Arizona State is in London for the Union Jack Classic and the first-ever FBS game in Great Britain. 

ASU (1-1) takes on Kansas (1-1) Saturday, Sept. 19, at 9 a.m. MST at Wembley Stadium in London. The matchup, while historic, is also the conference opener for both teams and a key game for their Big 12 hopes. With travel logistics and other distractions aplenty, head coach Kenny Dillingham made it clear that his team’s priority remains winning a football game. 

“My job is to get the best plan in place, and I’ve got to do the same process I do throughout a week,” Dillingham said. 

However, Dillingham said playing a game in London offers no football-related advantage and isn’t even the best for his career. Yet he chose to play in the game anyway to allow his players the unique experience. 

“No way would I want our team to fly across the country Week 3 to play this game,” Dillingham said. “But this is an experience. They’re still college athletes, and I wasn’t going to rob them from an experience.” 

The most significant disadvantage for ASU playing in the Union Jack Classic is the travel logistics. 

After the road loss to No. 10 Texas A&M on Saturday, the Sun Devils flew to London that evening. Dillingham said it wouldn’t have made sense to fly back to Arizona, since they would have lost a day of practice due to the travel.

Dillingham said he also sought advice from multiple NFL mentors on how to handle the travel. 

Even with this plan, the Sun Devils arrived in London a day later Kansas. 

Dillingham thinks it’s an unwritten rule that teams ought to be on similar schedules when playing in unique games. 

Still, he isn’t preoccupied with this disadvantage. 

“We’re going to go and play our best football game,” Dillingham said. “There are no excuses.”

When it comes to football, Dillingham said he wants to see a cleaner game from his team, especially after a sloppy Week 2 defeat to No. 9 Texas A&M. 

 ASU turned the ball over four times in that 48-20 loss to the Aggies.

Three of those turnovers came in the fourth quarter, leading to 24 unanswered points from the Aggies and breaking open a 24-20 game.  

Sophomore quarterback Cutter Boley was responsible for two of those fourth-quarter turnovers, throwing a pair of interceptions after a solid three quarters of play from under center. 

Overall, Boley went 21-for-34 with 254 yards and two touchdowns.

Another issue that plagued the Sun Devils on Saturday were penalties. ASU was called for nine penalties for 62 yards.

Besides cleaning up turnovers and penalties, ASU will need to contain the Jayhawks’ offense, led by sophomore quarterback Isaiah Marshall. 

Dillingham praised Marshall’s athleticism. 

“(Marshall) can do some really dynamic things, and he can make you pay if you’re not sound,” Dillingham said. 

Dillingham also mentioned Marshall’s highlight-reel pass in Kansas’ Week 2 game against No. 23 Missouri, where Marshall jumped into a 360-degree spin to evade a defender and completed the pass from mid-air. 

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a guy do that … ,” Dillingham said. “That was one of the best plays I’ve seen all year.” 

With this athletic ability, Dillingham said it will be key for the Sun Devils to contain Marshall. 

Kansas frequently uses its athleticism in the play action, and combined with the Jayhawks’ ability to run the ball efficiently, Dillingham said they're tough to defend.  

The Jayhawks had two running backs, juniors Dylan Edwards and Yasin Willis, who received significant carries against Missouri, with six and eight carries, respectively. 

However, Marshall took the reins in the Kansas rushing attack with 20 carries. Yet these carries amounted to just 23 yards, an average of 1.2 yards per carry.

Despite the run-game inefficiency in Week 2, Dillingham believes the Jayhawks have a formidable offense they must take seriously. 

“They put a lot of stress on the defense with their run game and their play action pass,” Dillingham said. 

The Kansas offense can also be explosive, Dillingham said, adding yet another wrinkle to ASU’s preparation.

“You can’t just practice what they do, because (their coaching staff is) going to change it every week,” Dillingham said. 

However, the Jayhawks’ defense leaves much to be desired.

Kansas’ defense struggled a week ago, surrendering 38 points to the Tigers.

Still, a bright spot was its seniors recording multiple tackles for losses.

Seniors led the way for the Kansas defense, linebacker Trey Lathan coming up with nine tackles and safety Corey Gordon with seven.

The Jayhawks forced just one turnover in that game, giving the Sun Devils an opportunity to bounce back from their four-turnover game in College Station.

With a conference matchup set for across the Atlantic Ocean in a country where American football isn’t prominent, Dillingham reflected on what it means for ASU’s football program and the university. 

“I think for London to be exposed to Arizona State University and kind of brand ourselves over here, and hopefully have a sold-out crowd of ASU fans would be awesome,” Dillingham said. 

Dillingham also brought up ASU’s new London campus, which had its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday for its inaugural semester.

According to the university, ASU London is independent and awards U.K. degrees, enrolling 320 students this fall. The game is an opportunity to market the university to people in both the U.K. and the United States. 

“This has taken years to get this project in motion,” ASU President Michael Crow said. “So when somebody said, ‘Who wants to play in London?’ We’re like, ‘We do.’”