How will Arizona State replace Jordyn Tyson?
The Arizona State football team has been here before.
The Sun Devils played a road game at Cincinnati without starting quarterback Sam Leavitt, and a home game vs. UCF without starting running back Cam Skattebo — who is arguably their most important player.
Now they have to face Iowa State in Saturday's Big 12 football championship game without their No. 1 wide receiver, Jordyn Tyson.
Tyson injured his shoulder in the third quarter of Arizona State's 49-7 win over Arizona last weekend and is out for the season.
"He's doing well," Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said after Wednesday's practice. "He had surgery yesterday, so he's on his road to that recovery. It was unfortunate, but we're trying to get him back by next season and hoping to go from there."
Tyson, a redshirt sophomore, was one of the best receivers in the nation the past two months. He finished the season with 75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns. In Arizona State's two biggest games of the season — on the road at then-No. 16 Kansas State and at home vs. then-No. 14 BYU - Tyson was at his best, racking up 21 receptions for 301 yards and 2 touchdowns.
So who will fill the massive void created by Tyson's absence vs. Iowa State? It will be a committee approach, according to Dillingham.
"I'm excited. We've played a game without Skatt. We've played a game without Sam. We've played a game without a lot of different guys, one-offs throughout the season," Dillingham said. "So I'm excited to see the guys step up. And, you know, we'll have to look a little bit different, obviously.
"There's some advantages in looking a little bit different because you have to give a variety of people the ball. Nobody can just replace JT. But I think those guys together and our guys as a whole, it's a great challenge."
Skattebo is ASU's second-leading receiver, and he figures to be an even bigger part of the passing game on Saturday. But the real opportunities lie with senior wide receivers Xavier Guillory and Melquan Stovall, and junior tight end Chamon Metayer. All three are experienced pass-catchers capable of putting up big numbers.
Guillory, a fifth-year senior who played his first three seasons at Idaho State, has 17 catches for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns this season. All three touchdowns have been explosive plays, including a 61-yard touchdown catch vs. BYU.
Stovall, a sixth-year senior who played his first three seasons at Nevada, has 13 catches for 162 yards this season. Metayer, a junior who played his first two seasons at Cincinnati, has 28 catches for 285 yards and 5 touchdowns.
"What definitely makes it more difficult is obviously [Tyson] demands two people to cover him," Dillingham said. "So if people don't have to demand two people then they can load the box. So you've got to find more creative ways to win those one-on-one matchups."
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.