Blog

By Asif Malik

 

The Phoenix Suns will open their home schedule shorthanded in the middle. Oso Ighodaro is out for Saturday’s home opener against the Golden State Warriors with an oblique strain, head coach Jordan Ott said Friday.

First reported by Duane Rankin.

Ighodaro’s injury was first called a right hip injury. He grabbed at his right hip late in the first half Wednesday in Portland and did not play in the second half of the 124-83 loss. He had also sat out the Suns’ final preseason game with hip soreness.

“Pretty good report overall. It’s an oblique strain,” Ott said. “He’ll be out for sure tomorrow. We hope it’s just more day-to-day than long-term. I think we avoided something serious.”

Asked whether the oblique is related to the hip, Ott said he’s not a doctor.

It is a tough break for a player who never missed a night last season. “Opening night to a guy that played all 82,” Ott said after the Portland game. “Tough. Tough. But hopefully everything is OK.” Ighodaro recently signed a three-year, $29-million extension. 

There was better news on Luke Kennard. The guard practiced Friday and is trending toward playing after missing the opener with left knee tendinopathy, an injury he suffered in the preseason. Kennard was listed as questionable for Portland, then ruled out before tip.

Ott called it the “same normal path, trending in the right direction, for sure.”

The Suns missed Kennard’s shooting in Portland, going 6-of-32 from three-point range. “It’s one of those things that you don’t want it to linger,” Ott said before the opener. “It’s just Game 1. We want to get it right. As much as he wants to play, and he’s an elite competitor. We want him out there. We’ll be smart.”

Center Mark Williams remains out with a shoulder injury suffered in an offseason workout and is expected to miss multiple months.

Without Ighodaro and Williams, more of the middle falls to Khaman Maluach, who started in Portland, and two-way center Duop Reath.

Phoenix (0-1) hosts Golden State (0-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Mortgage Matchup Center.

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MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Milwaukee waited 44 years for a World Series game, and the Brewers made their city sweat through every out of it — the celebration, the fireworks, all of it nearly lit too soon — before Trevor Megill struck out Jonny DeLuca with the tying run on third to close a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 on Friday night at American Family Field.

The Brewers thought they had it won one batter earlier. With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Liam Hicks bounced into what looked like a game-ending double play, and the fireworks went up over the park. Tampa Bay challenged, and the replay showed shortstop Cooper Pratt’s foot came off second base on the turn. The call was overturned, a run scored, and suddenly the Rays had the tying run on third and the winning run on second.

“You have a big range of emotions,” Christian Yelich said on FOX’s postgame show. “Big credit to Trev for locking back in and making some big pitches there.”

Megill did exactly that, getting DeLuca swinging to end it for real, and the sellout crowd of 43,250 finally got its party — Milwaukee’s first World Series game since 1982, and its first win in one.

The Brewers jumped on Nick Martinez right away. Jackson Chourio singled on the first pitch of the bottom of the first, and Yelich drove him in with a triple that glanced off DeLuca’s glove on a diving try in right-center. William Contreras followed with a single to left for a 2-0 lead, and that was the whole night’s argument in miniature — Martinez started because Tampa Bay pushed ace Drew Rasmussen back to Game 2 for an extra day of rest, and the two runs he gave up in the first inning never came off the board.

Jacob Misiorowski set the tone from the other side. His first pitch of the night came in at 103.5 mph, the fastest pitch ever recorded in a World Series game, and he worked through traffic all night without breaking — five innings, one run, on 11 days’ rest, his longest start of the postseason. When the Rays put their first two men on in the first, Junior Caminero lined into a double play and the threat died.

Tampa Bay’s only run off him came in the fourth, when Jonathan Aranda scored on Hicks’ groundout. After that, the game belonged to Milwaukee’s defense and its bullpen. Contreras, who drove in a run and had two hits, also threw out two Rays runners — Victor Mesa Jr. trying to steal third in the fifth and Aranda at second in the sixth — and won both of his ball-strike challenges behind the plate.

Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby covered the middle innings without a run, Ashby running his scoreless streak this postseason to 14 innings. In the seventh, Pratt worked an eight-pitch walk and Chourio singled him home with two outs off Kevin Kelly for the insurance run Milwaukee turned out to need, 3-1. 

The Rays made one last push against Megill in the ninth — one-out singles from Aranda and Chandler Simpson, a double steal, a walk to Caminero to load the bases — and the overturned double play got them within a run before Megill finished the job.

Game 2 is Saturday night in Milwaukee. Rasmussen starts for Tampa Bay against Logan Henderson for the Brewers, on FOX.

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By Asif Malik

 

Marvin Harrison Jr. did not ask his way out of Arizona. That is the word from the man who traded him — Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that Harrison never requested the deal that sent him to the Houston Texans.

Ossenfort admitted the timing of the trade was “weird” and walked through how it went down. The deal came together later on a Friday, and the Cardinals told Harrison first, then informed the team Saturday morning that a trade was pending and Harrison would not play that Sunday.

“It was later on Friday, so that’s why we wanted to make sure to tell Marvin,” Ossenfort said. “Not only for Marvin, but for our team Saturday morning that there was a trade pending and so we were not going to play Marvin in the game on Sunday. We respected that Houston was getting on a plane for a road game and when you trade for a player, you have to make a corresponding transaction. We wanted to respect Houston’s desires moving forward. So that’s why, from our standpoint, we wanted to inform Marv that there was a trade occurring but that’s why the team didn’t come out until after. … So that’s how the timeline went.”

Harrison played 33 games for Arizona, catching 111 passes for 1,612 yards and 13 touchdowns, with his rookie season his most productive.

The general manager’s version sits against a report from ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, who reported Harrison hired agents with the goal of facilitating a trade, uneasy about Arizona’s quarterback situation. Harrison, speaking in Houston, said he was eager to move forward, took accountability for some of what went wrong and declined to elaborate on what he learned in Arizona.

Ossenfort was also asked whether moving a top-five pick while his team got off to a 1-3 start brought any job security concerns. His record as general manager is 17-40.

“My role is always to do what’s best for the team,” Ossenfort said. “It’s always to do what’s best for the team in terms of the information that we have at that specific time. That’s what I’ve always done. That’s what I will always continue to do, what the right move is for the team. It may be different as weeks go by, but at that time, we believed that was the best move for the team. And that’s what we did.”

The Cardinals take on the Denver Broncos on Sunday, with three games left before the trade deadline on Nov. 10.

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Tempe– The Arizona Cardinals’ injury list is long heading into Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, and it starts in the secondary.

Safety Budda Baker has not practiced this week because of a groin injury and an illness. Safety Andrew Wingard (knee) and defensive lineman Walter Nolen III (ankle) have also missed both practices this week, and none of the three was seen during the open portion of Thursday’s practice.

Running back Jeremiyah Love (ankle) has not practiced either, and the expectation is the rookie misses his second straight game. First reported by Matt Zenitz.

Coach Mike LaFleur said this week the team will not rush Love back. “He’s feeling better, but it kind of goes without saying — (we’re) not going to put him out there until he feels 100%,” LaFleur said. Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight, who ran for 80 yards against the Rams last week, carry the backfield again if Love sits.

Two Cardinals got worse as the week went on. Backup quarterback Carson Beck (back) practiced on a limited basis Wednesday and did not practice Thursday. Cornerback Max Melton (knee) went the same way — limited Wednesday, out Thursday. 

The secondary is where it adds up. Baker and Wingard are the starting safeties and Melton starts at corner. Cornerback Garrett Williams (knee) returned to practice Thursday on a limited basis, which helps, but if Baker, Wingard and Melton all sit Sunday, Arizona’s back end is backups against Denver.

There was some good news Thursday. Offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo and linebacker Josh Sweat were full participants after rest days, tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. was full after an illness, and safety Wydett Williams was a full participant and out of the concussion protocol’s non-contact jersey. Defensive lineman Darius Robinson (back) and offensive lineman Jon Gaines II (knee) were limited after being added to the report.

