Mississippi State football is facing an Arizona State offense that's much-improved

Mississippi State football will face its first big test of the 2024 season out in the desert Saturday night. The Bulldogs head west to Tempe to square-off with the Arizona State Sun Devils. ASU was one of the worst power conference teams in the country last season, but through one game, they look like one of the nation's most improved teams.

A big reason for that is a revitalized offense.

The Sun Devils were dreadful offensively in 2023

HC Kenny Dillingham had his work cut out for him at his alma mater last season. The roster was void of much talent, and then a run of injuries turned a bad situation worse. At one point ASU had so few options at QB and OL that they were forced to use the Swinging Gate formation for an entire game (and they won doing it!). As you can imagine, it was a rough year. The Sun Devils averaged just 322 yards a game and 17.8 points per game.

Through one game in 2024, Arizona State looks significantly better on offense

Simply by being healthier, ASU was bound to improve this season. And by loading up in the portal to address key issues, specifically QB and OL, significant improvement was a real possibility. Through one game, that appears to be the case. ASU routed a usually tricky Wyoming team 48-7 and put up 499 yards of offense.

Michigan State-transfer QB Sam Leavitt has Sun Devils' fans excited for the future after a promising debut in Tempe, going 14-22 for 258 yards and two TDs plus 47 rush yards. One of the few bright spots from last season, RB Cam Skattebo, opened the year with 66 yards of offense and a score. ASU looks much deeper at the skill positions with five players recording at least 40 yards rushing or receiving against Wyoming.

Mississippi State's defense will need to get Arizona State behind the chains on Saturday

ASU's starting offense went 6-11 on 3rd downs against Wyoming. That's a great percentage, and it's not like they exclusively faced short-yardage situations either. They were 4-7 on 3rd & 5+. But on those four conversions, two were screen passes and two were scrambles by Leavitt. So when Leavitt was actually in true passing situations, success came from either him taking off and running or an ASU skill player making a play.

Leavitt posted a nice line as a passer, but most of his success throwing the football came off play-action. ASU had tons of success with their run game, so when Wyoming's LBs saw run action in the backfield, they'd react and leave open space to throw behind them. Leavitt took full advantage, but he's not yet shown in his young career that he's a real threat as a dropback passer.

State's best bet for stopping this ASU offense is to get them behind the chains and into dropback passing situations. This means limiting their run game on early downs to force throws on 3rd down. Obviously they'll still have to account for Leavitt's own ability to scramble in those spots, but if they can keep him in the pocket and force him to win with his arm, chances are they'll be able to get off the field.