The No. 24 Sun Devils, 5-2 on the season, welcome the Houston Cougars, another impressive opponent, as they prowl into Mountain America Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 25, with a 6-1 record. Saturday marks the first time these two teams have met since 1990, when the Cougars came out on top.

The Cougars, after a forgettable season last year, come into this matchup with a lot of momentum, featuring a high-flying offense and an experienced defense. 

“They’re a 6-1 football team,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said. “There’s not many teams in college football that are 6-1. We’re not 6-1, there are a lot of teams that are not 6-1 this is one of them. Everybody wants to look at last year and try to determine success… None of it matters… They’re one of the teams competing to win this league.” 

ASU sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt enters game day after his best passing performance of the season, 319 yards passing against the Red Raiders. Despite missing the Oct. 17 game against Utah two weeks prior, Leavitt and the team had this past weekend to enjoy their upset victory over the Red Raiders, yet they have already switched their focus to Saturday. 

“Coming off of a really emotional win you gotta enjoy it,” Leavitt said. “Take time to really embrace what happened and then get back to work which is always hard… Sometimes it's hard after a tough loss, feel like it's harder after a big win just to get the guys dialed back in but I thought we did a good job.” 

Leavitt is tasked with another challenge before the big game this Saturday, as All-American junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson has been ruled out against the Cougars. Tyson leads the team in every receiving category this year with 57 receptions, 628 yards receiving, and eight receiving touchdowns. 

Yet offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo is up for the challenge in calling the plays without Tyson being on the field, citing the offense’s previous success without him down the stretch to a College Football Playoff berth in 2024. 

“Having your lead guy out, I think everyone understands the reality of this sport,” Arroyo said. “We have had this happen to multiple positions over the course of time I have been here and it's something we preach a lot that the next guy has to step up and we’ve got to be able to create a little more value to each position.”

The Sun Devils aren't short on talent offensively, as Leavitt must rely on his other talented receivers like sophomore Jaren Hamilton, sophomore Derek Eusebio, senior Malik McClain, junior Jalen Moss and senior tight end Chamon Metayer. 

Running back Raleek Brown must also step up not only in the running game but in the passing game as well.

Hamilton and Metayer both had career highs for yards receiving last week and should be a massive part of the offense on Saturday. 

Across the line of scrimmage, key injuries on the Sun Devils’ defense leave many questions that have yet to be answered before Saturday. Senior defensive end Prince Dorbah is listed as doubtful for this week's game, which leaves an emphasis on the roles of senior defensive linemen Justin Wodtly and Elijah O’Neal to perform.

Both safeties, senior Myles Rowser and sophomore Adrian Wilson, are listed as questionable, along with linebackers, senior Jordan Crook and junior Tate Romney. However, Dillingham expects his team to step up after a great week of practice. 

“I’ve been happy with practice,” Dillingham said. “ I’ve been happy with the physicality of practice, I’ve been happy with the guys that are questionable, maybe not getting reps…We got a good football team coming in here…Doesn’t matter who takes the field you better be ready to strap it up and play 60 minutes of football.”