Denver has its own list. Cornerback Pat Surtain II (ankle) has been limited this week, safety Talanoa Hufanga (ankle) has not practiced, and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (chest) has been limited.

Final game designations come later Friday. Kickoff Sunday is 1:05 p.m. at State Farm Stadium.

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A DC horror movie leads the new films opening Friday, with a Laika animated adventure, Jenna Ortega as a robot girl, the return of Ali G and a Helen Mirren thriller also arriving. Here is what is new in theaters this weekend.

Clayface (R)

The weekend’s biggest opener is a horror take on a Batman villain. Rising Hollywood actor Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is horribly disfigured by a crime boss, and an experimental treatment from Dr. Caitlin Corr (Naomi Ackie) restores his face — at first. Then his body turns to living clay, and his pain turns into revenge. Eddie Marsan and Max Minghella also star. James Watkins directs, and Mike Flanagan co-wrote it. It is set in the new DC universe, separate from the Batman film series.

Wildwood

Laika, the studio behind Coraline, returns with a stop-motion animated adventure. A girl sets off into the wild woods outside her home to find her kidnapped baby brother, in a world of talking animals and danger. The voice cast includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan and Mahershala Ali. This is the family pick of the weekend.

Klara and the Sun

Taika Waititi directs this science-fiction drama from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel. Jenna Ortega plays Klara, a robot girl designed to keep lonely children company, who is taken in by a heartbroken family — and tries to save them. A quiet, emotional one, aimed at adults as much as kids.

Ali G: Who Iz I? (R)

Sacha Baron Cohen brings Ali G back after 20 years. The hip-hop journalist returns to make a documentary with real people, with cameras following him for over a year as he takes classes, walks the streets and pops up on shows — often with his pregnant girlfriend in tow. Morgana Robinson and Stewart Rodeheaver co-star. Cohen directs.

Wicker

The strangest premise of the week. Olivia Colman plays a woman who orders herself a husband made of wicker, and Alexander Skarsgård plays the husband who arrives — very much alive. Peter Dinklage also stars in a darkly romantic comedy that is already one of the most talked-about oddities of the fall.

A Talent for Murder

Helen Mirren plays Patricia Highsmith, the famously difficult author of The Talented Mr. Ripley, in a chamber thriller set in Switzerland. Alden Ehrenreich plays a young literary agent sent to convince Highsmith to write one final book, and Olivia Cooke also stars.

Reviews have been strong. For anyone who wants something smaller, darker and more adult than the franchise fare, this may be the strongest choice on the board.

Fjord (R)

Cristian Mungiu directs this drama about a Romanian immigrant family living in Norway that comes under investigation and faces the full scrutiny of the local judicial system. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star. In limited release.

Also in limited release

Human, Love Language, Possible Love, Terrestrial and The Only Living Pickpocket in New York also open in limited release this weekend.

New Indian releases

Udta Teer — a spy action-comedy starring Ayushmann Khurrana as Bilal, a Pakistani spy who loses his memory in an explosion and wakes up believing he is an Indian counter-terrorism officer. Sara Ali Khan co-stars, with Gulshan Grover and Rahul Bose. Directed by Aakash Kaushik.

Tu Hai Meri Kiran — a romantic mystery thriller with Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal, with Ankit Gupta. (shown in five states not including Arizona) 

418 — a Telugu horror-mystery, opening in four languages. An 18-year-old investigates a medical college building where Room No. 418 has stayed locked and sealed for 15 years — and his grip on reality starts to blur.

Titans — a Malayalam fantasy-comedy-thriller set in Fort Kochi. An overlooked gang member and his roommate plan one final heist, until a mysterious getaway driver turns the job into something stranger. Directed by Prince Joy.

