SB Nation - Kyle Williams

Ranking the 2009 Pac-10 Football MVPs: Part I

Avinash — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:00:29 -0000

Mike Mohamed had some big plays this season. Was it enough to be a Pac-10 MVP?

In case you missed it, here's Part 1: the LVPs of their respective teams.

This post got too long, so I had to split it into three. Here are the honorable mention categories and the Pac-10 players and units ranked #30 thru #21 (#20-11 coming this afternoon, #10-1 coming Friday morning). Let's dive into it.

Honorable Mention

Jeff Locke, Reid Forrest: You know your team's in trouble when your punters are higher than anyone on your offense. And in Forrest's case, you know your team is royally fucked when your punter is the only one on your team who appears on this list.

Donald Butler: Didn't really do anything spectacular this year, but 96 tackles will get you on this list.

Daniel Te'o-Nesheim: So will 9.5 sacks and 12.5 TFL. Too bad the Huskies defense ranged from 'sheer brilliance' to 'human atrocity'

Ed Dickson: I'll be nice as possible about this--FUCK ED DICKSON. AGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.

Damola Adeniji: Despite all the production of James Rodgers, he wasn't Canfield's main target on 3rd down. Probably because secondaries keyed in on Rodgers, Adeniji racked up 27 catches in that situation, 21 for first downs, 5th in the country. Only 49 catches overall, but considering he only had 1 last season, I'll say this is a slight upgrade.

Chris Polk: Finished this season on a tear: Five ninety+ yard games and a 1000 yard season overall. Hard to measure his impact though, since the Huskies lost three of those games and Locker and the defense were the focal points of the other two.

Trojan offensive line: Lost season for these guys. 17 sacks allowed, 40 tackles for loss allowed, only a top 40 rushing offense. Ho-hum for them. I would've dreamed of something like this for the Bears.

Mike Mohamed: Cal's most productive defensive player on a not-so-great defensive unit. You have to give massive props for a 100 tackle season (his 104 tackles were tops in the Pac-10). And he saved another Cal season from sliding into disaster with a crucial interception in the Big Game.

Kyle Williams, Dmitri Nance: Solid production considering their quarterback struggled to complete half of his passes. Plus I feel bad for Williams ending his career like that.

Syd'Quan Thompson: If Cal had ONE guy (Hagan, Hill, Nnabuife, Conte, Rope Guy, someone) step up at corner on the other side of the field, who knows how our season turns out. We sure as hell don't get lit up by Oregon, USC or UDub on defense (Syd's limited ability in the final game pretty much assured we were screwed against Locker).

He was still a fabulous open field tackler when he got the chance, and when quarterbacks threw to his side of the field, he usually shut down. Like Asomugha in Oakland, that kind of effort only gets rewarded with first team All Pac-10, and minimal impact on the box score. So while his talent is easy enough to gauge, it's really hard to measure his value. Which is why he's honorable mention and not on the top 30.

After the jump, here's #30-21. If there are any thoughts of players or units left off, or guesses as to who will end up in the top 20, leave them in the comments.

#30 Damian Williams, #29 Joe McKnight

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These two are actually the first since Bush and White to break 100+ all-purpose yards a game since Bush and Leinart. Solid seasons, but other than McKnight on the final drive against Ohio State and Williams tearing up Notre Dame, how many moments do you remember concerning these two? That kind of year for the Trojans. It's up in the air whether either will return too.

#28 Ryan Whalen

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6th in the Pac-10 in receptions, turned into Luck's best passing threat when Owusu went Section Eight in the biggest games. Thought about ranking him higher, but I don't have any Whalen moments to really justify putting him further up. Perhaps the Cardinal fans can refresh my memory...oh, wait, there are no Cardinal fans. #28 it is.

#27 Arizona's receiving corps (Turner, Criner, Roberts, Dean, Douglas)

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Five guys with 30 catches or more? Now that's spreading the wealth around. By contrast, Cal had only one receiver (Jones) catch more than 30. Obviously, Cal isn't built to be a passing offense, but still, this is a far cry from two-three years ago. Sigh.

#26 UCLA's secondary

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I know Rahim Moore led the nation in picks, and Alterraun Verner had another fine year--but how good are these guys? Other than shutting down Jonathan Crompton and whoever the hell Kansas State's quarterback is, the Bruins pass D has been surprisingly average. Even Kevin Riley burned them deep. I repeat, KEVIN RILEY BURNED THEM DEEP. Does this happen to good secondaries?

Oh well...at least Moore is capable of that "deep, longing, alluring, penetrating, soul-piercing, heart-tugging look".

#25 Tyson Alualu

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Kind of hard to say how bad the Bears defense would've been without Alualu cracking apart the line. His efforts alone helped shut down Minnesota's passing game in a tight 4th quarter. Extra linemen often were forced to commit to him, and it opened up the rest of the front to get after Arizona and the Furd's high powered offensive attack.

Unfortunately, he never really had a Mebane-like force on the line--he couldn't really disrupt the passing attacks the way his predecessors did How much of that was dictated by scheme or by his own pass rush methods is beyond my knowledge, but Cal's pass rush was far weaker than anticipated, far weaker than the 27 sacks they put up this year.

Still a great season for Tice though--Cal's run defense was top-tier, and a lot of that had to do with #44.

(Story that really depressed me this week: Bear Insider's look at how close Ndamukong Suh came to being a Golden Bear. Imagine Alualu and Suh coming together in the 3-4 the last two seasons, particularly last year. I'm getting bummed out now.)

#24 Jahvid Best

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For a guy who was supposed to be a Heisman hopeful, it's shocking to see Best not even crack the top 20. But that's how it is in a frustrating season for Jahvid, whose season seemed to peak in Minneapolis. Still had some spectacular runs, but running behind the crappiest offensive line in the Tedford era, it could've been way, way better.

#23 Chris Owusu

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A menace for us, and a big game-changer for the Furd, having huge returns on almost every opponent this year. Surprisingly (and stupidly), everyone in the Pac-10 continued to kick to Owusu long after he demonstrated he would outrace their coverage to the end zone. The Furd ranked 3rd in the country in kickoff returns, mostly due to Owusu's skills.

He gets bumped down a bit because if he could just hang onto a few passes (he dropped big catches in EVERY conference loss), the Furd are going to Pasadena.

#22 Kai Forbath

via tnjn.com

Laugh all you want that a kicker cracks the top 25. When a Bruins fan describes him as your most consistent player...well, that says a lot.

Take a look at the games Forbath swung this season.
~13 of UCLA's 19 points in a 4 point win over the Vols in Rocky Top
~11 of UCLA's 23 points in a 10 point win over the Sun Devils
~6 of UCLA's 24 points in a 1 point win over the Huskies
~11 of UCLA's 23 points in a 14 point win over K-State.

