Live it up, folks: the Sun Devil football team has an unblemished record at 4-0.
And, for the life of me, I don't know how they got there.
If someone said before the season began, "ASU will allow over 40 points twice and will struggle to take out UTSA," then I'd have good reason to think that the Sun Devils would be average through four games.
Well, they've been far better than average. Despite giving up loads of points and yards, ASU has managed to navigate though the early portion of its schedule unscathed; and in college football — where every game is so critical — that isn't something to overlook.
As ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins said after Saturday's win over Cal: "4-0."
It doesn't sound like much, but it really summarizes the young season for the Sun Devils.
While ASU is far from perfect at this point, the team has found unconventional ways to win, and it may not look pretty, but a win is a win.
Last Saturday is a perfect example of how the Sun Devils have found weird ways to the path of victory.
At the half, the Sun Devils trailed Cal 24-10. It didn't look good.
Cal quarterback Davis Webb was carving up the ASU defense like a Thanksgiving turkey. The Golden Bears also got their ground game going against a decent ASU rush defense.
The second half was a different story, as the Sun Devils scored 31 points in the fourth quarter to win capped with an onside kickoff return by linebacker DJ Calhoun.
TOUCHDOWN! @dj_calhoun returns the onside kick! #ForksUp #BeatCAL pic.twitter.com/cDb4yQNJHR
— Sun Devil Football (@FootballASU) September 25, 2016
If that's not the most random way to put a game out of reach, I don't know what is. Not a touchdown pass, not a rushing TD, not even an interception return. An onside kick return touchdown. How often does that even happen? Probably not, but ASU made it happen and it's part of the reason they are unbeaten.
Obviously, the Sun Devils can't rely on random plays like that to win games, but there is something to be said about being able to pull off wild plays.
Good football teams just find ways to win, whether it be within the original game plan or totally off script. Through the first third of their regular season, ASU has been able to do that.
Look at the UTSA game as another example.
The Sun Devils had just come off an emotional win over Texas Tech, and might have been looking past the Roadrunners to their Pac-12 opener against Cal.
ASU fell behind 28-12 in the third quarter and casually stormed back to win — albeit not pretty — but they got the job done.
That said, all that ASU has proven to me is that they won't be a total disaster like last season.
The Sun Devils may be 4-0, but I don't think they should be ranked in the AP Top 25 until they get their fifth win over USC this Saturday, as ASU is currently on the outside looking in.
To put it simply, ASU may have a perfect record, but they have yet to play a perfect game.
The defense has made timely plays, but they've given up large amount of yards and the offense has put up numbers but often come out of the gate slowly.
In addition to whatever flaws may be present, this was a team shrouded in uncertainty coming into the year. The quarterback competition dragged throughout preseason camp, and Wilkins was not even announced as the official starter until a few days before the team's opener against NAU.
Additionally, nobody knew what to expect from an offensive line that had to replace four of the five starters from last year.
It's not a surprise that ASU was picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 South before the season began — it was a bad team the previous year that was littered with question marks.
But tabbing Wilkins as the starter has worked, the offensive line has done wonders for the rushing attack — faring decently in pass protection, and the defense has been ... surviving.
Arizona State doesn't completely look like a 4-0 team. There are issues on defense that need to be fixed, but in the end they are undefeated and if the Sun Devils keep on stringing together wins, people will forget about how some of the wins may have been ugly, they'll just focus on the victories.
If the Sun Devils truly want to be labeled a contender, a road win over USC would help greatly. The Trojans have been surrounded by chaos this season as shown by their uncharacteristic 1-3 record.
But their record is a mirage. All three of their losses have been on the road to ranked opponents (Alabama, Stanford, Utah).
This upcoming game will be a test for the Sun Devils. From top to bottom, USC has more talent than the Sun Devils. In fact, ASU is a 10-point underdog to the sub .500 Trojans.
If the Sun Devils can steal a win against a desperate USC squad in Los Angeles, they would show everyone they are for real. If not, they would still have some convincing to do.
So bask in the joy of being unbeaten while you can, ASU fans, because USC is always a tough task and playing UCLA a week later won't be easy either.
Reach the columnist at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.
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