Arizona State Sun Devils 2-1 Overall (0-0 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Georgia 20 – Arizona State 17

Next Week’s Opponent: Oregon State

In their first game against a quality opponent, Arizona State definitely showed us something; they’ve got plenty of compete in them.

Coming into the game as the nation’s top-ranked defense, the Sun Devils did not disappoint, doing an excellent job slowing down the juggernaut Georgia offense. The Bulldogs were held to only 334 yards of total offense, and Joe Cox threw two interceptions; both to Jarrell Holman, who took one of them to the house for a go-ahead score in the third quarter.

In the end, the difference ended up being one of the most explosive players in the sport in A.J. Green. He was the only Bulldog player that the Sun Devils didn’t have an answer for; and there aren’t many teams in the country that do.

Worries about the offense, especially in regards to Danny Sullivan, still remain in the wake of this game. Sullivan was only able to go 10/32 for 116 yards, a touchdown and an interception; not particularly re-assuring against a Georgia team whose defense hasn’t been all that strong this season.

On the positive side of things on offense, Dimitri Nance provided a big spark, racking up 92 rushing yards on 25 carries and 47 yards and a touchdown on four catches. His 139 total yards made up for nearly 70% of the team’s total offense (204 total yards). Kyle Williams led the receiving corps with three catches for 45 yards, and also added 51 yards on three kick returns and 29 yards on two punt returns.

The Georgia game seems to have confirmed what many of us have been assuming would be the case; Arizona State’s defense is strong enough to give them a chance to win against anyone on any given Saturday, but the offense isn’t quite there to put them over the top yet.

Moral victories are never close to as good as the real thing, but the fact that it took a blocked field goal late in the game to prevent ASU from taking the late lead and potentially pulling off the upset should re-enforce the feeling that they can compete with anyone. Dennis Erickson will have his team ready to play against Oregon State, and even with a less-than-stellar offense, there is no reason the Sun Devils shouldn’t be confident heading into conference play.