ASU needs to keep energy high vs. Utah
Graham, ASU need to prove last week wasn’t a fluke
Arizona State’s football program has been answering skeptics all season, now it’s time to see if coach Todd Graham’s gang can keep it up.
What? You thought I was going to lay off just because they beat a top-five team last week and a Top 25 team a few weeks before that? No way.
Graham has had a break from the jobsecurity talk this week. He’s earned that. But now we need to see if he can prove it wasn’t a fluke against Utah on Saturday.
The way ASU (3-3, 2-1) has picked up its play since the start of the season, and since last year, has me thinking the Sun Devils could qualify for a bowl game, and I wouldn’t have imagined that going into the year.
I’m good about saying what I see, and I’m also good about eating my words. If Graham’s gang continues this strong play, that’s exactly what I’m going to have to do.
This team has answered questions about its defense. At the end of the nonconference schedule, ASU was allowing opponents to convert on third down 55 percent of the time, last in the nation.
The Sun Devils, however, held Oregon, ranked 24th at the time, and Washington, then ranked fourth, to a combined 4-for-25 on third down.
There were questions about the pass protection. ASU’s offense gave up seven sacks against New Mexico State and five against San Diego State.
The response has been a slow build, but against the Huskies, ASU gave up just two sacks, the lowest total of the season.
“There’s a lot of things that contributed,” Graham said.
“We didn’t hold the ball,” he said, praising quarterback Manny Wilkins for quick decision-making. “We got the ball out on time . ... We protected better.
“And, I think, what we did schematically helped,” he said, a clear nod to the short passing game installed by offensive coordinator Billy Napier. ASU averaged 6 yards per pass attempt against Washington. Wilkins averages nearly 8.3 yards per attempt this season, good for No. 24 in the nation.
So, this week’s questions start here: Is ASU for real?
The Sun Devils have beaten highly ranked opponents, but those teams
hadn’t played anybody. Oregon, now 4-3, racked up a 3-0 start against Southern Utah, Wyoming and Nebraska, which is below .500 this year. Washington (6-1) had faced Rutgers, Montana, Fresno State, Colorado, Oregon State and Cal.
By contrast, Utah (4-2, 1-2), which dropped out of the Top 25 this week, is coming off close losses to Stanford and USC.
Utah presents a balanced offense, which Graham acknowledged, saying the keys to beating the Utes are “stopping the run and no cheap ones,” meaning no deep passes.
Receivers “(Darren) Carrington and (Raelon) Singleton are guys that can stretch the field,” Graham said, leaving out Utah’s second-leading pass catcher, Siaosi Wilson.
“They’re so well coached up on the offensive line, we’ve got to stop the run and just control the pass,” he said.
The next question is which run defense will show up?
Two of the best backs in college football — SDSU’s Rashaad Penny and Stanford’s Bryce Love — ripped the Sun Devils for more than 500 yards combined on the ground.
But Oregon and Washington gained only 211 rushing yards combined.
Utah’s top back Zack Moss is no slouch. He hit USC for 141 yards on the ground. Against Stanford, Moss had 80 yards on 5.3 yards per carry.
But there’s one more question: Can the Sun Devils win on the road?
It’s been more than two calendar years since ASU last won a Pac-12 game away from Tempe.
Graham said he hasn’t addressed the road losing streak with his team.
“Here’s what I talk about,” he said, playing the moment for a gag. “I tell them what my overall record was on the road in the last five years.”
It was a good line. (He’s 12-16 on the road overall and 10-13 in the Pac-12 since taking over, by the way.)
He followed up the laugh line by saying, in all seriousness, “I tell them, ‘We are 0-2 on the road. It doesn’t matter what happened last year.’”
If you’re a Sun Devils supporter, however, you should feel good. Graham’s squad has been answering questions all season.
Let’s see whether they can keep it up this week.