let's be real: this is not a little wobble. This is an identity problem, and ASU football is living it out loud midway through the season. When a team is asking what kind of team it even is, the issue is bigger than one bad quarter or one unlucky bounce. It means the whole operation is still searching for a shape.

Kenny Dillingham said it himself after the 55-19 loss to Baylor on Oct. 3: he has to figure out the right recipe for this team, and he has not figured it out yet. That is the whole story right there. Not the spin. Not the noise. The truth. He also said he is still trying to get a feel for the group and figure out how to get it playing with an inspired passion, along with the right scheme. In what world does a team look settled when the head coach is still hunting for both the emotion and the blueprint at the same time?

The results back him into the corner. ASU beat Hawaii 30-12, then got rolled 53-25 by No. 8 Texas Tech on Oct. 17, and that left the Sun Devils at 3-3 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 play. That is not the profile of a team that has found its footing. That is a team still trying to decide whether it can control a game, survive a game, or simply keep the game from running away from it.

The offense is where the uncertainty gets loudest. Dillingham would not commit to a starting quarterback for Kansas State this weekend. Junior Cutter Boley started against Texas Tech, then got benched after the first half after throwing two interceptions. Sixth-year Mikey Keene came in and got the offense moving, finishing with 256 passing yards and two touchdowns. That kind of split tells you everything. The staff is still testing answers, and the answers are still testing back.

And the line? Same mess, different week. ASU gave up six sacks to Texas Tech. The backfield and offensive line have been shuffled all season. The Sun Devils have used three different centers this season, among other personnel groupings, and that kind of churn makes it hard to build continuity or establish the run game that has been a staple of the Dillingham era. You cannot pretend that is normal, and you definitely cannot pretend it is sustainable.

Dillingham said the team has to get better in a hurry after the Texas Tech loss. He is right. This is the part of the season where identity stops being a slogan and starts being a verdict. Right now, ASU is still waiting on its own answer.

— Stephen A. Spliff