Arizona State Vs. Utah: Sun Devils Get Chance To Respond After Loss

justin.karp — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 20:45:01 -0000

Non-conference games are all well and good. They provide fun road trips for fans, a chance to host teams from all over the country and a nice bellwether for how your team stacks up with others from around the nation.

There's a special kind of feeling, though, when those games finish up and conference business begins. On Saturday night, Arizona State and Utah will take their first steps toward competing in what's shaping up to be a hyper-competitive and crowded Pac-12 South.

On last night's edition of The Devils' Roundtable on BoldSaguaros.com, my co-blogger, Rich Gray, and I talked about how Sun Devil teams of the past have responded to adversity, both in the midst of games and after tough losses. For Todd Graham and this year's squad, they've already experienced the former, and tonight, they'll show us what they do with the latter.

Arizona State showed tremendous fightback against a tough Missouri team in a brutal road environment, especially in a situation in which Sun Devil squads of the past may have come unhinged. Down 24-7, Taylor Kelly, Marion Grice and the ASU defense raised their play to the next level. They ended up not pulling off a comeback victory, but that effort and response to adversity certainly put them in the position to do so.

That's more than we could ask for from a team that's young, inexperienced in big situations and still has a lot of maturing to do.

The maturation process now continues in a game where Arizona State will have to show the Pac-12 how they respond to tough losses, and it's not going to get any easier. Utah is brimming with confidence after an enormous home victory over arch-rival BYU last week and they bring a ton of talent to Frank Kush Field.

Inevitably, this game will be won and lost (surprise!) in the trenches, and it'll be a battle for ASU's offensive line. They're going up against what's easily the best defensive line they've faced so far this season, and potentially the best they'll battle until playing USC later this year. There's no selling short the impact that senior defensive tackle Star Lotulelei will have, but the Devils can't afford to key in on him - not when other members of that line, like Dave Kruger, Joe Kruger and Nate Fakahafua need extra attention as well.

To beat that athletic offensive line, Kelly and the flock of talented playmakers in the Sun Devil backfield will need to make quick, smart decision and hit holes as quickly as possible. Those holes, when they come, will not be open for long. Not only is Utah's defensive line huge, they're athletic, and they get into the backfield almost at will.

In an effort to combat this, look for the Sun Devils to improvise as they did during the comeback against Missouri. I continue to be impressed by the way guys like Grice and D.J. Foster make things happen with their legs (and their heads).

When the Utes have the ball, more often than not it'll be in the hands of running back John White, who's averaging more than 107 yards per game and posting 4.2 yards per carry in his two games of action. White, who's coming into Saturday after missing the Brigham Young victory while nursing an ankle injury, is getting the ball more than 25 times per game. Arizona State can't afford to key in on him, though, not with playmakers like Dres Anderson and DeVonte Christopher lurking on the edges.

In an effort to flush White and starting quarterback Jon Hays, Arizona State will likely bring added pressure from the edges and linebackers. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was impressed with the performance of true freshman right tackle Jeremiah Poutasi against the Cougars last week, and he's a hulking specimen at 6-foot-5 and 322 pounds as a babe. If ASU can apply pressure on that side, though, and perhaps take advantage of his inexperience on the road, the Devils may be able to get a leg up.

This is all moot, of course, if Arizona State reverts to bad habits and starts taking bad penalties again. Perhaps we were spoiled by the one (intentional) penalty performance the Sun Devils put up against Illinois, but bad memories of the past cropped up when the team took ill-timed penalties early and often against Missouri. Utah can be explosive enough on their own. There's no reason to help them with field position.

Saturday night serves as CTG's first chance to show how his coaching and locker room attitude differs from what we saw over the past five seasons under Dennis Erickson. It's his chance to get his squad riled up and ready to respond after a close loss.

Either way, it should be a fun one.

Previewing the Utah Utes: Part II - Defense and Special Teams

AHMB — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:00:35 -0000

As discussed in Part I of the Utah Ute preview, the switch to the Pac 12 has not been kind to Utah. Whether it is the increased competition or growing pains from the switch to Norm Chow's offense and the QB injury bug, Utah finds itself at 5-4 and 2-4 in conference.

