u/YourFriendTheFrenzy

Some perspective:

- Starting the season off against an opponent that is so overmatched that you shorten the game, followed by a trip to Kyle Field where your team maxes out in the first half and then collapses in the second, followed by an immediate flight after the game to London where you beat a Jayhawk team that outplayed you but ultimately made too many mistakes, followed by a bye week is going to leave your team in a weird place mentally. The stadium was rocking at kickoff and the vibes were good, but as soon as Harris dropped an easy catch inside the 10, it became obvious that the team didn't have its head on straight.

- Boley seems like a nice kid, but he's a golden anchor. He's got all the measurables and arm talent to be a top NFL prospect and it's pretty clear Kenny is convinced he can turn him into the next Bo Nix. The problem is, the kid has no mojo. Sure, he can make any throw on the field, but he can also miss any throw as well. The problem the coaching staff is facing is that if Boley developed, they would have had a CFP-caliber offense. Mikey Keene has a much lower ceiling, but a much higher floor and this team could still go bowling with him pulling the trigger. Then there's Fette, who has talent and appears like the potential future of the team (if those kinds of players still exist in the portal era), but going with him likely means sacrificing the season.

- I'm still processing what happened on the defensive side of things. The offense didn't help with the missed opportunities and the turnovers, but guys were running free all across the secondary and the Bears broke off multiple 60+ yard touchdown runs. Going into tonight, I had been most confident in the defense after watching them do great work against A&M and Kansas. The biggest head-scratcher is how the defense went from bad in the first half to an absolute disaster in the second half. Whatever adjustments were made at halftime only made things worse.

- At the end of the day, it's college football and college kids ride the ups and downs of life. Heck, even NFL teams struggle to perform consistently week in and week out. This was a bad night where a few early bad plays led to things snowballing and ended in a blow out. This team will probably look much better next week against Hawaii, will suffer a few more painful losses, and will probably pull off a nice upset or two along the way.

- The coaching staff has been a real strength for the program over the last few years and, much like last season when injuries derailed the season, now we'll get to see how they handle this adversity. Last season the challenge was assembling a scrappy roster after many of the stars went down. This season it looks like the challenge will figuring out the right combination and scheme to maximize the talents of a bunch of players who could be stars.

Good night y'all. Go Devils!

The AP Preseason Poll is out and ASU did not receive a single a vote.

And I am HYPED!

Maybe it's a reflection of the broader student culture (party, party, cram on the due date), but ASU always seems to play its best when its back is against the wall. When we're the underdog and have a chip on our shoulder.

If we've got to kick things off by going into a place like Kyle Field, then I'd say our best shot would be to go in as underdogs without a single vote while the Aggies are ranked in the Top 10.

Am I saying we're going to pull off the upset in Week 2?

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Yes, I am.

I'm turning 40 soon and fighting tooth-and-nail to hold my guy friend groups together.

For me, sports have always been a huge source of that social "glue" that holds everyone together with a common interest.

Unfortunately, with all the gambling, unhealthy fantasy obsessions, letting a loss affect their weekend, and everything else, a lot of the guys I know are starting to feel kind of burned out.

So I'm turning to the internet and asking—beyond the parlays and performances that people hyperfocus on—what are the genuinely good stories (players, coaches, underdogs, etc.) that people should be following this season if they want to rekindle their love of the game?

Bought the house last summer and the previous owner had half-heartedly attempted to xeriscape the back yard. When the first rains came, the weeds went crazy and we decided to rip it all out and put in a Bermude lawn. (225sq feet - it's a small backyard)

So I dig down 4-6 inches and hand-sift all the rocks out of the soil. The whole yard is baby soft. Add milorganite and a bit of top soil. Rake in the Bermuda seeds and start watering.

The first section we did germinated in about seven days and came in nice and thick.

I let it grow to about 3 inches to get established and then cut it down to about 2 inches. However, the ground isn't perfectly level and where there were bumps the grass got cut too low and died. That's understandable.

So I come back a week later with a much higher setting and only take the very tops off the blades. Even still, another few patches had started to die by the next morning. Both going through the same phases:

- Within 24 hours the small spot turns dark green and stringy (very thin blades) and falls over.

- 48 hours later the grass turns white and yellow and is flat on the ground in a circular pattern.

- Within 4 days the grass is virtually gone, leaving only dirt.

Long story short, how do y'all handle the first few mowings with new Bermuda that's still getting established?