Add in these stats
~26 field goals, second most in the country behind Alabama's Tiffin
~99th scoring offense in the country

Not hard to say Forbath was UCLA's offensive MVP this season, isn't it? Switch Forbath with an average kicker and the Bruins win four games? Three?

#21 Shane Vereen

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(Image from dmo580)

Surprisingly had more impressive performances than Best this season, cementing away a Cal victory in Pasadena and being the workload in two upsets over the Wildcats and the Cardinal. Best racked up big numbers against two of the worst teams in the country and an FCS opponent, managing only one great game this season against a bowl-eligible team. Although Best ended up with more rushing yards, Vereen had more all-purpose yards thanks to his kickoff returns and his own pass-catching abilities. Most importantly, when the offensive line collapsed, Vereen had more of the elusiveness to slip away from encroaching defenders.

Best might be the better talent, but Vereen was the more valuable Bear for this Cal squad...but only by a little.

Coming this afternoon: #20-11.

Who Were the Worst Performers in the Pac-10 in 2009?

Avinash — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:30:02 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Meet the Pac-10 MVP of interceptions!

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It's always hard to measure the value of good teams in football. It almost always starts with a good quarterback, followed closely behind by an offensive line and a running back. Then you want a strong front seven, with receivers and secondary coming somewhere after that. You can build a good team around the front four, a great one with everything else coming together

So in determining a football MVP (or I guess for college football, Heisman), we're looking at people from the first three or four categories strongly. In the next two days we'll start counting down the best players and o-line/defensive units in the conference to try and figure out who deserves to be the Pac-10's most valuable player

That's right, instead of doing a national college football consensus (which would be tedious and terrifying), let's go with what we know well. This is all Pac-10.

Because most of us are sick inside, we'll start with the worst Pac-10 performers. What player or unit (offensive line, particular aspect of defense, coach, other thing, etc.) do you feel played the worst this season? Did I leave anyone off that requires mention? Discuss in the comments!

USC--Matt Barkley

Wait a second. Didn't Barkley just beat Ohio State in the Horseshoe? Nothing can stop him now! He's on his way to college football greatness!

Anyway, it seems like Carroll's petty anger at Mark Sanchez was a bad sign of things to come. I'm not saying that Sanchez could've saved USC from the avalanche at Autzen, but he should've outdueled Luck and Foles with essentially the same offense from last year. It would've been a B- version of the 2005 team, all offense and average defense. And they'd probably have ended up in Tempe.

If Sanchez was like an ice cream sundae at Fenton's (a little bad here and there, but still a tasty ride the whole way), Barkley was like a strawberry cream pie shake at Sonic's (tantalizing at first taste, but man would it make you sick down the road). He threw the most interceptions in the Pac-10, more than Sullivan, Prince, and any of the Wazzu troupe. His four turnovers in the Cardinal romp led to 28 Furd points, and he threw another killer pick against Arizona that led to what turned out to be a crucial seven points for the Wildcats. His 4th quarter stats were abominable--50% completion rate, one touchdown, SEVEN interceptions, 83 passer rating, which is good for 117th in the country, only about a drop of about a hundred in the rankings from the season before. His most memorable touchdown throw of the year was only meaningful in the sense that UCLA's defense will be headhunting him in eleven months.

Add in these continuing rumors from Thoroughbred that many of his teammates despise him, and all is not well at Heritage Hall for the first time in...well, a decade. The rest of the Pac-10 couldn't be more delighted.

Note: Thought about the Trojan run defense here, but come on, those guys got DECIMATED (entire front seven gone, plus another four or five guys injured). They had no chance against the Quack Attack or the power run game of the Furd.

UCLA--The entire Bruin offense

via cache.daylife.com

Man, it was brutal watching these guys this year.

Some more fun stats:

There were four teams in the Pac-10 (Oregon, Arizona, USC, Cal) who had two rushers that ran for more than UCLA's leading rusher (Johnathan Franklin)
The Bruins leading man in yards for scrimmage was Nelson Rosario, who finished 19th overall. There were seven teams in the Pac-10 with two or more players with more yards from scrimmage, and four (Furd, Oregon State, Arizona St., Oregon) with three.
Navy threw the ball 96 times this year, Army 161 (http://www.cfbstats.com/2009/leader/national/team/offense/split01/category02/sort06.html), Kevin Prince 267. Navy and Army scored 5 touchdowns apiece on those passes. Prince scored 6. Somewhere Norm Chow is wringing his neck (could be either Prince's neck or his own).
The USC game perfectly encapsulates UCLA's offensive abilities: To prevent from being shutout by their crosstown rivals, the Bruins needed a 13 play, 65 yard, five and a half minute drive that included two fourth down conversions, and two forced fumbles.
Bruins fans are actually calling on Kevin Craft for the bowl game. Yes, THAT Kevin Craft. (Okay, they only want him to start because he wasn't happy at playing hookie, but still). You know your offense is in desperate straits when your fans are ACTIVELY CALLING for Kevin Craft.

Furd--The ENTIRE CARDINAL DEFENSE

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Exactly the same thing we did for UCLA. Let's just rattle off the numbers...

A few examples of their defensive fails:

Their defense never forced a fourth down in the first half at Corvallis; five times Oregon State got the ball, five times they marched down the field and put points on the board, 31 in all.
The Cardinal surrendered not one, but two 40+ yard rushing touchdowns to Arizona to blow a two score lead in the 4th quarter, the last one on a 50+ yard scamper by Nwoko on THIRD AND SEVENTEEN.
The Cardinal took a 14-0 lead on the Bears with 6 minutes left in the first quarter; Cal responded by holding onto the ball for 35 of the final 50 minutes, including ripping off 24 unanswered points and scoring on five of their next six drives.

Perfect example of their horrid season came against Notre Dame. Toby Gerhart rushed in the go-ahead touchdown with a minute left in a tied game against an awful Irish defense, and Harbaugh looks about as pleased as Michael Corleone finding out Kay had an abortion. Why? The Cardinal could have kneeled down three times and kicked a chip shot extra point-type field goal at the buzzer to win. The touchdown put the Cardinal defense back on the field against Jimmy Clausen. Sure enough, after getting pinned at their own ten, in TWENTY SECONDS the Irish are at the Cardinal 24 and nearly pull a win out of their asses. All thanks to the Cardinal's hideous defense.

Yeesh. Maybe Gerhart did deserve the Heisman. But we'll get to the MVP candidates soon enough.

Oregon State's September swoon

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This isn't really a unit fail as opposed to a team fail; the Beavers suck in September EVERY SINGLE YEAR. They could never get going against Cincinnati even though they were at home. They allowed Nick Foles in his starting debut in Corvallis to complete 74% of his passes at 7.5 YPA with 3 touchdowns and no picks. And they needed a last second Kahut field goal to beat a 5-7 UNLV squad. And these guys plan to play TCU in Dallas and Boise in the Smurf Turf next September?