The struggles have not been on the defensive side of the ball, however, and Utah may be playing their best defense at this point. The Utes have tallied 16 sacks in their last 4 games, and are coming off a week which they held Arizona to 21 points- the Wildcats had 21 in the first quarter against UCLA. Utah is 25th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 20.8 ppg. They are very good at rushing defense, allowing only 95.4 ypg, 10th in the nation, but they do give up 244.8 ypg through the air, which is 86th nationally.

Defensive Line

Utah's 4-3 starts with NT Star Lotulelei (Jr. 6'4, 325 lbs.). The behemoth has registered 27 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss from a position that generally doesn't tally many tackles. The JuCo transfer from Snow CC is quick off the ball for his size and requires a double team. Tevita Finau (6'4 283 lbs.) has switched from DE and will back up Lotulelei. Finau has registered 3 sacks this season in a pass rushing specialist role.

At the other DT position, one of the two Kruger's gets the start. Elder Dave Kruger (6'5, 285 lbs.) is a run plugger. He'll be backed up by another Snow CC transfer, James Aiono (Sr. 6'3, 305 lbs.).

At end, the other Kruger, Joe Kruger (6'7 270 lbs.) starts opposite Derrick Shelby (6'3 271 lbs.). Shelby has 4 sacks this season coming off an injury that ended his 2009 season. Both ends bring tremendous size to the line and allow the Utah linebackers to make a lot of tackles. They'll be backed up by Nate Fakahafua (Fr. 6'3, 220 lbs.) and Nai Fotu (Sr. 6'0, 247 lbs.).

Linebackers

The sheer size of the defensive line allows the Utah linebackers to produce a lot of tackles. Utah utilizes small, fast linebackers that can play both run defense and pass defense equally well. While their stature may not be impressive, their production is off the charts. MLB Chaz Walker (Sr. 6'0, 223 lbs.) leads the way with 76 tackles. Boo Anderson (Jr. 6'1, 240 lbs.) will back up Walker and provides additional size.

SLB Brian Blechen (So. 6'2, 230 lbs.) played SS last year. He was recruited at QB, but he has adapted very well with 51 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 2 sacks. He's backed up by Trevor Reilly (So. 6'5, 238 lbs.)

WLB/Rover Matt Martinez adds 53 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 2.5 sacks. He's backed up by former starter J.J. Williams (Sr. 6'0, 220 lbs.), a very talented LB who could see plenty of action.

Secondary

Corners Conroy Black (Sr. 6'0, 186 lbs.) and Ryan Lacy (Jr. 5'9 187 lbs.) are both extremely fast and have been making up for their lack of experience with pure speed. They both have 2 interceptions, and Lacy has been a productive tackler with 39. Reggie Topps (Jr. 5'11, 190 lbs.) is the primary NB, but Mo Lee (Jr. 6'0, 190 lbs.) will also see action.

True freshman Eric Rowe (6'1, 185 lbs.) starts at FS and has been very productive. He has 49 tackles and broken up 6 passes. He's backed up by Quade Chappuis (So. 5'11, 196 lbs.).

At SS, Utah utilizes it's linebackers to shift into rover spots often. Blechen is listed as the starter at both SS and LB spots. Michael Walker (So. 5'9 185 lbs.) plays bigger than his size, but he still is more of a coverage SS.

Special Teams

Junior kicker Coleman Peterson is 13/17 on field goal attempts and 25/26 on XP. Nick Marsh handles the kickoff duties, but has only 8/48 kickoffs for touchbacks. However, Utah has done well on kickoff coverage, allowing only 17 yards per return, but they have given up a TD.

Sean Sellwood and Nick Marsh split punting duties, and both are averaging over 40 yards per punt. Again, Utah has covered punt returns well, but have allowed a TD return.

Reggie Dunn will handle kick return duties and is averaging 25 yards per return. Griff McNabb handles punt return duties, but he has been more of a fair catch specialist.

That concludes the Utah Utes preview. Fire away with any additional comments.

SB Nation - Nate Fakahafua

Arizona State Vs. Utah: Sun Devils Get Chance To Respond After Loss

Previewing the Utah Utes: Part II - Defense and Special Teams