Arizona State football looking for better offense vs Baylor defense

If the Arizona State football team is to challenge in the competitive Big 12, then issues within the offense need to be cleaned up.

That won't be easy on Oct. 3, against a Baylor team that boasts a much-improved defense. The teams will square off in Big 12 play at 7:30 p.m. at Mountain America Stadium.

The game will air on ESPN.

ASU (2-1, 1-0) is coming off a 24-17 win over Kansas at Wembley Stadium in London two weeks ago. In that game, the Sun Devils managed just 228 yards of total offense, with only 95 of that coming through the air. Coach Kenny Dillingham admits he played it conservatively after opening a two-score lead in the second half. He says that is one reason quarterback Cutter Boley never settled into a rhythm.

"We have to get ourselves in a better situation advantageously on offense regardless of what we're doing and regardless of where we're at," offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said after practice on Sept. 29. "Better rhythm. Being able to spread things out. Being able to communicate better. Being able to adjust. Being able to play our base game and get ourselves through the response of maybe getting in the face a couple of times and being able to respond and come back."

Numbers bear that out. ASU isn't exactly in dire straits. The Sun Devils are averaging 426 yards of offense. That's actually almost nine yards more than they averaged in 2025. But a year ago, they were second in the Big 12 in rushing (193.6 ypg). This year they are 13th (165.7 ypg).

The passing offense is sixth in the conference (260.3).

Arroyo cautions that it is still early in the season, and the Sun Devils are working with different personnel. It's still about the growth process.

"You're trying to gel as a team early in the season, find out a lot about yourself on the road against different opponents," he said. "Find yourself in different scores, different times of the game.

"Again, we're looking at a team that's got a lot of talent, but not a lot of career starts together, so these opportunities are huge for us to be able to dive into, be honest with each other, have a lot of humility and have a lot of angst and urgency and excitement about Week 4 and being 1-0 in conference."

The Sun Devils will be challenged by a Baylor defense that leads the Big 12 in sacks and ranks second in tackles for a loss. The Bears (3-1, 1-0) are limiting their opponents to 306 yards of total offense, which includes a rushing defense allowing 97 yards per game.

Baylor's lone loss came against Auburn in the season opener, 17-16. The difference in that one was a failed two-point conversion with 9 seconds left.

The Bears are coming off a 23-13 home win over Colorado.

Baylor head coach Dave Aranda has always specialized in defense. After the team's 5-7 showing in 2025, Aranda handed defensive play-calling to new defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who came over from Kansas State.

The Bears also invested heavily on the defense over the offseason, which has paid off.

"I hate bringing up money, but that's where it starts," Aranda said when talking about his defense earlier this week. "It totally starts there. You look at the offense, and the last two years, we spent a lot of money on that offense. Right? And we're spending a lot on this defense right now. If you just follow the money, you see where things are at.

"That doesn't mean you can't play well if you're not spending, and it doesn't mean that you can't play poorly if you are spending. I think that's where you start. Knowing this is what we're spending and everything else, we're going to have to be tough. Second thing is, we're going to have to be smart. We can't hurt ourselves in these one-score games."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football looking for better offense vs Baylor defense