Early in the season, it was the defense carrying Arizona State while the offense was struggling to find its identity. Then about the time the offense started coming around, the defense started having issues.
But there is one area in which the Sun Devils have consistently excelled this season: special teams.
Shawn Slocum, ASU's special teams coordinator and associate head coach, called the Sun Devils' special teams average in 2018, a season in which they finished 7-6. He expected significant improvement this season, and that has indeed been the case in most categories.