Arizona State Football: 3 overreactions from upset win at Cal in Week 5

Arizona State football went on the road for the second time this season and pulled off an upset over a ranked team. Let’s completely overreact.

For the second time this season, Herm Edwards and Arizona State hit the road and took down a ranked team in upset fashion. The first time around it was Michigan State in East Lansing and in Week 5, it was a Friday night victory over Cal in Berkeley, 24-17.

Not many expected Arizona State to come out on top, but the upset factor was there. The Sun Devils have been playing with confidence this season thanks to solid play from freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels and an improved defense.

That defense helped them upend Cal on the road, holding the Golden Bears to 17 points at home which led to them dropping from No. 15 to unranked.

Let’s overreact to the Sun Devils’ big win over the Golden Bears.

3. Defense can stop anyone in the Pac-12

Even when the offense isn’t playing well, the defense has picked up the slack. Just look at the Michigan State game in Week 3; the Sun Devils only managed 10 points and their first touchdown came in the final minutes of the game. But the defense held Michigan State to just seven points.

The Sun Devils are allowing just 14 points per game and 325 total yards which should be enough to hang with just about anyone in the Pac-12.

That doesn’t mean the defense will be able to stop anyone in the Pac-12, even though they held Cal to just 17 points and 245 total yards. The Golden Bears haven’t had the best offense this season as they’ve also been carried by their defense, so I wouldn’t put too much stock in this effort by the Sun Devils’ defense even though it is improving.