Magee: Sun Devils want to shut out Colorado

Shutouts do not happen often in college football.

This season, there have been 11 shutouts in games featuring two FBS teams. Only one of those shutouts has occurred in a Pac-12 game.

For Arizona State, shutouts have been very rare. Only twice since their famed 19-0 whitewashing of then-top-ranked Nebraska back in 1996 have the Sun Devils kept their opponents completely off the scoreboard.

That’s why senior linebacker Brandon Magee’s comments Tuesday were so interesting.

“Going out to Colorado, we want to pitch a shutout and make a point on TV,” he said.

The senior co-captain and his 4-1 Sun Devils take on the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field in Boulder Thursday.

Magee also made it clear that the defense’s desire is in no way a dismissal of Colorado’s ability.

“This is a huge game, we’re not overlooking anybody, we’ve got to go in there with a high intensity,” he said. “They’ve got a sold-out crowd, a black-out game, ESPN Thursday Night — everybody’s going to be watching. We’ve got to come out there and do ASU football.”

The Buffaloes have had trouble scoring this season, but haven’t been shut out in a game since 2010, when they were still a member of the Big 12 Conference. With a date against 2nd-ranked Oregon looming next Thursday, many consider a nationally-televised game against the 1-4 Buffs to be a “trap game.” Magee isn’t one of those people.

“It would be a trap game if a team was overlooking them, but we’re not overlooking anybody,” he said. “Especially Colorado. We know they have weapons and we know they’re going to be intense so I don’t feel it’s a trap game.”

Arizona Sports’ Craig Grialou contributed to this report

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