Little Thomas — a family comedy-drama set in Goa, with Gulshan Devaiah and Rasika Dugal. Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar is a Hindi romance with Alisha Chopra and Sparsh Walia. Gajab Raat stars Manoj Bajpayee and Nushrratt Bharuccha. Doosra is a sports drama built around India’s famous 2002 NatWest cricket final. Pyre is a paranormal mystery in Hindi and Malayalam, and Haiku is the week’s new Tamil release. The animated Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass also opens for families.

Theaters near you

The wide releases — Clayface, Wildwood, Klara and the Sun, Ali G: Who Iz I? and Wicker — play across the Valley, including Harkins Camelview at Fashion Square and Harkins Scottsdale 101 in Scottsdale, and AMC Dine-In Esplanade 14 in Phoenix. A Talent for Murder and Fjord are the kind of titles carried by Harkins Camelview and Alamo Drafthouse in Tempe. The Indian releases play at Pollack Tempe Cinemas and select Harkins and AMC houses around the Valley. Check your theater for Friday showtimes before you go.

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Arizona depth chart

Offense

WR — 18 Brandon Phelps, 2 R.J

Mosley

WR — 5 Giovanni Richardson, 84 Rodney Gallagher III

WR — 11 Chris Hunter III, 17 Isaiah Mizell

LT — 73 Matthew Lado, 55 Nathan Hale

LG — 59 Rhino Tapa’atoutai, 62 Javian Goo

C — 58 Zach Henning, 78 Grayson Stovall

RG — 63 Alexander Doost, 56 Sione Tohi

RT — 71 Tristan Bounds, 77 Jake Griffin or 72 Louis Akpa

QB — 1 Noah Fifita, 7 Sawyer Anderson

RB — 3 Kedrick Reescano or 24 Quincy Craig, 44 Antwan Roberts Jr

or 0 Wesley Yarbrough

TE — 14 Cole Rusk, 87 Tyler Powell

Defense

END — 3 Tre Smith, 44 Prince Williams

NOSE — 95 Leroy Palu, 51 Kaisi Lafitaga or 96 Zac Siulepa

TACKLE — 99 Mays Pese, 38 Kevin Moorer Jr

END — 42 Dominic Lolesio, 41 Julian Savaiinaea

BACKER — 7 Chase Kennedy, 16 Everett Roussaw Jr

BACKER — 6 Taye Brown, 0 Dash Fifita or 10 Myron Robinson

BACKER — 48 Cooper Blomstrom, 11 Jabari Mann

CB — 8 Jay’Vion Cole, 21 Johno Price

BEAR — 35 Quinn Olson or 13 Cam Chapa

B KAT — 23 Gavin Hunter or 17 Lee Molette III

F KAT — 15 Malcolm Hartzog Jr., 21 Johno Price

CB — 9 Tyrese Boss or 12 Dwight Bootle II

Special teams

K — 19 Michael Salgado-Medina, 98 Ian French

P — 37 Chase Ridley, 34 Carter Schwartz

LS — 43 Drew Nicolson

KOR — 20 Caleb Smith, 24 Quincy Craig

PR — 20 Caleb Smith, 84 Rodney Gallagher III

HOLD — 34 Carter Schwartz

Iowa State depth chart

Offense

QB — 1 Jaylen Raynor, 5 Connor Moberly

RB — 21 Aiden Flora, 0 Cameron Pettaway

Y — 19 Tyler Fortenberry or 37 Vince Benetti

F — 39 AJ Petersen, 41 Rylan Barnes

WR — 13 Jamal Polite Jr., 23 Carson Robbins

WR — 9 Omari Hayes, 89 Ty Claiborne

WR — 2 Cody Jackson, 83 Sam Zelenovich

LT — 79 Jake Taylor, 71 Gabriel Greenlee

LG — 78 DeAndre Carter, 65 Garret Rutledge

C — 63 Braden Smith, 52 Kingston Fotualii

RG — 72 Austin Barrett, 55 Trevor Bindel

RT — 51 Maasai King, 56 Colin Amick

Defense

DE — 88 Isaac Terrell, 91 Blake Hawkins

DT — 99 Bryson Lamb, 55 Jace Gilbert

DT — 97 Max Baloun or 0 Zaimir Hawk

DE — 98 Malaki Ta’ase, 93 Jack Janikowski

WLB — 10 Carson Willich, 31 Montreze Smith Jr

MLB — 7 Sullivan Schlimgen, 40 Landon Kalsbeck

SLB — 11 Willie Breland III, 16 Malcolm Jones

FS — 21 Duhron Goodman, 24 Brody Miller

SS — 19 Eddie Lemos, 4 Micah Harper

CB — 18 David Coffey or 5 Beni Ngoyi

CB — 3 Seth Johnson or 1 Keyon Washington

Special teams

P — 99 Jonah DuPont or 95 Ethan Gurney

PK — 97 Kyle Konrardy, 98 Adlai Lounsbury

LS — 56 Caleb Schmidt

PR — 21 Aiden Flora, 9 Omari Hayes

KR — 0 Cameron Pettaway, 21 Aiden Flora

 

