ASU seeks critical bounce-back this week
Sun Devils play Eastern Michigan for first time
The Arizona State Sun Devils (1-1) host MAC representative Eastern Michigan (1-1) at 8 p.m. Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools. ASU is 1-1 against MAC schools all-time after beating Kent State in 2019.
“They’re kind of like us in this sense. They play good defense the first quarter of games, think about it, their opponents have scored no points. We’ve done the same,” ASU coach Herm Edwards said. “They’re kind of slow offensively getting started, they’ve only scored seven points in two games in the first quarter, we’ve only scored six. But there’s some similarities there, when you kind of look at them play, they get going. They do a nice job defensively, they’re big and physical, they run to the football. Offensively their quarterback does a good job with the run-pass option game, they have some talented receivers, they can run the ball, they throw the ball and then they run and catch they have some big tight ends as well. Three big tight ends that are a part of the passing game, so they’re a wellrounded football team.”
Let’s take a closer look at the matchup.
3 things to look for
1. Can the ASU offensive line bounce back? The Sun Devils gave up three sacks and QB Emory Jones was pressured pretty much all night by Oklahoma State. The Sun Devils need to restore order in this one especially.
Edwards has also wanted to run the ball and that comes down to the workings up front. The left side was particularly vulnerable.
2. How will the ASU secondary fare? Wide receivers are considered one of the Eagles strengths. The ASU secondary was hard hit by graduation with the four starters in the back end departing. The players expected to fill in have some experience but it is a unit that has been hit
by some injuries so there hasn’t been much continuity there. In the fall camp position coach Aaron Fletcher was moving players around to give the team some flexibility and versatility there.
3. Can the Sun Devils improve on third downs? The Sun Devils have converted just six of 26 third down tries. That’s 23.1% and ranks ASU 128th out of 131 FBS schools. That can be overlooked when you win big as ASU did in its opener, but not when you’re on the losing end. Asked about what the Sun Devils to improve those numbers, offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson replied, “Do better on first and second downs.”
About Eastern Michigan
The Eagles are coached by Chris Creighton (ninth year, 37-57 at school, 173-103 overall). The team has won at least six games in four of his eight seasons and advanced to a bowl game in four of those. Last year the Eagles went 7-6, including a 4-4 mark in the MAC. Most projections had them fifth of six teams in the West Division despite returning 14 starters, eight of those on defense.
Star power
Taylor Powell, Sr., QB, Eastern Michigan: The 6-foot-2, 207-pounder set a personal standard, throwing for a careerbest 317 yards against Louisiana, Sept. 10, completing 31 of 50 pass attempts. This is his third school in as many years as he started his career at Missouri before playing at Troy. In two games thus far this season Powell has completed 65% (52of-80) of his passes, which ranks him first in the MAC and 47th in the nation.
Kyle Soelle, Sr., LB, Arizona State: The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder and team captain is picking up where he left off last year when he led team in tackles with 82 — 14 more than any other player. In two games the Saguaro High product has tallied 21 tackles and two interceptions. He is coming off a career-high of 16 tackles in Saturday’s loss at Oklahoma State.
Injury report
Arizona State: DE Michael Matus (knee), OL Joey Ramos (ankle) and TE Jacob Newell (leg) are out for the season. DL Gharin Stansbury (hamstring) is out and CB Ro Torrence (foot/ankle) was injured in last week’s game and is likely out. CB Timarcus Davis (knee) and DB Jordan Clark (knee) both missed the opener but returned to the fold on Saturday.
Trending
2— Players on the EMU roster who are from Arizona. They are junior wide out Darius Lassiter and senior long snapper Steve Bird (Sandra Day O’Connor). Lassiter, who hails from Chandler, has tallied 13 receptions for 97 yards in his first two games as an Eagle. Bird has started in 20 games across three seasons for the Eagles. Named a first team All-Region long snapper in 2018, Bird had a perfect 85for-85 senior season on punt, PAT, and field goal snaps.
5— Number of turnovers EMU had in the second half of its game Saturday against Louisiana. Those accounted for 28 of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ points. The five miscues were the most since EMU gave the ball back five times in a 31-23 setback to Central Michigan, Nov. 27, 2020.
17 — Number of consecutive games ASU has gone without allowing a 50+yard play, the longest active streak in the FBS.
62— Turnovers ASU has forced since 2019, 18th among all FBS teams despite playing just four games in 2020 due to COVID-19.
278— Passing yards for Sun Devil quarterback Emory Jones to reach 4,000 in his career (currently at 3,722)
492— Rushing yards for ASU’s Xazavian Valladay to reach 4,000 for his career (currently at 3,508). His 234 yards in two games has him first in the Pac-12.
Bottom line
The Sun Devils did what was expected in the first two games of the season. Now ASU should be 2-1 after non-conference play with the two toughest Pac-12 foes looming next.
Prediction
Arizona State 38, Eastern Michigan 10: The Sun Devils will spread the wealth
around with a lot of players contributing.