Sun Devil coach in his opener, topping the 47 scored by Frank Kush's squad in 1958 over Hawaii. Not all openers were great for eventual great coaches though, as ASU's 1996 National Coach of the Year Bruce Snyder scored seven in his first game in a 31-7 loss to second-ranked Washington on Sept. 5, 1992.

Most Points in ASU Coaching Debut
PTS / Coach Year (Result)
63 / Todd Graham vs. NAU 2012 (W)
47 / Frank Kush vs. Hawaii 1958 (W)
45 / Dennis Erickson vs. San Jose St. 2007 (W)

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: Despite a relatively rough outing otherwise, ASU allowed just 48 passing yards vs. Oregon, its fewest since it allowed 42 vs. Idaho State on Sept. 5, 2009. It marks the fewest allowed in a conference game since Nov. 2, 1996, when ASU's Pac-10 Conference title team allowed just 20 at Oregon State.

FEWEST PASSING YARDS ALLOWED (1996-Present)
20, @ Oregon State (Nov. 2, 1996)
33, @ Nebraska (Aug. 24, 2002)
42, vs. Idaho State (Sept. 5, 2009)
44, vs. Iowa (Sept. 18, 2004)
48, vs. #2 Oregon (Oct. 18, 2012)

TAKE IT BACK: Rashad Ross took the second-half kickoff back 100 yards for a score vs. Colorado on Oct. 11, the second kick return for a touchdown in his short career. He also took one 98 yards vs. Boise State in the 2011 Las Vegas Bowl. ASU has had seven kickoff returns for a touchdown in the past 33 games, a span that started with Omar Bolden's 97-yard jaunt at No. 11 Wisconsin on Sept. 18, 2010. Ross is just the fifth player in school history to record a 100-yard kickoff return.

ASU KICKOFF RETURNS FOR TOUCHDOWNS (Since 2010)
Oct. 11, 2012 - Rashad Ross, 100 yards at Colorado
Dec. 22, 2011 - Rashad Ross, 93 yards vs. Boise State (Vegas Bowl)
Nov. 12, 2011 - Jamal Miles, 95 yards at Washington State
Sept. 1, 2011 - Jamal Miles, 98 yards vs. UC Davis
Nov. 26, 2010 - Jamal Miles, 99 yards vs. UCLA
Nov. 6, 2010 - LeQuan Lewis, 100 yards at USC
Sept. 18, 2010 - Omar Bolden, 97 yards at #11 Wisconsin

ASU 100-YARD KICK RETURNS (HISTORY)
Rashad Ross, 2012, Colorado
LeQuan Lewis, 2010, USC
Terry Richardson, 2006, Oregon
Tom Pace, 2001, UCLA
Wilford White, 1948, Pepperdine

PUTTING ON A SHOW: ASU racked up a season-high 593 total yards of offense against Colorado, including 261 rushing yards and 332 passing yards. ASU's 593 yards is the most in a conference road game since it had 651 yards at Arizona on Nov. 23, 1996 in a 56-14 win that clinched an 11-0 regular season.

MOST TOTAL YARDS IN A PAC-10/12 GAME (1996-Present)
Yards -- Opponent
667 -- #7 Oregon (Oct. 28, 2000)
651 -- @ Arizona (Nov. 23, 1996)
623 -- Oregon (Nov. 15, 1997)
597 -- #5 Oregon (Sept. 25, 2010)
595 -- UCLA (Nov. 26, 2010)
593 -- @ Colorado (Oct. 11, 2012)
591 -- Oregon (Sept. 28, 1996)

MORE ON PENALTIES: Todd Graham has had a knack for having some of the most disciplined teams in the nation when it comes to penalty yards. In each of his seven seasons as a head coach, Graham's teams have ranked as some of the least penalized teams in the country in both yards and penalties per game. In 2012, the Sun Devils currently rank 10th in fewest penalties (4.18) and fifth in fewest penalty yards per game (31.3).

PENALTY YARDS UNDER Todd Graham (National Rank)

Year, School / Pen. YPG / Pen. PG
2006, Rice / 34th / 59th
2007, Tulsa / 73rd / 50th
2008, Tulsa / 11th / 11th
2009, Tulsa / 39th / 10th
2010, Tulsa / 22nd / 6th
2011, Pitt / 73rd / 91st
2012, Arizona State / 5th / 10th

THE ALTERNATIVE DEFINITION OF "SCORING DEFENSE": Scoring defense is an official statistic credited to defenses based on how many points they allow The ASU defense is re-writing that definition, having scored on four turnovers this season. ASU has three interceptions returned for touchdowns this year (Alden Darby - 70 yards at USC,Anthony Jones - 36 yards vs Oregon and Brandon Magee - 45 yards vs NAU) and one fumble recovery for a touchdown (Junior Onyeali vs Oregon State). The defense also had a blocked punt for a safety, giving the squad a total of 26 direct points. If you add in the point off turnovers that ASU offense has scored this season, the ASU defense has had a hand in 106 of the 396 points scored for ASU this season.

NOT IN OSAHON's HOUSE: Junior defensive back Osahon Irabor has been a force this year, collecting 11 passes broken up on the season to lead the team. What's more impressive is that he hasn't had a pass interference called against him all season. The 11 PBU's are the most by a Sun Devils since Justin Tryon had 16 in 2007.