The Sun Devils haven't just struggled to finish their offensive drives this season; they have struggled to keep them going, with third downs being a recurring problem all season long.
This season, the Sun Devils are third-worst in the Big 12 on third down conversions, succeeding to get a first down on just 47 of their 138 attempts. They are ahead of both UCF and West Virginia, two teams that sit toward the bottom of the conference standings.
Before his season-ending injury, redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt acknowledged how important late-down conversions are.
"Fourth and third down conversions — all the sequencing, turnovers, everything that applies to the little things in the game that people don't really pay attention to," Leavitt said. "That overall makes the biggest impact."
The impact of third-down conversions has led to many of the issues the Sun Devils' offense has dealt with this season. In their three losses, ASU struggled heavily on third down. In the loss to Mississippi State, the Sun Devils were 3-14 on third down, the blowout loss to Utah saw them go 7-18 and against Houston, they went 5-15.
The Sun Devils are picking up 5.2 third-down conversions per game, yet their offense is top five in the Big 12 in first downs per game, with 22.1. ASU is managing to get the majority of its first downs on the early downs, but struggles when the pressure is on.
READ MORE: Red zones, short yardages plague ASU football in first half of regular season
When it comes to improving third downs, head coach Kenny Dillingham believes it's on the early downs using the quarterback's arm.
"Early down passing, control passing is a game-changer in football," Dillingham said. "(If) you can get really efficient at control passing, it completely changes the game."
One of the main points of offense that worked for the Sun Devils in their recent win over Iowa State was the ability to run redshirt senior Jeff Sims. The Sun Devils used the read option and run-pass option offense efficiently in the win. Sims even saw success in late downs, with his 88-yard touchdown run coming on a third down.
READ MORE: Sims sets record as injury-riddled ASU football defeats Iowa State, becomes bowl eligible
With Sims at the helm going forward, the offense has shifted more toward the quarterback run — something the redshirt senior believes he can succeed with.
"We've been practicing it all week," Sims said following the 24-19 win over the Cyclones, per Speak of the Devils. "I feel like the confidence just grew. Me being here (in my) second year of the system. I felt like that was just a big piece of what we needed to do."
With the offense struggling in this area, it's been the defense that has been strong on third down. The Sun Devils currently sit at sixth in the Big 12 in opponents' third-down conversion percentage at 34.4.
ASU's third-down defense has seen the most success in its biggest games. The Sun Devils held No. 24 TCU to 5-12 on third down, No. 7 Texas Tech to 6-16 and Iowa State to an impressive 2-14.
Two of those games, TCU and Texas Tech, were at Mountain America Stadium — something that defensive coordinator Brian Ward said gives them a massive advantage.
"We like them to start with their backs to our student section," Ward said. "Feeling that energy from that was definitely an advantage for us. I would give them the best credit, the noise they make on third down."
With the potential improvement of the offense on third downs, which has struggled all season long, combined with the strong third-down defense, there may be hope for the final games of the season.
When it comes to the continuation of success, for Dillingham, it's all about continuing to convert on the early downs.
"We have to stay in good down-and-distance," Dillingham said. "Whether it's running the ball, whether it's RPO-ing, whether it's screening, whether it's early down passing game, whatever it is. Being able to stay in good down distances is the key to being an efficient offense."
Edited by Jack McCarthy, Henry Smardo and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at niall.rosenberg@gmail.com and follow @RosenbergNiall on X.
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Niall Rosenberg is a lead Sports Reporter at the State Press. He has previously worked with sports teams such as the Rockford Rivets of the Northwoods League. He is in his 2nd semester with the State Press with the chance to cover football and other sports.
