No. 23 BYU (2-0) vs. No. 19 Arizona State (2-0)

  • Kickoff: Saturday, 8:15 p.m. MDT
  • Venue: LaVell Edwards Stadium (63,470 capacity)
  • TV: ESPN (Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore commentating, Stormy Buonantomy on sideline)
  • Livestream: WatchESPN
  • Radio: KSL 1160 AM
  • Series: Arizona State leads the all-time series between the two sides 20-7.
  • Weather: Partly cloudy with temperatures in the low 60s at kickoff.

THE TRENDS

For BYU ... The Cougars have not finished above .500 in a season against the Pac-12 since 2014 (when they went 1-0) despite playing at least one game against a conference team each year in that span, except 2020 because of the pandemic. With a win Saturday, BYU would be guaranteed to finish no worse than 3-2 against the Pac-12 this season.

For Arizona State ... The Sun Devils have won four of the last five meetings between these two teams, although BYU won the most recent one 26-6 all the way back in 1998.

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WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The Sun Devils are fifth in the country on the young season in yards given up per game, but that has come against Southern Utah of the FCS ranks and a perennially bad UNLV team.

BYU hasn’t exactly been prolific at moving the ball or putting up points so far, but has done enough to get the job done in its first two games. Is Arizona State’s defense legitimately good, or will the Cougars be able to have success scoring?

Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) throws against UNLV during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, in Tempe, Ariz. | Matt York, Associated Press

KEY PLAYER

Jayden Daniels, QB, Arizona State: Daniels hasn’t had to put up big stats in the Sun Devils’ first two games of the season, but he’s highly capable of making plays with both his arm and his feet, so the Cougars will need to be dialed in even more on that threat than they were against Charlie Brewer and Utah last week.

QUOTABLE

“Jayden Daniels is a really, really good player. He has a lot of poise. He just seems like a veteran right now, and he is surrounded by a physical, athletic offensive line, good tight ends that can block and catch, and a number of skill players at running back and receiver that have tons of athleticism and speed.” — BYU head coach Kalani Sitake

“They’ve got a great fan base. It’s going to be loud. Couldn’t go into a better venue if you think about college football. They talk about all these other venues. They have a nice venue there and they do a great job of supporting their team, so gotta be ready to play, ‘cause it’s going to take four quarters and I think our guys are excited about the opportunity to play as well.” — Arizona State head coach Herm Edwards

NEXT UP

BYU will remain at home to face USF on Sept. 25, while Arizona State will head back home to play Colorado on that same day.

BYU SCHEDULE

Sept. 4 — BYU 24, Arizona 16

Sept. 11 — BYU 26, Utah 17

Sept. 18 — vs. Arizona State (8:15 p.m., ESPN)

Sept. 25 — vs. USF

Oct. 1 — at Utah State (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network)

Oct. 9 — vs. Boise State

Oct. 16 — at Baylor

Oct. 23 — at Washington State

Oct. 30 — vs. Virginia

Nov. 6 — vs. Idaho State (1 p.m., BYUtv)

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Nov. 13 — BYE

Nov. 20 — at Georgia Southern (2 p.m., TV TBD)

Nov. 27 — at USC

All times MDT

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