Arizona State returns to the field after a week off to take on one of the more disappointing teams in the Big 12 this season, Oklahoma State, which has lost five straight games, three by double digits.
The bye week did wonders for the team from a health standpoint, with quarterback Sam Leavitt expected back after a one-game absence.
Coach Kenny Dillingham thinks his team has gotten a bit of a spark back. He has stressed that it is best when playing with intensity and passion.
“We’re winning games when I’m having to grab people off the sideline and say, ‘Calm down. Tone it back. You can’t do that again. They’re watching it.’ You have to be the team that you say, ‘Whoa’ to, not the team that you say ‘go.’ The last game we were the team where we had to say, ‘Go, go, go.’ And today, in practice, it was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’
“And that’s the challenge this week, is I want to be the dude that says, ‘Hey, calm down a bit. You’re good.’ Not the guy that says, ‘We need more passion, more energy.’ I want the dogs who bite, not the dogs who bark, and at practice, it was more of a fall camp mentality and intensity. That’s how we got to play if we want to have a good finish to the season.”