Todd Graham’s first three seasons at Arizona State: By the Numbers
Dec 9, 2014, 3:00 PM | Updated: 4:42 pm
It’s been a short tenure so far, but Todd Graham has found very quick success coaching the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Graham has led the team to a 27-12 record since he was hired in 2012, beating seven ranked teams over that time and winning the Pac-12 South in 2013. Graham’s winning ways have statistically placed him in some rarefied air in the desert, with a record that is on par with Frank Kush, John Cooper and Darryl Rogers in their early years.
With a third consecutive bowl game still on the horizon for the Sun Devils this season, here’s a look at some of the numbers from Graham’s first three years at Arizona State:
27
Graham has already made his mark among the best Arizona State head coaches, earning more wins in his first three years with the Sun Devils than any other ASU coach to start his career. Graham’s 27-12 mark gives him the advantage in the win column, but puts him only fourth in winning percentage. Kush is first with a .774 mark to start his long career with the Sun Devils.
1
Arizona State didn’t have an All-American since 2006 when Graham came to the desert, but the coach didn’t see that streak last much longer. Defensive lineman Will Sutton racked up 63 tackles, 13 sacks and three forced fumbles in 2012 en route to earning All-America honors, giving Graham his first such player as a head coach.
7
Coming off of a 55-31 win over then-eighth-ranked Notre Dame, the Sun Devils shot up to seventh in the AP standings, their highest ranking under Graham. The lofty ranking also gave ASU its first spot in the top 10 of the AP poll since 2007, when the school was ranked sixth in Dennis Erickson’s first season at the helm.
58
Regardless of team records, the Territorial Cup is the game to win for Arizona State every season when facing Arizona. Graham made his presence felt early in the rivalry when he guided the Sun Devils to a 58-21 win in 2013, setting a record for most points scored by one team during the yearly matchup.
8
The Sun Devils aren’t just saving the high-scoring performances for their rivalry games, as they are averaging more than 36 points per game in all three of Graham’s seasons at Arizona State. The Sun Devils even ranked eighth for total points scored in 2013, posting 556 in 14 games played.
132
The Sun Devils are just not very hospitable to opposing quarterbacks, frequently employing some relentless blitz schemes to stop a play before it can get started. Arizona State has 132 sacks under Graham, ranking in the top 10 in the category every year and averaging 3.3 sacks per game over that span.
21
ASU’s mistreatment of opposing quarterbacks not only comes from its ability to hit them, but to force mistakes as well, with the defense picking off 21 passes in both 2012 and 2013. This understandably has led to numerous opportunities to make plays after forcing the mistakes, with the team returning eight interceptions for touchdowns over those two years.
32.6
Not to say that Arizona State was undisciplined before Graham took over in 2012, but the team had nearly 100 more total penalty yards than any other school in the country in 2011, giving teams 79.8 yards per game because of mistakes. The school has been on the other side of the spectrum since then, surrendering only 32.6 penalty yards per game over the last three seasons.
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