Cal's pass defense not named Syd'Quan Thompson

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108th in passing yards given up; 103rd in completion percentage; 81st in passer rating. The Bears dropped from 3rd in the country in INTs to 71st, from 1st in the country in passes defended to 47th. So let's say they regressed a little.

(You might say the offensive line deserves this...but Cal still ranked top 40 in rushing yards per game and top 25 in yards per attempt. You might even say the special teams, but they didn't have as much impact as our defense, plus their general incompetence over the past half-decade deserves its own post. A lot of that had to do with Best and Vereen, but that's still only a mediocre unit, not an awful one. Nothing hurt the Bears more in 2009 than their pass defense...the offensive line just exacerbated the situation.)

Washington--Nick Holt

This one's hard to say. Holt's defense was much improved from last year, especially in the run game. USC, Cal, Wazzu, Arizona all fell. On the other hand...his defense still got ripped apart by the Oregon schools and the Furd. They weren't that bad, but they weren't that good either, so it's hard to call them the worst. So I'll go with the easy to hate Holt here.

Ultimately though, Holt's defense still provided us with the most comical college football moment of 2009, which could've been the difference between Locker and his first bowl game...

Arizona State

Only four games into the season, Pitchfork Nation wrote an open letter to his beleaguered starting QB withdrawing his support.

I retract anything positive I said about Danny Sullivan. Not only are you not physically talented enough to start for a Pac-10 team, but as you proved last night, you’re what we call in my family a "mental midget."

..

Instead, you exhibited the same physical problems we saw in each of the Sun Devils first three games. You sailed balls, you completely missed wide open receivers and left your pass catchers out to dry with several horribly thrown balls. Your most accurate pass was one you threw away in the 3rd quarter that perfectly nailed the "C" on the Muscle Milk sign on the side of the east bleachers.

Well, that sucks.

The numbers don't get much better for Sullivan: He never threw better than 56% in any quarter, he threw well on 1st down but didn't make much of a dent otherwise, and he generally struggled with everything. He hit 60% completions in only three of his games, all against bad pass Ds (Cal, Furd, Oregon State). For God's sake, he struggled against Wazzu. Shouldn't there be a shaming list for athletes who struggle against Wazzu?

And it wasn't like he was throwing to turds out there; both Kyle Williams and Chris McGaha notched 57 catches, and Dmitri Nance was a capable runner. No, it looks like most of the wounds were self-inflicted.

Wazzu--Everyone?

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I'll save those poor Cougar fans an explanation; I really don't want to go over this hundred car pile-up, and they've suffered enough. At least they have Klay Thompson.

Oregon: LeGarrette Blount?

via www1.pictures.zimbio.com

He's probably the Ducks Least Valuable Player. I'm not happy stating it since the dude got a huge punishment for a totally surreal moment, but he redeemed himself, so that's always good.

But I put a question mark there...because for not-so-obvious reasons, you could make the case that he's the unintentional Pac-10 MVP. Why?

1) The Punch changed the whole Oregon running dynamic. For nearly a month Oregon struggled to get past the rust, but slowly things started to click and their offense got back in sync for the Utah game; once James and Masoli started operating in tandem the Quack Attack began rolling.

So...does Oregon win close games versus Purdue and Utah if Blount is in the backfield? Do the Ducks slow the pace down against Cal, USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State instead of attacking, attacking, attacking? Does James get going at all? Does Barner break out as a pure speed demon? Would Oregon have gone 10-2 without the Punch? I doubt it. In a strange way, Blount's actions made his team BETTER in the long run--the Ducks were able to play that fast up-tempo offense that Kelly relished, and they blew through the Pac-10 relatively unscathed.

(I will always believe that if the Bears had played Blount and Masoli that we could've snuck that game out--not necessarily won, but the opportunity would've been there. We could've bottled up Blount the way we held Gerhart in check, play deliberate 3-4 football and wait for Blount to find the hole before matching him at the line of scrimmage. Of course, we still wouldn't have been able to defend Ed Dickson, but at least it's a step up from defending no one.)

2) The media hatefest gave the Ducks an 'us against the world' mentality. You can't underestimate the power of ESPN and the Internet on these guys--when Oregon became the dominant storyline of the opening college football weekend, when they heard about how they stunk and that their coach should be fired...it's not implausible they didn't rally around the hate and use it to fuel their overall mission. It's hard for me to say that Chip Kelly didn't use that to motivate the Ducks to play better, execute better, keep the pace going; they only let down once (the Cardinal), rolled everyone else and delivered in what amounted to Rose Bowl quarter and semifinals against Arizona and Oregon State.

If it had just been an awful loss the Ducks would've been forgotten by the national media--the Punch gave it the attention, gave Oregon the fire they needed to run through the rest of the season. It was the perfect black swan event. Everything went wrong on the first day of the season, and the Ducks spent the next three months trying to prove that it was an aberration. Didn't do too shabby, did they?

Of course, you could say he would've been theoretically least valuable; were the Ducks a better team if Blount wasn't playing? We'll never totally know, but the fact they barely missed a beat without him says a lot. They probably beat the Furd with him, but do they blow out USC, Cal, Arizona State, Washington and UCLA? I'm not so sure about that.

So Blount gets his team's LVP...only because the rest of the Ducks played like MVPs the rest of the year. For some reason, I feel he won't mind it that much.

Tomorrow: Pac-10 MVP honorable mentions

First Half Recap, California @ ASU; Second Half GameThread

Cory Williams — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:13:30 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

We need more McGaha in this half.

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After a quarter of unmentionable play, the Sun Devils were down 14-0, with Danny Sullivan sporting an obscene 2-6 passing line for 10 yards.

As the quarter turned, the Devils came alive on offense, and a tag team of Sullivan, Gerrell Robinson and Ryan Bass delivered the ball inside the 5 within 3 minutes.

Coach Erickson went with redshirt sophomore Samson Szakacsy to hand the ball off within the 2, but Bass immediately fumbled and lost the ball to the hands of the Golden Bear defense.

This was seemingly the final spurt from the Sun Devils, who could feel their record slipping back to .500 on the year. But the defense would not have any of that, with a fumble recovery by Vontaze Burfict on the 3-yard line bringing ASU right back into the game.

Szakacsy then rolled out to his left and hit Jovon Williams for a TD on his first career pass attempt. It was also Williams' first career TD reception.

ASU's defense on the ensuing drive, however, was unable to refrain from catching the penalty bug once again, with a personal foul and an offsides call giving the Bears great field position.

On the next play, the Devils got a 15-yard facemask penalty, putting the ball at the ASU 23.

Despite ASU's best attempts to lose, a quick missed field goal by Cal was turned around for an 80-yard touchdown pass from Danny Sullivan to Kyle Williams.

Want to find out what else happened, and comment on the second half? More after the jump...

This type of QB competitiveness between Szakacsy and Sullivan is exactly what the Sun Devils needed. One is a young, fleet-footed Californian, while the other is an older, slow-footed... Californian.

