SB Nation - Chris McGaha

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!

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

via www2.pictures.zimbio.com

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

via blog.oregonlive.com

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

via cdn2.sbnation.com

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?

via cache.daylife.com

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

Brock Osweiler is the future for ASU

Cory Williams — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:04:15 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Brock Osweiler: So mobile right now.

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Brock To The Future.

Get the DeLorean, Danny! It's time for a new sheriff in town.

During halftime of tonight's 14-9 loss to #12 USC, Coach Erickson decided to bench his struggling senior QB, Danny Sullivan, in favor of true freshman Brock Osweiler of Kalispell, Montana. While he wasn't that magical shot in the arm that the offense needed in order to pull off the upset, there were some bright spots in his game.

First of all, Osweiler is very athletic and has this rare quality known as mobility. It is something that ASU's offense has been lacking all season. Osweiler was able to turn broken plays into first downs on multiple occasions using his legs.

Secondly, he has field vision. On his touchdown pass to Chris McGaha, he quickly strafed his eyes from the left side of the field to the right and immediately threw the ball to the correct spot. While he is still young, these two tools will be honed and his star will rise.

Back in December, we talked to Brock about the impending season. He was excited about the possibility of being the starting quarterback here at Arizona State, and if he goes out and plays well at practice this week, he can be all but assured that his first collegiate start will be in Autzen against the Oregon Ducks next weekend.

He is still at least a season away from being a reliable Pac-10 QB, but having him on the field increases our chances of winning. It also appeases a fan base that has been asking for Brock since the Georgia game.

Lets talk Brock.

ASU Gives #12 USC All They Can Handle in a 14-9 Loss

Cory Williams — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:43:31 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

about 1 month ago: USC tailback Joe McKnight (4) eludes the reach of Arizona State linebacker Ryan McFoy (2) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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Despite a solid defensive effort, the Sun Devils were unable to put up enough points offensively in a loss to #12 USC.

Coach Erickson finally benched Danny Sullivan in favor of true freshman Brock Osweiler, who delivered a nicely placed TD pass to Chris McGaha in the 3^rd quarter to bring the score to 14-9.

Despite the penalties mounting against the Sun Devil defense, ASU was able to make key stops throughout the second half. They were countered by a Trojan defense that stepped up as the game went along.

On one of the craziest plays ever witnessed, USC QB Matt Barkley threw a pass to his right that was deflected by an ASU defensive back, nearly caught by two USC WR's. As the ball careened towards the ground, it was kicked into Terrell Carr's hands, and Carr ran it back 20 yards where he was stripped by a USC player, which then went right into the arms of another ASU player.

In total, the ball touched ten players on that one play (if you include the USC center and Barkley in the total). Unfortunately, this drive yielded nothing but a Trevor Hankins punt.

After several defensive stands by both USC and ASU, the Sun Devils found themselves on their own 22 with 1:56 left in the fourth. Osweiler ran the ball on two separate occasions to get the first down, and with 1:22 left ASU was at its own 35.

Despite ASU's best efforts, the Sun Devils couldn't come up with another TD, and the clock expired on a Hail Mary pitch by Osweiler into the arms of three USC backs.

The real question here, however, is why did it take so long to make this QB switch? Why wait until the biggest game of the year to finally admit your mistake?

In playing Danny Sullivan for 8 ½ games this season, the team was held back by its coaching staff and limited by the immobility and lack of overall talent of its QB.

In the end, ASU could have a much better record than 4-5 with a different QB at the helm. Of course, that's merely theoretical, but we all know just how mediocre Sullivan is.

Anyway, this game could have gone much worse, and I can tell that ASU is going to be good in the next few years. Watch out, Pac-10.

Q+A with ASU site Pitchfork Nation

TwistNHook — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:00:41 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

2 months ago: Georgia running back Caleb King (4) is chased by Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict (7), cornerback Pierre Singfield (31), and safety Ryan McFoy (2) during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, in Athens, Ga. Georgia won 20-17. (AP Photo/John Amis)

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Well, it's that time of the year again. The most wonderful time of the year. Arizona State Week. When everything seems magical and new and fresh again. And for this most amazing week, we have a Q+A with the one, the only, PITCHFORK NATION! Bringing us everything Sun Devil. So, grab a candy cane, put on your fake Dennis Erickson beard, and join us after the jump for more info on the Arizona State Sun Devils.

(And don't forget to check out our interview with them on all things Cal!)

