With less than three weeks until the season opener, there’s one area Kenny Dillingham wants his team to improve: the red zone.
It was the part of the offense that struggled most in the team’s scrimmage at Camp Tontozona in Payson, which is usually one of the most valuable periods of practice for Dillingham and his staff to sort out depth charts and get a bigger picture of the team.
Five red zone trips at the scrimmage resulted in five field goals.
“That was the biggest disappointment," Dillingham said following the Camp T scrimmage. "The first two times we got in the red zone, we had penalties. Then we had turnover opportunities as well. That can't happen in the red zone. The 1s just got down there and couldn't run the football as effectively as you
would like."
After taking time to watch film, Dillingham’s feelings remained the same returning to Tempe.
“Yeah, I think honestly what I said after the scrimmage was the same way I felt,” Dillingham said on Aug. 17. “If you can't get explosive plays and you can't score in the red zone, it's gonna be a long year. So you gotta be able to create explosive plays or score in the red zone.”
There were also miscues, with a bad snap derailing one drive and a penalty wiping out a touchdown catch from Cardae Mack.
Red zone execution hasn’t been an issue for the Sun Devils in fall camp. It was something that popped up in the scrimmage. Still, offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said he is "maniacal" about the fine details.
“Yeah, I put it in perspective, but at the same time, we're completely maniacal about it at that point because that's the only way we get a growth curve going, right?” Arroyo said. "You can't hold on a swing screen that walks in. Got to move our feet. A ball placement on a go ball on a fade down in the red zone versus a tight corner — I mean, the margin for error down there goes so small.”
The red zone has been a point of weakness for the Sun Devils in the past two seasons. In 2024, ASU was 118 out of 133 schools in the NCAA for red zone offense. The Sun Devils were slightly better in 2025, but not by much. ASU finished 104 out of 134 schools last year.
There are several contributing factors to the woes inside the 20-yard line, including special teams and injuries. But there’s no denying that ASU needs to improve in the red zone.
“We've still got to coach the hell out of it because it's super, super important,” Arroyo said. “It's turnovers, it's critical situations, it's red zone, touchdowns. And our guys understand that. They came up with a really good response, and they understand what we needed to get done.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State addressing this weakness ahead of season opener