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona’s season has reached its halfway point with everything in front of it: a No. 25 ranking, a four-game winning streak, homecoming at Casino Del Sol Stadium, a celebration of 100 years of “Bear Down,” and bowl eligibility one win away. Iowa State arrives Saturday as the obstacle — a 3-3 team that has already played three Top 15 opponents and leans on the most complete running back in the Big 12.

The Wildcats are 5-1 and 2-1 in the Big 12, their best start since 2014. Their only loss came by 11 points at BYU, now ranked No. 2, and they have won the four games since by an average of 20.8 points. The run put Arizona in the AP Top 25 this week for the first time this season. Both teams had last week off.

Brent Brennan is treating the record as a halftime score. “My dad used to always say nothing’s less important than the score at halftime, and that’s true,” he said during the bye week. “That’s where we’re at right now.”

Saturday is homecoming, and the program is marking 100 years of “Bear Down.” Fans are being asked to wear red. Brennan has one request of his own. “A huge focus for us this week is how do we sell out The Sol? Let’s pack that thing,” he said. “I think the 4:30 kick is awesome. Homecoming is always such a special day on every campus. 

 You got generations of Wildcats coming back to Tucson. So many people that have such a cool history or great memories of going to a college football game here and getting to relive those memories with their buddies. For us it’s all about the football in that moment in that game, but for everybody else, it’s a great event, a great experience, and that’s why we need to pack The Sol.”

The football starts with Noah Fifita. Arizona’s career leader in passing yards and touchdowns has thrown for 1,756 yards and 16 touchdowns against four interceptions this season, completing 73.3 percent of his passes — and he has done it with injuries to his top three targets. Arizona averages 306.7 passing yards a game, 10th in the country, and converts 55.6 percent of its third downs, fourth in the country.

Brennan credits the decision-making. “Not making bad decisions, not forcing the ball into situations that are going to hurt our football team,” he said. “So I give him a lot of credit.”

Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers sees the same quarterback from the other sideline. “I think they’ve got one of the best quarterbacks in the country,” Rogers said. “He’s not trying to make a ton of plays with his legs, but he surely can. I think his best attribute is his comfortableness in the pocket and how calm he is when he’s back there. Then his ability, when he does get pressure, to keep his eyes down the field. They have the length and the speed on the perimeter to separate.”

Iowa State’s answer is to keep Fifita standing on the sideline. The Cyclones have rushed for at least 100 yards in 23 straight games, the longest active streak among Power 4 teams, and  Aiden Flora is the reason. The former walk-on has 680 rushing yards at 7.56 yards a carry, second in the nation. He owns the Big 12’s two biggest rushing games this season — 212 yards against West Virginia and 194 against Bowling Green — and against West Virginia he accounted for five touchdowns, throwing two touchdown passes along the way. He is the only player in the country this season with a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown and a punt return touchdown.

“He’s a throwback dude, he does it all,” Brennan said of Flora. “He’s just a total stud. It’s really, really fun to watch him play.”