After a terrible drive by Cal, Anger punted the ball out at the ASU 1-yard line. The running game of ASU game through, and got them a first down.

Immediately thereafter, Sullivan threw a bomb and is intercepted for a 38-yard run back to the ASU 32-yard line.

3^rd and 5 with 1:13 to go; California is located on the ASU 12, attempting to get a first down. Riley was nearly sacked several times, but completed a pass to his WR Ross for a 4-yard gain. The Bears successfully converted a field goal this time to take a 17-14 lead.

With one minute left, Jamal Miles ran back the kickoff to the ASU 41, where two short completions later, the Sun Devils found themselves on the Cal 38 with :33 to go.

After a fumble on the next play by Danny Sullivan and an incomplete pass to Kyle Williams, the Devils punted to run out the half.

Two quarters down, California 17, ASU 14. Interesting game so far. Lets discuss the second half right here.

Poll

Who is your ASU QB of choice?

Danny Sullivan

7 votes

Samson Szakacsy

14 votes

Brock Osweiler

6 votes

27 votes | Poll has closed

College Football Halloween Morning Open Thread

Avinash — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:00:24 -0000

via 3.bp.blogspot.com

Saturday Morning Bears. In case you've been spending the entire week deliberating on your Halloween costume, here's the Cal-ASU news that you should be ready for this week.

Darian Hagan was suspended for missing a class. Josh Hill will take his place. Marc Anthony and Charles Amadi will also be ready just in case, Amadi could see snaps.
Derrick Hill and Matt Summers-Gavin are out with shoulder injuries. Kendrick Payne or Aaron Tipoti (Chronicle is saying Tipoti) takes Hill's place, Boskovich and Fisher will split snaps in replacing Summers-Gavin.
Sean Cattouse will be starting over Marcus Ezeff; Ezeff will still play.
Although this is homecoming, expected attendance at Sun Devil Stadium is around 46k, well short of the 53,000+ that showed up for the Washington night game. And you didn't think the start time would make a difference.
As for ASU injuries, receiver Kyle Williams will be returning for the Sun Devils after missing last week's game at the Furd. He also spots as their punt returner.
ASU is missing their starting center Altieri though, so that hopefully cancels out the loss of HIll. Garth Gerhart will shift from right guard and handle snap duties. Tom Njunge will also replace the starter against the Furd, Matt Hustad, at right tackle.
ASU Cornerback Omar Bolden is out, and wide receiver Kerry Taylor is questionable.

After the jump, sample the early morning slate before our game.

The ghosts are out, and they've blessed us this morning with a fantastic slate of games.

Noon PM EST/9 AM PST
Indiana at Iowa, ESPN
Purdue at Wisconsin, ESPN2
Cincinnati at Syracuse, ESPNU

12:21 PM EST/9:21 AM PST
Ole Miss at Auburn, SEC TV/CSN California

12:30 PM EST/9:30 AM EST
Nebraska at Baylor, Versus HD

1:30 PM EST/10:30 AM EST
Missouri at Colorado, FSN HD/CSN Bay Area

Oh. Um.

Well, at least Gameday's in Autzen! Enjoy that as we get set for our rumble in Tempe (pregame/1st quarter thread should be up 45 minutes before kickoff).

Poll

My current state is...

Excited

24 votes

Disinterested

4 votes

Calm

15 votes

Scared

10 votes

Drunk

8 votes

61 votes | Poll has closed

ASU Wins a Thriller Against Washington, 24-17

Cory Williams — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:32:30 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

That's what I am talking about!

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WOW.

That is all I can say about last night's epic battle between the Sun Devils and the Huskies. I have never seen such a hard fought game between evenly matched teams.

ASU received a huge boost from the 53,219 fans in attendance (many of which were family members of ASU students, seeing as it is family weekend here in the desert).

A lot of great things happened last night for ASU fans. The playcalling received a shot in the arm, and the trickery was just what our stagnant offense needed to get back on track.

Kyle Williams, despite fumbling out the end zone later in the game, earns a gold star for his well placed touchdown bomb to TJ Simpson, who has quickly become a bigger part of this Sun Devil offense.

Who else deserves credit for their performances last night?

Dimitri Nance: I am not the only one who wrote off Dimitri Nance after his abysmal 2008 campaign. Since then, he has rebuilt his image and rejuvenated our faith in him. Nance appears quicker, and is showing better instincts. He was hyped to be the thunder in 2008, but this year he has actually delivered, running hard into the open holes and picking up 70 yards on 13 carries against Washington.

Cameron Marshall: Don't you love it when true freshman contribute to a big win? Marshall carried the ball 4 times, picking up 76 yards (the vast majority of which came on his 75 yard rush in the 3rd quarter that set up a Thomas Weber field goal to give us a 17-7 lead). The crowd went absolutely wild on this play.

Danny Sullivan: What?! Sullivan getting credit for something? It's true. He needed this win so badly. He threw for 263 yards and generally speaking, led the team on several lengthy drives. While I think it was great to get Samson Szakascy into the game on the option run, and I wish Brock Osweiler had received a few snaps, I think Sully competed admirably for the fightin' maroon and gold.

Lets not forget some Haterade...

The Referees: My Lord. For a few minutes there, I actually thought the fix was in. We were flagged on some rather ticky tack plays, and the crowd really let the refs have it. I have to ask, were the fans booing loudly on the TV broadcast? Because to be honest, I was too busy screaming obscenities to hear the decibel level.

And finally, just to point something out...

Vontaze Burfict is extremely talented, but he needs to check himself before he wrecks himself: He runs around like he is about to kill whoever gets in his way, and I love having him on our side. But at times last night, he was literally out of control. We cannot have him committing so many penalties. It makes us look bad and ruined several good defense stops. In time, he will be considered one of the best. For now, he needs to realize what is important- making plays before the whistle blows.

The Sun Devils are 4-2 and look primed to take on the Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto next weekend. After losing to UA last night, I believe we can take the Furd.

Poll

How many wins will the Devils finish with this season?

5

12 votes

6

18 votes

7

30 votes

8

13 votes

9

5 votes

10

0 votes

11

4 votes

82 votes | Poll has closed

Looking ahead to ASU

John Berkowitz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:46:00 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

2 months ago: Arizona State quarterback Danny Sullivan (15) passes to running back Cameron Marshall (not shown) for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Washington State, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Arizona State won 27-14. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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Dennis Erickson is in his third season as head coach at ASU. He blew the Pac 10 away during his first season by putting together a squad that came close to competing for the league title. During his second-year with ASU in 2008, the team under-performed and fell to the league's second division. This season, despite a 3-2 record, the Sun Devils are still performing under the level one would expect of a Dennis Erickson team.

