Three takeaways emphasize stellar defensive effort in Big 12 win

One week after Mississippi State stunned Arizona State with a virtual walk-off 58-yard touchdown, the spotlight turned harshly onto defensive coordinator Brian Ward. The play calls were questioned, the effort from certain players was doubted, and one lingering criticism echoed loudest—why had ASU managed just a single turnover?

Two non-conference games in with only one takeaway to show, the silence was deafening. This, after a 2024 defense that ranked second in the Big 12 with 16 interceptions and six forced fumbles—a unit that had carved its identity on takeaways. Ward, however, wasn’t panicking. Instead, he pointed to the near-misses, the countless deflections, and a belief that the dam was close to breaking.

“We’ve almost tripled our tip balls from this time last year,” Ward said. “Eventually, those break through and come in waves. We just need to keep pounding the rock.”

That breakthrough arrived in back-to-back weeks. After junior defensive back Keith Abney II and junior defensive lineman CJ Fite forced key fumbles against Texas State, ASU faced its ultimate test against a disciplined Baylor team that had surrendered just one turnover through three games. The Sun Devils answered decisively: three plays in, redshirt senior DB Kyndrich Breedlove forced a fumble recovered by ASU, followed by a second fumble in the third quarter and an interception shortly after. Each takeaway fueled scores, sparking a slow-building offense and propelling ASU (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) to a hard-fought 27-24 first conference win over Baylor (2-2, 0-1 Big 12).

Despite standout players like Fite and senior defensive back Myles Rowser, ASU’s defense last season was not defined by jaw-dropping tackles. It ranked just 13th in the Big 12 in fumble recoveries. The Sun Devils had excelled in the air, generating turnovers through interceptions, but now, without Shamari Simmons, who had forced four of the team’s six fumbles, they still needed to make a bigger impact elsewhere.

This year, however, the narrative has flipped. With five forced fumbles already, including two in each of the first two games, ASU now leads the Big 12 and has shown that wreaking havoc on the ground has become a formidable trait.

That renewed aggressiveness immediately relieved pressure on a struggling offense, where every possession mattered. Sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt had thrown for just 58 yards by halftime, and junior running back Raleek Brown wasn’t breaking off the long gains he usually produces. Time and again, the defense stepped in, and they made their presence felt right away.

On just the third play against Baylor, Breedlove chased down a completed pass from senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson to senior wide receiver Josh Cameron and punched the ball free. Redshirt sophomore safety Adrian Wilson recovered, setting up an ASU field goal and igniting the defensive surge that would define the rest of the game.

“The way we practice, I feel like, you know, practice how you play,” Abney said. “We preached that at practice—running to the ball, everybody taking shots at the ball. Shout out to Breedlove. He punched the ball on the first drive, and it’s just crazy how when you practice like that every day, every day, things just come naturally.”

ASU struck again early in the third quarter. After a quick ASU punt, Robertson found Cameron once more, but Rowser chased him down and punched the ball free. Redshirt senior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu pounced on it, handing ASU prime field position and sending a clear message to the Bears: no ball carrier is safe.

“In that first three and a half quarters, we played really, really sticky man,” Head Coach Kenny Dillingham said. “We held them to 358 yards, great—three takeaways. That was good. We’ve emphasized the ball, and it’s starting to show up. We’re knocking the ball out, right? We’re punching at the ball, we’re knocking it out—game-changing plays.”

Yet even with two turnovers to Baylor’s zero, ASU had turned them into just two field goals, as the offense continued to stumble. It was clear Ward would need to keep generating those “game-changing plays” to give his team a chance at victory, especially with the score locked at a tight 13-10 late in the third quarter.

Entering the game, ASU was 11-0 when winning the turnover battle since 2024, the best mark among Power Four teams, but that streak was being tested by the Bears. The Sun Devils had stretched that run to 11 straight wins just a week earlier in game three against Texas State, when Abney forced a fumble, a rare play for a cornerback who tied for the team lead in interceptions last season. 

On Saturday, with 22 seconds left in the third quarter, Abney made his mark again, securing his first interception of the year by jumping a pass from Robertson on the right sideline. The pick returned ASU to the 37-yard line and reignited the offense.

“Earlier in the game, we were pressing a lot, and they really couldn’t get on top of us,” Abney said. “So we made an adjustment. We started playing off, and we knew those guys weren’t really going to run past us—they were just going to sit it down at the stick. I just trusted what Coach told me. Coach Ward put me in a position to make that play, and I just executed.”

Not only did turnovers put ASU in prime scoring position, but the defense also forced Baylor’s top skill players—including Robertson and sophomore running back Bryson Washington, who had led the Big 12 in passing and rushing coming into the game—to work under pressure and limit big plays.

“We just defensively knew the challenge we were going to have, knowing they were going to throw the ball a lot,” Abney said. “You know, air offense, tempo offense, and they’ve been averaging like 400 yards. I think they were one of the top passing offenses. So just accepting that challenge and knowing that we can go out here and shut these boys down.”

The game at times echoed the loss to Mississippi State, when a strong defensive effort produced no turnovers and momentum slipped away on big plays. Against Baylor, however, ASU’s defense not only created takeaways but controlled the game, forcing Baylor to play catch-up and letting the Sun Devils dictate the flow.

Just one timely turnover could have been the difference between three points—or even overtime—and giving Robertson a chance to exploit ASU’s struggling offense. Instead, Ward’s defense proved once again why it ranks among the best in the Big 12, poised not only to continue intercepting passes but also to dominate on the ground by forcing fumbles, a skill that will be crucial as the Sun Devils navigate the rest of conference play.

“We preach every week about trying to get three or more turnovers,” Abney said. “I think this was the first time we actually hit that goal, so that was good. We’re just going to try to carry that momentum forward and keep doing it.”

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