Quarterback Jaylen Raynor has engineered nine game-winning fourth-quarter drives in his career, tied for the most among active quarterbacks, but Iowa State’s passing game sits at the bottom of the Big 12, and Rogers has been direct about it. “There is no question Jaylen needs to improve his accuracy and make plays and really be an X factor in the offense,” he said. The Cyclones have also lost double-digit players for the season, including four of their top six receivers, and cornerback Beni Ngoyi — listed as an “or” starter on their depth chart is out Saturday.

Arizona’s defense allows 19.0 points a game and has 19 sacks, with the pressure coming from all over the field. End Chase Kennedy leads the team with four sacks, linebacker Taye Brown is the unit’s cornerstone, and safety Cam Chapa made 15 tackles in the win over West Virginia. The test Saturday is simple to say and hard to do: slow Flora early and make Raynor throw.

This is the eighth meeting between the schools and Iowa State’s first trip to Tucson since 1966. Arizona leads the series 4-2-1, but the Cyclones won last year’s meeting in Ames, 39-14. Iowa State has seven players from Arizona on its roster, and Rogers grew up in Chandler and graduated from Hamilton High School. The Cyclones’ most famous football alum, quarterback Brock Purdy, is from Gilbert and Perry High School.

A win makes Arizona bowl eligible in October and keeps the Wildcats in the Big 12 race into the second half of the season.   

Game information

Saturday, Oct. 24 — Iowa State (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) at No. 25 Arizona (5-1, 2-1), 4:30 p.m. MST, Casino Del Sol Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.

TV: ESPN2 — Lowell Galindo, Kirk Morrison and Dawn Davenport.

Radio: Wildcat Radio Network — Brian Jeffries, Lamont Lovett and Mackenzie Hamilton (Tucson: 1290 AM and KHYT 107.5 FM KFNX 1100 A). Iowa State: Cyclone Radio Network — John Walters, Eric Heft and Ryan Harklau.

Arizona State depth chart

The school’s published chart (Oct. 19) still lists Boley first at quarterback; Keene is expected to start Saturday.