Most of the problems are on offense. Danny Sullivan isn't getting the job done at QB and the offensive line is among the weakest in the Pac 10. The same offensive woes that haunted ASU in 2008 are hitting again in '09, but are magnified because Sullivan isn't close to being the same type of QB as the departed Rudy Carpenter.

Fans in Tempe would like to see more of true frosh Brock Osweiler under center. He played three series last week against WSU, but didn't give any indication that he is ready yet, despite going 3-4 for 21 yards and a fumbled snap to his credit. Official word out of Tempe is that Sullivan will start again this week, with Osweiler continuing to wait in the wings. Expect Erickson to give the 6'8 frosh QB from Montana at least a few series this weekend.

Sullivan threw three interceptions against the Cougars last weekend. Husky fan ought to find this music to their ears, as the Cougar secondary doesn't exactly resemble that of USC. Turnovers are a big part of any win, and if the ASU offense turns it over six times to a team like Washington, it will be lights out Sun Devils. Expect Erickson to watch the UW vs. UA game film and concentrate on spreading Washington out with a high percentage short passing game.

The saving grace for the Sun Devils is a defensive front seven that is one of the very best in the conference. I wouldn't say that it is the best Washington has seen so far this year but these guys know how to put pressure on a QB. Jake Locker's speed will be needed in this one to avoid the pass rush that will be coming. Make no mistake about it. ASU has painted a big red X on Locker's chest and they will be blitzing.

The secondary is the weakest point of ASU's defense. Washington can pass on these guys all night if Locker has time and the Husky WR's get a little separation. In contrast, Arizona had a much tougher defense with likely the best defensive backfield UW will play for the rest of the season.

That said, ASU is no pushover. Washington isn't going to win this game by much. Playing in Tempe isn't easy if a decent crowd shows up to watch. The oddsmakers have installed ASU as a three point favorite, which has already inflated up to seven.

Washington didn't impress anyone against Arizona except the scoreboard. Arizona dominated this game; the only reason the Wildcat's lost was because they couldn't convert in the red zone, and for some strange reason Mike Stoops kept passing the ball with five minutes left in the game. It is nice to win one you shouldn't coming off the tails of losing one you shouldn't. You can't count on luck every week; Washington needs to play better on offense and special teams to beat ASU on the road.

An obvious key to winning the game is avoiding the turnovers and special teams miscues that almost buried the Huskies last week in the third quarter. Defensively, the Huskies need to take advantage of a sloppy team that makes a lot of mistakes. If WSU can force six errors the Huskies should be able to do something similar this weekend.

I expect to see Jake Locker continue running the ball this week. ASU is very aggressive with its pass rush, setting up a lot of things for a guy as versatile as Jake. Whenever Jake steps up in the pocket or rolls out wide he has the ability to make people miss and take it to the house. If ASU overruns a play, Jake will make them pay.

Locker was responsible for 90% of the Washington offense against Arizona. That is never a good thing. Up to that game, the Huskies were able to get good balance from a strong running game. Tempo, injuries, coming from behind, and simple time of possession never allowed Washington to get that going last week. We have all seen what Chris Polk can do when he gets in a rhythm, but he will be going up against a very tough run defense this week. UW needs to establish the run early in this one to control the clock and keep the red X off the front of Locker's jersey.

What the heck is a Sun Devil anyway?

You would think that some inventive person at ASU just made it up, but a Sun Devil is actually a weather phenomenon many of you know as a whirlwind, or a dust devil without the dust. The mascot character, the much beloved Sparky, was drawn by the late Bert Anthony, a minion of Walt Disney. Rumor has it that Sparky was illustrated to resemble Disney, and if you look at them side by side it’s kind of creepy.

Torches and Pitchforks

Danny Sullivan threw the ball a whopping 58 times in the loss to Oregon State! He completed over 50% of his passes and ended up with over 300 passing yards.

Chris McGaha is Sullivan's main target. He caught a career high 15 balls against the Beavers.

Dennis Erickson was knocked unconscious during a play on the ASU sideline lat week against WSU. He felt pretty woozy but was able to keep coaching once he took a few minutes to recover.

The ASU defense held WSU to minus 54 rushing yards on 32 attempts!

Arizona State committed six turnovers and botched two extra points against WSU.

The ASU defense sacked WSU a total of 12 times on Saturday which is only three short of the NCAA record of 15.

Kyle Williams is another ASU receiver to keep an eye on. He grabbed 13 receptions against the Cougars. Williams had 211 all-purpose yards: 126 receiving, 53 rushing on a reverse and 32 on punt returns.

ASU is averaging 10.7 yards per reception which is third lowest in the Pac 10.

Only No. 3 Texas (46.2) is allowing fewer rushing yards per game than ASU (49.6).

Dennis Erickson played football at Montana State under a guy named Jim Sweeney whose grandson Nate Fellner may be the starting safety for Washington this week.

Kibbles and Bits

Mason Foster has been named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week.

Foster had 11 tackles in the Dawgs 36-33 victory over Arizona and, of course, keyed the victory with his 37-yard interception return for a touchdown that proved to be the winning score.

Johri Fogerson, Nate Williams, and D'Andre Goodwin are all expected to be back this week.

Cameron Elisara is back after suffering from stingers in last weeks game.

Chris Polk is fine to practice this week and will get the start at ASU.

Coach Steve Sarkisian said that Chris Polk will continue to receive kickoffs next week. "In a perfect world, you don't want your starting tailback returning kicks," Sarkisian said. "But no one else has seized the opportunity."

Jason Wells is expected to get his first playing time of the season this week. He hasn't played in a game in over two years because of injuries.

Nick Wood is the new starter at guard. Mykena Ikehara and Drew Schaeffer will be the primary backups.

The Huskies have the nation’s 106th-ranked defense out of 120 NCAA Division I-A teams, which is actually an improvement over last season. The key is scoring defense rather than total yards. The Husky defenses performance in the red zone has kept them within striking distance of each opponent they have played. In 30 trips into UW’s red zone, opponents have scored a mere 11 touchdowns this season.

Year to date NCAA schedule rankings:

UW .810, Georgia .808, Virgina Tech .763, Florida St. .704, Nobody else is even over .700

The Oregon is set for ABC at 12:30 a week from Saturday. The Huskies then will enjoy a much-needed bye week after the Oregon game.

Quote of the Week

"To me, luck is when preparation meets opportunity," Steve Sarkisian said at Monday's press conference.

Arizona State 27, Washington State 14

Grady. — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:44:03 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State head coach Paul Wulff, left, warmly embraces the most hated man in Idaho, Dennis Erickson, after an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Arizona State won 27-14. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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A few steps forward. A few steps back.

In the end, this game played out the way most of us expected. Two anemic offenses and one stellar defense giving us an ugly game, but also a closer game than we're used to seeing. As one would expect, the stellar defense won out. ASU was too much to handle, with Vontaze Burfict, Mike Nixon, and co. dominating this game from the opening snap. The Cougs faced one of the best rushing defenses in the country, and boy did it show - between numerous tackles for losses, broken plays and sacks, the Cougars ended up with negative 54 yards rushing. Negative 54.

