Arizona State Sun Devils 4-3 Overall (2-2 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Stanford 33 – Arizona State 14

Next Week’s Opponent: Cal

The road to bowl eligibility got a bit hazier after Saturday’s loss, especially with the troubling fact that the defense showed signs of being human. With a relatively anemic offense, ASU has leaned hard on their defense to win them games; will they be able to do so down the stretch?

A win over Stanford would have brought the Sun Devils to five wins, which would have given them five chances to get that last win to become bowl eligible. Even if ASU couldn’t pull the upset on one of the conferences’ four currently ranked teams (Cal, USC, @Oregon, Arizona), @UCLA was looking like a fairly winnable game. Now, UCLA becomes a virtual must-win, and ASU’s defense will have to regroup and steal one from one of the big four as well.

The offense only mustered up 290 yards, and the only player that really stuck out offensively was Chris McGaha, who had 6 of ASU’s 13 receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Danny Sullivan (12/33, 143 yards) also connected with T.J. Simpson for a touchdown. The running game was somewhat effective in averaging 5.2 yards per carry, but no one back stood out, and the running game quickly became obsolete due to Stanford’s big early lead. Brock Osweiler didn’t do much in his 1/7, 18 yard day to build much excitement for a QB change, either.

We’ve come to expect the sub-par offense from the Sun Devils, but what happened to the defense? Are they finally going to start to crumble after carrying the offense on their shoulders for long? Or was it just an excellent Stanford offense just getting the job done? No matter which it was, four of the last five opponents have offenses just as strong (if not stronger), so it isn’t going to get any easier.

Hopefully it was just an off day, which is my guess; this defense has a ton of talent in the front seven, and they’ll be fine. That said, it’s a moot point if the offense can’t find a way to put points on the board.

The Cal game should be very interesting; the Bears aren’t immune to a late slip up on the road, and the Sun Devils defense might be able to attack like the Trojans and Ducks did and cause some problems for Kevin Riley. Cal’s defense is also arguably the weakest left on ASU’s schedule; so if the offense ever plans on waking up, now would be the time to do it.

Arizona State Sun Devils 4-2 Overall (2-1 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Arizona State 24 – Washington 17

Next Week’s Opponent: @Stanford

“We were trying to throw a 20-yard comeback to our outside guys and get in field-goal range. We took the tight end and Chris down the seams. I saw him (McGaha) by himself and thought that’s a hell of a play call, Dennis.”- ASU coach Dennis Erickson

The sarcasm in Dennis Erickson’s quote says it all. After all, how did Chris McGaha manage to get 15-20 yards behind the Husky defense? Certainly, Steve Sarksian and Nick Holt will take a lot of heat for the dramatic ending in Tempe, but you have to feel good for embattled quarterback Danny Sullivan. Just a few weeks ago, Sullivan was booed by the Sun Devil faithful as he exited Frank Kush Field after the Oregon State game, but on Saturday night he received thunderous applause for his game-winning 50-yard bomb with 13 seconds left to play.

Will the Devils use this win over the Huskies as a catalyst for a bowl game push? There is still plenty of work to be done, but the Devils appear to be improving each week and that is a very good sign.

The offense is starting to click in Tempe, as ASU racked up 464 yards of offense against the Dawgs. Sullivan played mistake-free, throwing for 263 yards and 1 TD on 21/35 passing. The offensive line continues to get better and better, and it was evident on Saturday as the unit paved the way for 170 yards on the ground while also giving Sullivan more time in the pocket.

Dimitri Nance ran hard on limited carries (13 car. 70 yards) and freshman Cameron Marshall flashed his explosiveness on a 75 yard run. The receivers had a fantastic game, and Kyle Williams even managed to throw a TD to T.J. Simpson (although Williams would later fumble on a sure TD at the goal line).

The defense played with the same fire and intensity that has defined the unit all year, and the night could have been better had it not been for a blown assignment on the first drive of the game (led to a Kearse TD) and the ridiculous penalties throughout the first half (Burfict was responsible for some and the officials were responsible for others). Still, the unit pressured Jake Locker all night and didn’t allow much in the running game.

Now the Devils will try to keep the momentum rolling as they head to Palo Alto for a date with an angry Stanford team. The Cardinal play as physical on offense as ASU does on D, and the battle of #7s (Gerhart vs. Burfict) should be great theater.