1. Tell us more about Vontaze Burfict? We've heard he once killed a terrorist with a honey jar and then impregnated his wife. ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

You're clearly leaving out the time he rescued a burning bus full of schoolchildren from driving off a cliff while passionately reciting Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Let's give the man the credit he's due.

Vontaze has the most talent and most intensity for a freshman that I've seen in seven seasons of covering ASU football. However, he's got a serious problem with controlling that intensity and it has led to five ridiculous personal foul penalties over the past two games. Dennis Erickson, he of the "anything goes" philosophy at Miami, actually has has to tell him to REIN IT IN.

However, the guy has incredible open field tackling skills and a nose for the ball carrier not seen here since Dale Robinson roamed the 2nd level of defense. He's got a future here, that's for sure. He has too much raw talent and passion for the game to not succeed at the collegiate level.

I do wonder about his mental state though. He took a leaping penalty on a Stanford field goal attempt last week and, in true McNabb-ian fashion, Dennis Erickson claimed after the game that Burfict didn't know there was a rule against it.

Er, what? I KNEW what he did was a personal foul the instant I saw it and I haven't touched a competitive football field since Pop Warner. His awareness may be the only thing I worry about constantly.

2. How much is ASU going to win by?

Please. We're just lucky that college football games can't end in ties anymore.

If ASU can regain their prowess at stopping the run and find a way to stifle Jahvid Best, they should be in good position to win. The secondary has struggled over the last few weeks without Omar Bolden, so you know, if I was Kevin Riley, I'd throw. A lot. Over Terell Carr.

3. Please tell us about the two best players on your team.

Mike Nixon and Chris McGaha are the defensive and offensive standouts. Nixon is one of the unlikeliest candidates to be a team cornerstone since Charlie Ward but he has evolved into one of the best linebackers in the Pac-10. He's just so smart on the field - he knows exactly what's going on everywhere between the lines at any time. He rarely loses his cool and has great hands and great tackling ability.

Chris McGaha catches anything and everything near him. He's the most dangerous offensive weapon we've got right now simply through his ability to get open consistently.

Now, would you sit those two players on the bench the entire game in exchange for Jahvid Best sitting out the entire game?

No, because I'm still fairly sure ASU can stop the run, even after last week's debacle at The Farm. Plus, if McGaha sits, I don't trust anyone else on this team to actually catch a thrown football.

4. How has ASU dealt with losing Rudy Carpenter?

By crying for a true freshman to be the program's savior despite the fact that he hasn't started a game and has attempted 11 passes in three 3 games.

Seriously. We're seven games in and people still can't deal with the fact that Rudy, as much as many despised him, is gone and that we're sitting here with Los Gatos' prodigal son Danny Sullivan as our starter. We all knew that the QB situation would be pretty uncertain after RC's graduation but we never imagined that Sullivan would be this ineffective.

Therefore, as you'll see on Saturday, ASU's offensive play calling has been dramatically reduced. The Devils run the same three or four run plays and have lost the ability to stretch the field because of Sullivan's absolute inability to throw an accurate deep ball (unless Chris McGaha is wide open against Nick Holt's defense with 0:05 left).

If you love off-tackle sweeps, short out routes and running backs who prefer to run backwards rather than forwards, you'll love ASU's new offense.

5. Do you think Dennis Erickson is the man to take ASU to the next level?

I still think so. He's done it in so many places (except San Francisco) that I still have faith in the guy. The problem this year, I firmly believe, is not him. It's the talent he has to work with this year.

DE continues to do a bang-up job recruiting and I really do think he's got the Sun Devils set up for success in 2010 and beyond. He attracted Osweiler AND Michigan transfer Steven Threet to the program. Cameron Marshall has been a nice surprise at RB and he's got talent packed to the gills on defense.

It has certainly been a major frustration this season for many fans who are crying for his head because no one wants to admit that this year was going to be an uphill battle with a first year starting QB. Erickson still knows the game inside and out and knows what buttons to push at any given time. I'll give him through 2011, but if the program isn't at least back battling for 1st or 2nd in the conference by then, I reserve the right to change my mind.

6. Osweiler or Sullivan?

I haven't publicly endorsed either since going to bat for Danny Sullivan after the Georgia loss.

That was a mistake.

At this point, I absolutely have to stick with Sullivan, but not based on his own merits. The fact of the matter is that I still have this gut feeling that this team would not play any better with Brock Osweiler anyway. At its essence, Osweiler and Sullivan are still first-year starters despite the three year gap in college experience. The only difference I think starting Brock would make would be a larger inclination to throw the deep ball because he might be more accurate that Danny when going long.