The Cougars had their opportunities in the first half, but failed to capitalize. Reid Forrest's fake punt conversion for a first down brought some life to the offense, but no points following a Jeff Tuel interception. ASU had three turnovers in the first 30 minutes, but the Cougars couldn't convert even one of those into a score. Tuel struggled under pressure: the Devils had six sacks in the first half, and forced their fair share of hurries and bad decisions which led to Tuel's two picks. Marshall Lobbestael brought some brief stability to the Cougar offense in relief, but a fumble by Daniel Blackledge - on a catch that should have resulted in a first down deep in ASU territory - ended the threat. ASU sealed the half by running their two-minute offense to perfection. The result was a 13-0 halftime deficit that had to make the Cougars feel like banging their heads against a wall.

The second half saw improvement, but not immediately. ASU made a huge gain on a reverse to set up a nine yard touchdown run that left WSU back against the ropes. It took some turnovers - the Cougs forced six total - and the re-emergence of Jeff Tuel to get the Cougs back into it. Andy Mattingly's interception deep in ASU territory was the big break Wazzu needed. It set up Tuel's first TD, which wasn't exactly a thing of beauty. Intended for Daniel Blackledge - who was, at least in this writer's opinion, being interfered with - the ball came up short and into the opportunistic hands of Jared Karstetter, who made a beautiful adjustment for the six. That fired up both sides of the ball, and the Cougars were back in business down 19-7.

Then, the blunder. For most of the game, Reid Forrest had been rolling out to make rugby style kicks, like he used to do at the start of his career. Earlier in the game, though, he found a seam and was able to convert a first down that gave the Cougars some much-needed momentum. Yet again, in the second half, it looked for a moment like Forrest had a seam to the outside. But Arizona State wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. They stayed at home, and Forrest booted the ball out of desperation past the line of scrimmage. The result was a penalty that gave ASU exceptional field position. Field position that was converted into a Cameron Marshall TD run and a way-too-easy two-point conversion. 27-7.

Still, the Cougs weren't done. Although for a moment it looked like things were getting worse. A kickoff was fumbled out of bounds at the five, followed up immediately by a near-safety (and another play for a loss). That's when Wulff made a bold play call that would re-write the WSU record books. Jeff Tuel stepped back in his own end zone, and fired off a bullet to Johnny Forzani in single coverage. Forzani broke free, and the rest, literally, was history. 99 yards later Tuel had converted his first huge play as a Cougar. 27-14 after the PAT from Grasu.

But the ASU defense didn't bend from there, stuffing the Cougar offense on their remaining drives in the game. ASU's running game awoke to run out the clock, and that was it.

The Cougs had forced six turnovers, but committed four of their own. They made big plays on defense, but failed to prevent the struggling ASU quarterbacks from reaching the end zone. The Cougar offense was horrible: 181 total yards, numerous losses and penalties, but also 99 on one play and two passing touchdowns from our QB of the future. It was a game with a lot of positives, but a lot of negatives as well.

The best thing I can say is that this game definitely gives us something to build on. The defense made key plays, tackled well and only let one big play - the reverse - burn them. The offense struggled in the first half but Jeff Tuel's benching woke him up to the tune of two passing touchdowns and a play that cements his place in the WSU record book (as well as the NCAA, since you can't have a longer pass play than 99 yards).

Player of the Game: Louis Bland. It's tempting to go with Tuel, or Karstetter, but the only fireworks from the offense came in the second half. The Cougar defense came to play the whole game, and with Bland's eight tackles, one interception, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble, he was the anchor of a revitalized squad. I understand the ASU offense is bad, but you don't force six turnovers by accident. Bland, Mattingly, Long and the defensive backfield kept both the run and pass in check for the majority of this game, with only receiver Kyle Williams burning us for big numbers. I saw numerous plays today that would have been big gains or touchdowns last year. Now, the defense is covering their gaps, running down ball carriers, and keeping things in front of them. It's a noticeable improvement, and credit Bland as the centerpiece today.

Unsung hero: Jared Karstetter. The adjustment he made to catch the third quarter touchdown was huge. Furthermore, he continues to be the security blanket for the quarterbacks that Jeshua Anderson couldn't be. Tonight, he grabbed four balls for forty-five yards and made himself an available target for Jeff Tuel throughout the game. Now if only Tuel had the pass protection to get it to him.

Play of the Game: The longest pass play in school history, Jeff Tuel to Johnny Forzani for 99 yards and a TD. I always feel better about the Paul Wulff era when I remember that it's mostly his recruits making the big plays and giving us some hope for the future.

B.S. Call of the Game: Oh, there were many. Mostly against us, but a couple against ASU too. There were many penalties in general, deserved or not. But the offensive pass interference call on Daniel Blackledge was completely nonsensical. Not to mention a momentum killer.

It was over when... Cameron Marshall ran 10 yards for an ASU touchdown with 12:25 to play; following the botched fake punt.

Stat of the Game: WSU forced six turnovers. And we still lost. Probably because of the four turnovers of our own, making for ten (!) total. Although, that -54 rushing yards stat still makes me cringe.

If you haven't voted in Nuss' poll below yet, do it. My vote is that it was a positive step in the right direction, but I'm interested to know what the rest of Coug Nation thinks. Of course you're always welcome to expand on your thoughts in the comments.

Enjoy the bye week - only six days until Midnight Mayhem.

Some Rays of Sun Shine Through

mlev811 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:05:38 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

2 months ago: Arizona State wide receiver Kyle Williams (6) unsuccessfully tries to pull in a pass as Georgia cornerback Prince Miller, right, and linebacker Darryl Gamble (50) defend during the fourth quarter of their NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, in Athens, Ga. Georgia won 20-17. (AP Photo/John Amis)

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Although the rain came down steadily throughout the game, there were some bright spots on the field for the Devils in a tough 20-17 loss against the Georgia Bulldogs. Here is a quick break down of how the Devils fared...

QB: Not all the blame can go on Danny Sullivan as there were a few untimely drops from the receiving corps, but Sullivan's accuracy was plain horrendous. Sullivan couldn't seem to make a big play when we needed it and mismanaged the play clock several times. In order for this team to succeed, we need some production from the QB.

QB Grade: D

RB: Nance was the main RB for the Devils tonight, and he didn't take the opportunity for granted. Dmitri carried the Devils for much of the game with explosive runs and several catches. He scored the only offensive TD for the Devils, and showed that he can handle the majority of the carries for this team.

RB Grade: A-

OL: The offensive line provided Sullivan with some time to throw the ball for once. The pass and run protection held up relatively well throughout the game, sans a few breakdowns on some of Nance's runs. Compared to the OL's of the past few years, this one rose up to the occasion against a tough SEC defensive front.

