Since Head Coach Todd Graham and his Offensive Coordinator, Mike Norvell, landed in Tempe, the Sun Devils have come out firing in the first quarter. In fact in 29 of 40 games, ASU has scored first. The team’s record in those 29 games? 23-6.

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Last season alone, ASU scored first in eight games. Of those games, the Devils emerged victorious seven times. 

Part of that success comes from the speed of Norvell’s offense. It doesn’t take long for the Devils to put points on the board. In 2014, ASU had a total of 76 scoring drives. Fifty-five of them came under the three-minute mark, good for an impressive 72%.

Let’s take a look at the Sun Devils’ trends in the 1st quarter.

Since the start of the Graham era, the Devils have outscored their opponents 391-200 in the first quarter. What’s more, when ASU has held their opponent scoreless in Q1, they’ve surmised an 18-1 record.

In 2014, ASU gave up an average of 5.1 points against FBS teams in the first quarter, good for 36th nationally. On the flip side, the Sun Devils were 31st nationally by putting up an average of 8.0 points in the first quarter.

Lastly and most importantly, Sparky has had notable success when leading at halftime. In that scenario over these past three years, ASU has posted an impressive 24-1 record.

It’s On