The record isn't so surprising. With two home games to start the season, one against a lower-division opponent, Arizona State had a strong chance to open 2-0.

The Sun Devils offense, however, is a different story. Nine months ago, when Todd Graham arrived from Pittsburgh, he had to replace a quarterback who went in the NFL draft's second round, three starters on the offensive line and three of ASU's top four receivers.

And yet, entering Saturday's contest at Missouri, the Sun Devils offense ranks among the nation's better, at least statistically.

"I believe in our system and what we're doing," Graham said Sunday, a day after the Sun Devils defeated Illinois 45-14. "Like I have said before, you don't fit every job that you go to, but we've been very fortunate to come into a situation where we have personnel that really fits what we're doing. I had confidence going into the season."

Through two games, ASU is seventh nationally in scoring offense (54 points per game), 17th in total offense (532) and 23rd in rushing offense (248.5). Combined, quarterbacks Taylor Kelly and Michael Eubank are 39 of 49 for 567 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, ranking ASU third nationally in passing efficiency.

But it's not so much the production but the ease with which it's produced. Consider:

ASU's offense has gone three-and-out just four times.

The Sun Devils are averaging 7.7 yards per play. A lofty comparison: High-powered Oregon is averaging 6.3. (Opponents: ASU has played Northern Arizona and Illinois. Oregon has played Arkansas State and Fresno State.)

Finally, in 67 plays Saturday, ASU faced just seven third downs, fewest in at least two years. And this was against an Illinois defense that returned eight starters.

A lot of credit goes to Kelly.

"Taylor is just ice, man," Graham said. "You don't see any reaction from him. You can tell he's very poised and has command of what he's doing. "

Still, the Sun Devils have flaws. Saturday, Cameron Marshall and Jamal Miles fumbled in the red zone, robbing them of possible points. Marshall's mishap happened on the 1-yard line on the first series of the contest. He appeared to never get a good grip on Kelly's handoff.

"We cannot do that," Graham said. "That's something that will hurt us down the line. We have not had 100 percent ball security yet, so that's the No. 1 thing we have to do to get better."

The Sun Devils allowed 231 rushing yards to a team playing without starting quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, out with an injury. Graham also saw too many missed defensive assignments Saturday. Some of that had to do with injuries.

ASU learned Friday that senior linebacker Brandon Magee couldn't play because of symptoms relating to a concussion. That forced Graham to move junior Anthony Jones to weakside linebacker, a position he had never played this year in practice. As a result, Graham spent most of the contest trying to get the Sun Devils lined up correctly.

"We really weren't prepared for (Magee's absence)," said Graham, still concerned about ASU's defensive depth. "We thought he was going to play, so ... we had a lot of missed assignments. We gave up too much in the run game and a lot of it was just missed alignments. We can clean up that stuff."

Missouri (1-1) lost its Southeastern Conference opener Saturday, falling 41-20 to No. 7 Georgia. This will be a test for ASU just because it's on the road. The past four years, the Sun Devils are 5-16 in true road games.

"We just got through Step 2," Graham said. "Now we go to Step 3, and it gets harder every week."

Rewind

Looking back at ASU's 45-14 win over Illinois on Saturday:

Key offensive player: Junior tight end Chris Coyle had 10 catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns, amassing more receiving yardage than ASU's tight ends had all of last season.

Key defensive player: Junior defensive tackle Will Sutton was disruptive all night, posting eight tackles, including three for loss.

Key number: Arizona State committed just one penalty (delay of game) for 5 yards. Through two weeks, the Sun Devils rank sixth nationally in penalty yards per game. The defense has yet to commit a penalty.

Injury report: Freshman linebacker Carlos Mendoza separated his shoulder just before halftime.