Countdown to Kickoff: Examining ASU football's eighth 2022 opponent, Colorado

Arizona State football is 55 days away from its season opener and 113 days from its Week 8 matchup against Colorado. The Buffaloes are maybe the only team in the Pac-12 with more question marks on the roster than ASU.

Over the last five matchups between Colorado and ASU, the Sun Devils have won just twice. Both times it took the offense scoring 35 or more points to get the job done. 

In fact, since these two teams started playing each other consistently in 2006, Arizona State has only won one time where it scored fewer than 33 points. 

With that being said, the 2022 bout between these two teams may look different than it has in the past given the respective offseasons for both programs. 

More than 20 players transferred out of the Colorado football program this offseason. Colorado coach Karl Dorrell has his hands full trying to revive somewhat of a heartbeat in this Buffs’ team.

“There’s no question there’s a stronger commitment within the team,” Dorrell said to Colorado media in the spring. “They’re working hard. They’re doing what we’ve asked of them. The team is creating a strong bond. I think a lot of those things were missing in other years. There’s a lot of room for progress and fast progress when we have a team that’s on the same page.”

Despite all the turnover in the ASU football program over the past several months, at least the Sun Devils are sure of a couple different things.

First and foremost, ASU fans have a good idea that redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones will be the guy moving forward. While the starting quarterback hasn’t been officially named by coach Herm Edwards, it’s hard to imagine Jones would transfer to ASU without an inkling that he’d be the lead guy. 

Colorado is in a little bit of a different predicament. Sophomore quarterback Brendon Lewis started every game for the Buffaloes in 2021. Nevertheless, it appears he’ll have competition for the starting spot from sophomore quarterback and Tennessee transfer J.T. Shrout. 

Lewis put up rather below-average numbers in 2021 as he threw for just 10 touchdowns and 1,540 yards. The Colorado passing attack was part of the reason the offense was statistically one of the worst in college football a season ago.

Shrout, however, missed the entire 2021 season with a knee injury. With this game taking place in late October, it’ll be interesting to see how the first few weeks of the season play out.

In the case the Buffs are actually progressing, then Lewis may be the guy waiting for the Sun Devils come kickoff. Yet, there’s a chance Colorado performs similar to the 2021 campaign, with Shrout then taking over.

Even so, the ASU defense is shaping up to be the strongpoint of this Sun Devil team. In that case, Colorado could be in for some trouble.

With former Colorado wide receiver Brenden Rice transferring out of the program, the Buffs lack both depth and serious talent on the perimeter. This bodes well for an ASU team with questions in the secondary.

With a relatively even match on the outside, where this game will likely be won or lost comes down to the first and second level of the defense.

Redshirt fifth-year linebacker Kyle Soelle was touted the leader of the Sun Devil defense in the spring. Soelle, paired with fellow fifth-year linebacker Merlin Robertson, may prove to be an overwhelming duo for a lackluster Buffs offensive line and rushing attack. 

With the ASU defense expected to take care of business in this contest, the Sun Devil offense will be tasked with putting up points in bunches. As mentioned earlier, ASU has only ever beaten the Buffaloes one time in a game where it scored fewer than 33 points.

The Sun Devils will likely be the favorite going into this game, but it may not be by much.