OL Grade: B

WR/TE: The WR's had game changing drops. A number 1 receiver (ahem...Kyle Williams) is expected to make the routine plays while also making some outstanding plays. Williams did neither. 2 Huge drops in the 4th quarter took away first downs from the Sun Devils anemic offense and killed the momentum after a turnover. With Sully's good passes being few and far between, we can't afford to drop the ball. Knapp also had a drop, although we would've most likely been stopped short of the first. Overall, I expect more from the WR's.

WR Grade: C-

Special Teams: The special teams met expectations with their play. True frosh Bobby Wenzig connected on a 43-yd field goal attempt, but also got a low kick blocked with the game on the line. Its unfair to expect Wenzig to play up to Weber's level, but with our offense we are going to need him to connect when called upon. His leg looks very weak on kickoffs, leading to good UGA field position.

The return team played average. Williams often looked tentative to return kicks, calling for fair catches before truly assessing whether he had room to run. In a game like this, field position is key and we need Williams to make better decisions when returning kicks.

Special Teams Grade: C+

Defensive Line: The DL did well against the run, but got very little pressure on QB Joe Cox. With no sacks, and very few hurries, it makes you wonder where Dexter Davis has gone. The DE's need to step up and get some pressure on the opposing QB's.

DL Grade: B-

Linebackers: The LB's are the strongest part of this team. Burfict, Munns, and Nixon all made big plays throughout the game. Vontaze Burfict continues to show why he is the prize posession of Erickson's recruiting class. Despite running through a misplaced referee, Burfict jumped over the line to stop UGA on a critical 4th-and-1. He's a beast. The linebackers make their presence known all over the field and fought hard through the end of the game.

LB Grade: A

Secondary: The secondary played pretty well. There are few WR's better than AJ Green, and despite his 153 yards, the coverage was usually pretty decent. On Green's catch to set up the winning FG, Singfield was well positioned on the play. Green made an NFL-caliber grab. In wet conditions, the CB's and Safetys looked pretty good.

Secondary Grade: B

Overall the Devils played a good game and beat most people's expectations. Time to come back to the dry desert and prepare to take on the Beavers next Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium.

Poll

Which Sun Devil unit was the most surprising against the Bulldogs?

RB's

20 votes

WR

3 votes

TE

1 votes

LB

13 votes

OL

12 votes

DL

3 votes

Secondary

3 votes

Special Teams

1 votes

QB

5 votes

61 votes | Poll has closed

Quick Reaction: ASU 38 - ULM 14

ASUBoyd — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:32:35 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

I would have liked to have seen a little bit more Gerrell Robinson tonight.

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So an easy win that covered the spread for the Sun Devils, however we looked a tad sloppy coming off a bye week. Huge game at Georgia next week - lets hope the penalites go away.

Winners:

The defense: For the second game this week the defense shined, dominating an inferior opponent. The D-Unit forced 3 turnovers and held ULM to under 200 total yards (199). The pass rush seemed to come and go (0 sacks), but the coaches were subbing players in and out liberally, not willing to risk injury in a warm-up game. Expect to see a lot more of the starters throughout the game next week.

Kyle Williams: 8 receptions for 129 yards, he was devastating in the open field and caught nearly everything that was thrown his way.

Special Teams: A huge kickoff return for a TD by Omar Bolden and another big return by Keelan Johnson. The coverage units also were excellent, despite inconsistent punting by Hankins.

Losers:

ASU Football's Fundamentals: ASU had 12 penalties for 122 yards against a weak team - that won't cut it against better competition.

The pass rush: 0 sacks? Really? the scheme was undeniably more passive than against Idaho State - the blitzes disappeared and the team seemed to try and rely on pressure from the front 4 - which did not work. The few blitzes that were called never seemed to work, but I am not too worried. This game was in the bag after the opening kickoff was returned 89 yards.

The O-Line: I did not want to talk about this, but the thing that has plagued ASU over the past few seasons creeped into this game. 3 sacks allowed and constant pressure on both quarterbacks makes even the most devout believer a little nervous about the game at Georgia next week. We ran the ball ok.

Game Ball - Omar bolden. Shut down skills combined with ball skills makes Adam a happy man. Omar is an NFL talent and is due for a big season. The kickoff return was just icing on the cake.

Other thoughts: Sullivan looked pretty bad at the beginning of the game, jittery in the pocket, not comfortable at all. He was not trusting in the system. By the end of the third sullivan looked like a different player -stepping up in the pocket, delivering passes with authority and finding the accuracy that had eluded him in the first half. He ended with a respectable line of 19/31 for 220 and 1 TD with a rushing TD as well. I liked finally seeing something from Sullivan, as he looked nervous his first game against Idaho State as well. Playing in Georgia will be an entirely different beast, however.

The run game also started of slow, but finished well. Running backs had 29 carries for 135 yards and 2 TDs (4.65 per carry). The effectiveness of this spread is predicated on how well we run the ball, so it is important for us to have that going. Bass further proved how he deserves more carries.

Get some rest Sun Devil fans, we all had a feeling this game would turn out this way, now comes the first real test of 2009.

Arizona State Roundtable

TwistNHook — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:30:08 -0000

via azmc.org

TwistNHook: There are many concerns about the upcoming football season for any self-respecting, self-loathing Cal fan. Last year, we lost every road game save for WSU, ensuring that many of our home games are now revenge games. Two years ago, we lost every road game save for Oregon, ensuring that every return trip now is a revenge game.

And ASU is no different. Two years ago, we went to Arizona State right at the start of the Cal-lapse. We lost a game where we were up 13-0 and 20-7 at various points. But ASU came back furiously and the Cal-lapse was in full motion. It was frustrating and I very much look forward to Cal taking care of business at ASU.

The first thing that jumps out at you when you think ASU is Rudy Carpenter is gone. Now they appear to have former backup Danny Sullivan at QB. After 4 years of Carpenter, you have to wonder how things will move forward. And it appears my concerns might have some foundation in reality (a first).

Article:

It wasn’t a surprise to see the Arizona State defense control Saturday morning’s scrimmage inside the practice bubble. The unit has meshed well and is expected to be the Sun Devils’ calling card this season.

Previously offensively oriented, now they seem to be working towards leaning on their D. We'll see how well that works out. They do appear to have a bright young talent on D: LB Vontaze Burfict

Article:

via www.eastvalleytribune.com

The ranking of high school football players is often a ridiculous exercise. No one had heard of Tedy Bruschi when he went to the University of Arizona. Similarly, wide receiver Derek Hagan, who leads ASU in career receptions, was a lightly regarded two-star recruit out of high school.

But the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Burfict may actually be worth the hyperventilating. Erickson has compared him to Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, a future Hall of Famer.

Bray said, "He’s one of the better high school linebackers I’ve seen on film in a long, long, long time. We were extremely fortunate to get him. He will be a force as he grows and matures."

