Colorado State · W 31-14
6 tackles, 0.5 for loss
The other 7 games average 8 tackles. This one was 2 below.
5 stories in the last 30 days, from 6 outlets.
Utah State’s Asher Cunningham Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Cache Valley Daily +1 Oct 13
Asher Cunningham
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. On tape: 17 tackles and 2 tackles for loss against Washington State, Week 6, 2026.
64 tackles · 2.5 sacks
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
64 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 7.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 6 outlets
Utah State’s Asher Cunningham Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Cache Valley Daily +1 Oct 13 · 2 outlets
Utah State University Athletics +1Asher Cunningham Named Walter Camp Foundation National Defensive Player of the WeekOct 13
Yahoo SportsLaNorris Sellers, Asher Cunningham earn major award after Week 6Oct 13from 6 outlets
Utah State’s Asher Cunningham Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Cache Valley Daily +1 Oct 13 · 2 outlets
Utah State University Athletics +1Asher Cunningham Named Walter Camp Foundation National Defensive Player of the WeekOct 13Yahoo SportsLaNorris Sellers, Asher Cunningham earn major award after Week 6Oct 13Each week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Utah State | 64 | 26 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 1 |
| Career | 64 | 26 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 6 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 17-29vs Idaho State | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 14-16@ No. 19 Washington | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 0-33@ No. 17 Utah | 9 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 21-10vs Troy | 6 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 18-37@ No. 22 Boise State | 11 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 17-16vs Washington State | 17 | 7 | 2.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 17 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 17-20@ Texas State | 7 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-14vs Colorado State | 6 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 64 | 26 | 7.5 | 2.5 | — | 1 |
Oct. 31 · W 31-14 vs Colorado State, play by play
6 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 6, sacks included.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 7 tackles for loss, 2 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Utah State’s defense played that day
Colorado State’s 8 drives: 6 stopped (2 takeaways) · 2 scored.
7 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 8-yard loss. Second quarter, up 9-7.
17 tackles, including 2 more for loss. The fumble he forced on 3rd and 3 ended Washington State’s drive (fumble).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 14 of his 17, sacks included.
Forced a fumble on 3rd and 3. Third quarter, down 16-3. Ended Washington State’s drive (fumble).
Sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss on 3rd and 4. Third quarter, down 16-10.
Forced a fumble on 3rd and 11. Fourth quarter, down 16-10. Ended Washington State’s drive (fumble).
11 tackles. The fumble he forced ended Boise State’s drive (fumble).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 10 of his 11, sacks included.
Forced a fumble. Fourth quarter, down 31-10. Ended Boise State’s drive (fumble).
6 tackles, including 1 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 4 of his 6, sacks included.
9 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
3 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 7-yard loss. Third quarter, down 10-7.
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -14 to +18 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
64tackles this seasonTFL rate
12%8 TFLSack rate
4%2 sacksPD rate
2%1 pass breakups64 tackles · 7.5 for loss · 2.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 8.5 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 7.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 8.5 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 6.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bronco Mendenhall
Pass share
49.5%
260 pass / 265 run
Plays / game
65.6
8 games
Team sack rate
7.7%
286 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
64 tackles in 8 games, more tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 is in progress.