Offense

QB — 8 Cutter Boley, 12 Mikey Keene, 2 Jake Fette

RB — 1 Kyson Brown, 6 Marquis Gillis

RB — 25 Cardae Mack, 21 Grayson Rigdon

WR — 3 Reed Harris, 7 Raiden Vines-Bright

WR — 4 Omarion Miller, 9 Cory Butler Jr

WR — 5 Derek Eusebio, 18 Jalen Moss

WR — 7 Raiden Vines-Bright, 80 Plas Johnson

TE — 85 Anthony Miller, 88 Hayden Vercher

TE — 0 AJ Ia, 87 James Giggey

LT — 76 Champ Westbrooks or 78 Luke Baklenko

LG — 59 Maki Stewart, 74 Siosaia Lapuaho

C — 58 Tana Alo-Tupuola or 64 Wade Helton

RG — 64 Wade Helton or 58 Tana Alo-Tupuola

RT — 70 Jalen Klemm, 57 Filiva’a Lokotui or 75 Jarmaine Mitchell

Defense

DE — 5 Roman Pitre or 4 Emar’rion Winston

DT — 99 C.J

Fite, 95 Jeffrey Manns

DT — 97 Blazen Lono-Wong or 92 Zac Swanson

DE — 9 Jalen Thompson, 98 Julian Hugo

LB — 3 Albert Smith III or 10 Clayton Smith

LB — 22 Owen Long, 45 Tristan Bacon

LB — 8 Martell Hughes, 13 Prayer Young-Blackgoat

CB — 0 Rodney Bimage Jr., 19 Daquwan Dunn

CB — 1 Ashton Stamps, 25 Caleb Chester

NB — 7 Montana Warren, 21 Kyan McDonald

FS — 6 Boogie Wilson or 23 Jessiah McGrew

SS — 6 Boogie Wilson or 31 Zeth Theus

Special teams

P — 35 Nick McLarty, 31 Kanyon Floyd

PK — 32 Carson Smith, 26 Carston Kieffer

LS — 43 Grayson Curtis

H — 31 Kanyon Floyd

PR — 18 Jalen Moss, 9 Cory Butler Jr

KR — 16 Jaren Hamilton, 9 Cory Butler Jr

Kansas State depth chart

Offense

QB — 2 Avery Johnson, 7 Jacob Knuth or 10 Dillon Duff

RB — 20 Rodney Fields Jr

or 4 Joe Jackson or 9 Jay Harris

TE — 86 Garrett Oakley or 0 Linkon Cure

WR — 12 Jaron Tibbs, 17 Adonis Moise

WR — 8 Brandon White, 1 Izaiah Williams

WR — 5 Josh Manning, 15 Derrick Salley Jr

LT — 72 Ryan Howard, 65 Tyler Johnson

LG — 77 Tanner Morley, 61 Chase Duarte

C — 71 Dylan Villarouel, 66 Michael Capria

RG — 79 Charlie Adams, 54 Keiton Jones

RT — 70 Gus Hawkins, 57 Delvin Morris

Defense

DE — 1 Wendell Gregory, 6 Darien Whitaker Jr

DT — 15 Kamari Burns, 88 Eli Jackson

DT — 39 Travis Bates, 76 Austin Ramsey

DE — 91 Jordan Allen, 40 Jayden Bryant

MLB — 4 Mekhi Mason, 28 Rex Van Wyhe

WLB — 35 Gabe Powers, 44 Weston Polk

NB — 21 JoJo Scott, 34 Nick McClellan

CB — 25 Zashon Rich, 32 Garrick Dixon

FS — 0 Koy Beasley or 18 Wesley Fair

SS — 10 Logan Bartley, 3 Ja’Son Prevard

CB — 7 Kaleb Patterson, 9 Donovan McIntosh

Special teams

PK — 43 Luis Rodriguez, 37 Robert Hammond III

P — 8 Simon McClannan, 29 Dylan Davidson

LS — 33 Andrew Johnson

H — 29 Dylan Davidson

PR — 8 Brandon White, 14 Max Lovett

KR — 9 Jay Harris, 6 Sterling Lockett

By Asif Malik

TEMPE, Ariz. — Mikey Keene is expected to make his first start for Arizona State on Saturday when the Sun Devils host Kansas State at Mountain America Stadium.

First reported by Matt Zenitz.

Keene takes over for Cutter Boley, who started the first six games. At Texas Tech last week, Boley was on the bench by halftime — two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and a 43-10 hole in what became a 53-25 loss. Keene played the second half and completed 25 of 34 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns.

Arizona State has not officially announced the change. Kenny Dillingham, usually open about personnel, closed the door Monday. “I’m not really going to get into that in great detail,” he said. “Like I said after the game, I got a lot of confidence in both those guys. Conference opponent, I’m not going to get into much detail about that, or any detail.”

He held the line again after Wednesday’s practice. “We’re going to wait. There’s no injury —I would never play games like that, it’s not my deal. But there’s no reason to say anything right now. Our team knows. It’s not hidden for us.”

Keene is not a typical backup. The sixth-year senior from Chandler High has thrown for 8,533 yards and 67 touchdowns across stops at UCF, Fresno State and Michigan, and he quarterbacked Fresno State to a win over ASU in 2023. After the Texas Tech game, he put the loss on the players. “We can’t just act like the week is done when we get to a game day,” Keene said. “It’s got to come from us. The coaches aren’t on the field, so ultimately it comes down to us.” Dillingham later pointed to those comments as the kind of vocal leadership this team has been missing.

Kansas State coach Collin Klein has to prepare for both Sun Devil quarterbacks. “We’re going to be prepared for both,” Klein said Monday. “Last week, they had a tough go and played a couple guys. So we’ve got to be ready for both and monitor the situation and how it goes.”