What makes Burfict special — aside from the physical intimidation — is his instinct for the game. Both Erickson and Bray noted that Burfict seems to have the innate ability to be in the right place at the right time.

Bray said Burfict has a better feel for what’s happening around him than Mark Fields, a standout linebacker for Washington State in the early 1990s and a first-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in 1995.

"He does some things in practice you just can’t coach," Bray said.

Avinash: For some reason, when I think of ASU, all I think of are coeds. Does ASU have the hottest coeds in the country?

TwistNHook: Look, Avi, I understand what you are doing. I know you are trying to give carp some life and energy after being so tired with the birth of his son. And I'm sure he appreciates that!

But maybe we should just stick to talking about the football team and other related things. I'm sure if our readers want to read frustrated single males prattling endlessly about women they'd never have a chance with in real life, they can read Arthur Kade or Tucker Max.

Avinash: I believe Malcolm Gladwell's next book should investigate the relationship between the attractiveness of a team's coeds and their football team's relative success. Maybe he'll find out that all of Florida and USC's coeds were born during the summer months!

TwistNHook:

via www.fidrabooks.co.uk

I went to google Arizona State football to do some research and the google map link showed up. Where do they show ASU football being? In the middle of a river. Salt River. Literally submerged in water. Salty water (maybe).

If that isn't apropros, I don't know what is.

If you want to find a place to start with the woefully underperforming 2008 team, look no further than the OLine:

ndeed, it's a small miracle that ASU has won 15 games in Erickson's first two years. In 2008, the Sun Devils allowed 34 sacks — that made it 89 in two years — and rushed for only 89 yards per game, or 113th in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

If you're surmising that ASU has had offensive-line problems, bingo. Erickson inherited a shortfall of big uglies when he took over in 2007 for Dirk Koetter, whose recruiting classes affecting Erickson's teams included seven offensive linemen who either left or didn't qualify, including a 4-for-4 wipeout in 2004.

They feel better about their O-Line this year. Certainly, one of the most memorable moments of the 2008 season was due to poor O-Line play.

"Maybe you should recruit better linemen."

Avinash: It's always a scary game in the desert. It's usually at night, which means the fans are loud and rowdy, so it can definitely give some added impetus to the home team.

I really don't know. ASU has played us tough in Erickson's tenure, splitting the series. This could be a dangerous game if we're playing up to our potential going into it.

HydroTech: So their starting QB from last year Rudy Carpenter is gone. Their top WR, Michael Jones is gone. Sounds like their passing game might not be as good as it used to be? Danny Sullivan is their new QB but he's largely untested having only played in garbage games when the games have already been won and lost. How glad do you think Sullivan is now that the Pain Train is gone?

TwistNHook: Probably as happy as NFC North QBs that Follett has suffered a shoulder injury!

So, that's the O. What about the D? Well, I talked previously about that incoming LB who could make some strides. But he might not be a big player until next year. Right now, their leader is Dexter Davis.

via www.nationalchamps.net

Heres what the official site has to say about him:

ASU: One of the Sun Devils' most consistent defenders and most dangerous pass-rushers...ranks as one of the top defensive ends in school history...enters the 2009 season fourth in Sun Devil history with 27.5 career sacks (minus 179 yards)...has finished in the top three in sacks in the Pacific-10 Conference each of the last two seasons...has started all 38 games of his ASU career...totaled 113 tackles (72 solo), 39.0 tackles for loss (minus 212 yards) and eight forced fumbles in his three seasons at ASU...led all Pac-10 freshmen in 2006 in quarterback sacks (6.0), tackles for loss (10.5) and forced fumbles (three)...recorded the third-most sacks by an ASU freshman in school history, trailing the 10.0 sacks made by both Terrell Suggs (2000) and Shante Carver (1990).

He has some elite stats in the Pac10:

This is where Davis comes in. He doesn't look all that imposing, and he's not full of pomp and swagger. But he's a quarterback's nightmare and one of the nation's top returning sack artists. He has 27 1/2 sacks for his career, and is the only returning player in Division I to have double-digit sacks in the past two seasons.

He's the kind of player who can disrupt an offense, change a game.

"I want to be known as a relentless player who worked hard, and made something of himself," Davis said. "And I want to go down as one of the best ever."

Along with Davis, linebacker Mike Nixon, defensive tackle Lawrence Guy and defensive back Omar Bolden are all highly-touted players. They will give Pac-10 offensive coordinators much reason for pause. If not, the season already is lost.

In some ways, the upcoming season is a bridge year to 2010, when a Pac-10 title may be within reach, when Dennis Erickson can be judged on the impact he's making in Tempe. But in the short term, the coaching staff is letting the current group know that losing records are simply unacceptable at ASU.

To avoid another, the defense must be spectacular.

Avinash: You're right Twist, this is going to be about Cal's offense not making mistakes against ASU's defense.

From Pitchfork Nation.

One first down on their first six possessions.

I’m not quite sure whether to chalk that up to Arizona State’s defense being all it’s hyped up to be or to be even more concerned with the state of this team’s offensive attack.

Either way you look at it, there’s one thing to take from yesterday’s scrimmage at Sun Devil Stadium: this team is going to have to win games based on defense and nearly defense alone in 2009.

Sure, there were the offensive highlights. Kyle Williams broke off a stunning 79-yard punt return. Gerrell Robinson, who has been highly praised by everyone in the program for making so much progress between this time last year and now, caught a touchdown pass from Danny Sullivan and gained 116 yards.

However, beyond that, you could hear crickets chirping from the Devils’ offense.

As I harped on earlier this week, this team simply has no running game. Dimitri Nance turned a corner early in the session for a nice 20-yard dash, but then averaged 1/3 of a yard on each of his subsequent three carries. Cameron Marshall led all rushers with 23 yards, but six ASU running backs combined for just 92 yards of total rushing. That doesn’t include Brock Osweiler’s 22 yards and touchdown on the ground, however.

Basically, we have to ask Kevin Riley not to throw interceptions and Jahvid Best not to fumble the ball, and everything will be ok.

HydroTech: Who has tougher academics? Your local community college or ASU?

Yellow Fever: But who has more attractive co-eds?

TwistNHook: I hope someday that our female readers will return to this blog.

Avinash: Twist, when you tell your wife she's attractive, does she throw you out of the house?

TwistNHook: What an ever so delightful non-sequitir!

Avinash: Here is another one:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Arizona State Snubs Obama

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Healthcare Protests

TwistNHook: So, who do you guys think will win this one? I say Cal holds on 21-10.

Avinash: In terms of the score, probably.

But we're still bringing up the rear in terms of coeds.

Whoops, double entendre!

TwistNHook: Triple le sigh.

Poll

How will Cal do against ASU?

Big win

75 votes

Close win

45 votes

Close loss

11 votes

Big loss

5 votes

136 votes | Poll has closed