How do you respond to your back being against the wall?
It's a home "Blackout" game in Tempe for the Sun Devils, but Arizona State football still finds the cards stacked against them. A 3-3 record and two blowout conference losses has turned the once-inferno atmosphere of Mountain America Stadium into a lackluster brush fire.
How does ASU reignite that fire around the program? Beat Kansas State. Plain and simple.
A win over the Wildcats won't instantly solve every problem in Tempe, but it will be a step in the right direction, moving to 4-3 with two conference wins.
On the flip side, a 3-4 record with a 1-3 conference standing will indeed cause more of the sky to fall. So how does ASU get it done on a Arizona Saturday afternoon?
Here are the main questions for Arizona State to answer vs. Kansas State:
Offensive Problems: All Boley Related?
A lot of Sun Devil fans finally got their wishes in the second half of the runaway in Lubbock: six-game starter Cutter Boley was benched in favor for QB2 Mikey Keene in the third quarter vs. Texas Tech.
With the bandaid now ripped off, a lot of people around the program feel more confident with Keene leading the charge.
"Mikey is a vocal guy," ASU WR Reed Harris said after practice this week. "He's got a lot of different sides. In the locker room, he's probably one of the funniest guys on the team, so everybody knows his voice, and everybody understands what he's saying, especially in the serious moments when he's directing us. He's got a great voice for the position he is in now with the team."
But if the offense can't get it going against KSU, the angry mob will be redirected from the quarterback room to the coaching staff.
The offense has already had its fair share of fire drills this season, including Kenny Dillingham relinquishing offensive play-calling after ASU's blowout loss to Baylor.
Keene got the job done in a small sample size in Texas. He will need to do so for four quarters in Tempe, now a week later, facing a defense that isn't nursing a massive lead.
If the Chandler native doesn't find some answers, more and more questions will circle the shark tank of coaching doubt.
T-A-C-K-L-E: Can ASU's Defense Come Back To Life?
As elementary as it sounds, a pivotal part of Saturday afternoons clash will be ASU's ability to simply tackle.
It's what was missing against Baylor, some moments against Hawaii and many moments against Texas Tech. What was once a defensive unit that was earning high praise after a turnover festival in London, is now trying to just get the wheels back on the track.
Specifically, ASU's run defense has been the main thorn in their side in this recent slide.
"The ability to stop the run and run the ball," ASU Football HC Kenny Dillingham said in a Monday press conference. "It's something we've done really well here the last two years, and we're not stopping run, we're not running the ball really well."
ASU has allowed 36 missed tackles in their last three games, a whopping 12 missed tackles per contest.
On top of it all, Kansas State QB Avery Johnson is listed as doubtful for the contest in Tempe. A backup quarterback could be just what ASU needs to get right. But, whoever is at QB, it will not play a factor if the Sun Devils give free passes out in the run game once again.
"Good football teams can stop the run and run the ball," Dillingham said. "That's something we've kind of hung our hat on, and that's a primary thing that we've struggled with."
Can ASU Find That Needed Confidence?
Playing with a swagger is a tall task for a team that has endured such a conference skid, but even in wins, a lack of confidence and energy has hurt ASU.
"I think I got to get more confidence in our team. I think I've got to get our team playing with more confidence." Dillingham said.
On Kansas State's side, many have disregarded ASU's chances, ready to take over in Tempe.
“Repectfully, we’re going to come in and take over their trap.” Kansas State starting OL Dylan Villarouel said this week.
Which brings us full circle: with your back against the wall, at home, in likely your last stand for you season, how will you answer the call?
We will see what the Sun Devils do when they take the field vs. Kansas State, 12:45 p.m. AZT on ESPN2.
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