Sun Devils’ O-line will determine run success

Colorado defense should be better test for ASU

After reviewing Arizona State’s game against Oregon State, Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre couldn’t shake the feeling he’d just watched the Sun Devils rush for 1,000 yards.

It was 396 actually – ASU’s fourthbest rushing performance since 1996 – and a star-making night for sophomore running back Eno Benjamin, who continues to credit the offensive line for his school-record 312 yards.

Benjamin knows that the yards he gained with spins, slide steps and broken tackles are harder to come by against better defenses like the one

ASU will face Saturday at No. 22 Colorado. And that the O-line ultimately will determine whether the Sun Devils can continue to play the power, ball-control brand of football that first-year coach Herm Edwards clearly prefers.

“Linemen are a really tight bunch,” Edwards said. “They’re the smartest guys collectively as a group on any team. They stick together, they have their own little rituals how they do things, where they sit. They all understand the only way the offense can function is them playing well, and it starts with the run game.”

What ASU aspired to do with its offensive front after bringing in grad transfers Casey Tucker (from Stanford) and Roy Hemsley (USC) has mostly come true.

The Sun Devils are playing seven O-linemen – two seniors, five juniors, all with at least two starts – ranging in height from 6-foot-4 to 6-6 and weight from 285 to 330. It’s a big and experienced group that is embracing the power-run scheme. ASU has employed gap-scheme runs the past two weeks and sometimes fullback Nick Ralston or tight end Tommy Hudson for additional blocking.

ASU’s achievement against Oregon State came without starter Tucker, now at left guard, who could return from an ankle injury against Colorado. Alex Losoya filled in so well that offensive line coach Dave Christensen rated the effort “overall our best as a front all the way across.”

“The kids played hard, finished blocks, played a real physical game and hopefully that physicalness continues each and every week and they grow from that,” Christensen said. “That helped get the run game started, then obviously Eno is just a great back. Once he gets through the initial charge, he makes guys miss and breaks a lot of tackles.”

ASU now seems settled with Zach Robertson at left tackle, Cohl Cabral at center and Quinn Bailey at right tackle. If Tucker and Steve Miller can hold on to the starting guard jobs then Losoya and Hemsley are quality rotation players and injury security.

“It makes everyone compete a lot harder,” Losoya said. “We’re on each other because the lineup isn’t set every week. If you outperform the next guy, you get to play.”

ASU is seeking its first road win this season, the chances of which improve with a strong run game, Edwards believes.

“He has a lot of confidence in us, and it makes us feel good because we like running the ball,” Losoya said. “Everything we’re doing right now is working so we’re going to keep on that path and be more efficient.”

Being a pulling lineman, as opposed to a zone run scheme, “makes you more physical,” Losoya said. Robertson agrees and said cohesion with Benjamin and other running backs is improved because the two position groups are meeting together on Tuesday.

“It puts the offense on our back,” Robertson said. “It gives us little bit more pressure to succeed. We know we’re all older know and have a lot of experience. We know in the past we haven’t played very good. We watch the film, and it’s almost like night and day sometimes. Now we’ve gotten the run game established and we know what kind of team we are going forward, Coach Herm making that public lets us know how trusts us and that he counts on us to get it done.”

Against Colorado, like at No. 10 Washington two weeks ago, ASU wants to play keep away from an offense that is No. 20 nationally. The Buffs feature a dualthreat quarterback (Steven Montez), the nation’s leading receiver (Laviska Shenault) and a running back (Travon McMillan) averaging almost 100 yards per game.

The Sun Devils won last year’s meeting 41-30 but only after trailing 27-17 at the end of the third quarter. In their last trip to Boulder during the 2016 season, they lost 40-16 when quarterback Manny Wilkins tried to play through a leg injury and ASU managed just 190 yards total offense.

“They’re off to a hot start, they’re rolling and feeling good about themselves,” said Wilkins, now a senior who was recruited by McIntyre at Colorado. “Any time you go into another team’s stadium, it can be difficult especially when the fans are into it.

“The plays that matter are the plays that when they happen at the time doesn’t look like they matter. Missing shots downfield that could potentially give you momentum, getting a tackle for loss and now you’re second and 13 early in the game. If you get those plays and you get rolling early, that could be the difference at the end of it.”

ASU will again be without linebacker Jay Jay Wilson (ankle), who did not practice this week. Safety Dasmond Tautalatasi (elbow) practiced without contact and his availability will be a game-time decision.

Linebacker Tyler Johnson and defensive linemen Darius Slade and Jermayne Lole could be in for larger roles going forward particularly as the Sun Devils look to improve on their run defense.