Klein has his own problem. Avery Johnson, who has started 32 straight games for the Wildcats, is listed as questionable with a sore non-throwing shoulder. Johnson came out for one play early in last week’s 35-24 win over Kansas and finished the game, but he remained questionable on the team’s Thursday availability report. If he cannot play, Kansas State turns to Jacob Knuth or Dillon Duff. Knuth has thrown three passes in his college career. Duff has never appeared in a game.

Whoever plays quarterback, Kansas State will try to run the ball. The Wildcats average 239.8 rushing yards a game, sixth in the country, at 6.23 yards a carry, and they ran for 359 yards against Kansas — the fifth-highest total in a Big 12 game in school history. Johnson leads them with 462 rushing yards at 9.1 yards a carry. Rodney Fields Jr. has 386 yards and five touchdowns, and Joe Jackson ran for 159 yards against Kansas.

That runs straight into what Dillingham says his team has lost. “I’d just say the ability to stop the run and run the ball,” he said this week. “It’s something we’ve done really well here the last two years, and we’re not stopping the run. We’re not running the ball really well. When I say that, it includes tackling, blocking, the fundamentals of the game to get you to run the ball and stop the run. We’re not doing that at a high enough level, and good football teams can stop the run and run the ball. That’s something we’ve hung our hat on, and that’s a primary thing that we’ve struggled with.”

The numbers back him up. Arizona State has allowed 40 or more points three times in six games, twice giving up more than 50.

When the Sun Devils throw it — and Keene’s history says they will — they face the best pass defense in the Power conferences. Kansas State allows 136.3 passing yards a game, third in the nation. Safety Logan Bartley leads the Wildcats with 34 tackles, and end Wendell Gregory has 9.5 tackles for loss. Arizona State’s top weapon is Reed Harris, who has 41 catches for 653 yards and eight touchdowns, but the Sun Devils have scored 25 points or fewer in four of their six games.

The loser Saturday drops to 1-3 in the Big 12 with ranked teams still ahead on the schedule. Arizona State leads the series 6-1 and is 5-0 against Kansas State in Tempe. This is the Wildcats’ first visit since 1989. The Sun Devils won 24-14 in Manhattan in 2024 in the only previous meeting as Big 12 members. Both teams have beaten Kansas this season — ASU 24-17 in London on Sept. 19, Kansas State 35-24 last week. Steve Nash also spoke to the Sun Devils at practice Wednesday, as he did around this time during the 2024 season.

Game information

Saturday, Oct. 24 — Kansas State (4-2, 1-2 Big 12) at Arizona State (3-3, 1-2), 12:45 p.m. MST, Mountain America Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.

TV: ESPN2 — Jay Alter, Tom Luginbill and Lauren Sisler.

Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM — Tim Healey, Jeff Van Raaphorst, Kevin Turner and Jeff Munn. Kansas State: K-State Sports Network — Wyatt Thompson and Stan Weber.

 

NEWARK, N.J. — The Anaheim Ducks’ slide hit five games Thursday night. Arseny Gritsyuk scored for the fourth straight game and Nico Hischier added a power-play goal in a two-goal first period, and the New Jersey Devils beat Anaheim 4-1 at Prudential Center.

New Jersey scored three of its four goals from around the blue paint, a change Jesper Bratt — who assisted on both first-period goals — said the Devils have been working on.

“When teams look at us on pre-scout, they see a lot of skill guys that want to play on the outside,” Bratt said. “For us to find a new dimension in our game, throughout all the lines, sift more pucks, get more pucks to the backside and just be there where things are happening. I think it’s been paying off.”

Tim Washe scored the lone goal for Anaheim (4-6-0), tipping in a Jackson LaCombe shot at 8:20 of the third to cut it to 2-1, before Anthony Mantha restored the two-goal lead and Jack Hughes added an empty-netter. Ville Husso made 25 saves, but the Ducks were outshot 29-17 and have lost five straight after a 4-1-0 start. Anaheim plays at Philadelphia on Saturday.  

Written by the staff of Old Town News Scottsdale

© Old Town News Scottsdale — oldtownnews.us