However, with bowl eligibility already slipping from the Sun Devils grasp and Sullivan not doing anything to really HELP ASU get the requisite two more wins, any change would be good change. I just don't see it happening, though. DE has this unwavering confidence in Danny, something I'm at this point convinced he got from reading it off of a fortune cookie. I can't think of any other real explanation for why Erickson has stood behind Danny so fervently.

7. What was going through your mind during the last play against UW the other week?

Let me refer your readers to this video and I'll point out my thought processes at certain timestamps:

0:07: "Really? Overtime? I can't take much more of this."

0:12: "Overtime? With that guy? -reaches for bottle of Jack Daniels-"

0:24: "If this is an off-tackle sweep to Dimitri Nance, my shoe is going through my TV. I don't care how much it costs to fix. My shoe, that TV!"

0:27: "The prevent defense: feel the power!"

0:29: "WHAT THE FLYING HELL IN ALL THE NAME OF CHRIST ARE YOU DOING?"

0:31: "da;lsfjasdl;kfgdsl;kfjsadl;kfjasdl;fjfjiwefjwe;oifj;asdlkfjalsfj DON'T DROP THE FOOTBALL CHRIS!"

0:36: "OK Danny. We know that everybody poops, but please stand up before you do it in the middle of Frank Kush Field."

0:46: "WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WITNESS? And for that matter, why did it take so long to get the ball to Chris McGaha?"

1:01: "That may have been the first time I've seen a grown man's face fully twitch in anger."

2:32: "Holy crap, we are actually going to win this football game based on something Danny Sullivan did. -pinches self- Yup, still alive."

8. Who do you want to punch in the face?

Petros Papadakis. Is that so wrong? I mean, I'm sure there's like, a line to do so, but I'll gladly wait or take a number or whatever.

Many thanks to Pitchfork Nation for their help with these. Good luck to them and GO BEARS!

Sun Devils shock UW with last second win

John Berkowitz — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:05:03 -0000

This was one of the uglier slug fests I have seen in quite some time. Washington didn't play very well tonight but they were in a position to win the game or at least take it to overtime. Chalk this one up as a loss for the coaching staff. The lack of any semblance of clock management on the next to last UW possesion was the killer which gave ASU one last Hail Mary shot at the end zone. ASU made the most of it as Danny Sullivan connected with an uncontested Chris McGaha in the end zone for a 50 yard TD catch with five seconds left to pull out the win.

I hate to question the coaches but when you call two straight running plays as time is running out why do you then call a pass which if it isn't completed gives the ball back to ASU with good field position? Why not run out the clock deep in your territory and take it to overtime? That is exactly what they did and you have to mark it down as a major brain cramp for Steve Sarkisian. It was a fatal an unneccesary gamble which cost Washington the game.

To make matters worse Washington was in the wrong defense for the last ASU play of the game. Husky defensive backs were at least ten yards away from Chris McGaha when he made that final TD grab. Nick Holt who was penalized for another 15 yard personal foul earlier in the game has a lot of explaing to do. This time he really can't blame it on the deficiencies of his current roster. Both Sark and Holt blew it when the game was on the line.

As I said earlier the game wasn't pretty. ASU was penalized nine times for 99 yards with eight of those penalties coming in the first half. Washington had a season high twelve penalties for 124 yards. The Huskies turned the ball over three times. One was a game ending interception as Locker threw it for grabs from 60 yards out. An earlier interception stopped a Husky drive in the red zone. Johri Fogerson fumbled a punt in the second half just when it seemed Washington was about to pull away. Erik Folk missed a long FG try after being iced twice by Dennis Erickson.

This was a game that Washington should have won. The Huskies had the better offense at the end of the game and if it had gone to overtime chances are they would have pulled it out. We haven't heard from Sarkisian yet but I am very interested to hear his line of logic. I don't think you can explain this one away. It was an ugly loss that could have been avoided if cooler heads had prevailed on the Washington sideline.

Post Game Update

I listened to the past game show and Bob Rondeau asked all the right questions and Coach Sark gave all the right answers. The thing I really like about Sarkisian is he didn't make excuses and took immediate responsibility for the clock management on that last series.

"Hindsight is 20/20, but if I had to do it again, I would've run the ball," Sarkisian said of the third-and-one play. "That's on me. It eats at me because I felt like I could've managed the ballgame better," Sarkisian said. "I try to pride myself in doing that stuff, but I didn't do it tonight."

What is really hard to digest is Sarkisian called a pass on third and one deep in his own territory with all his timeouts remaining. All he had to do was hand the ball off or let Jake run to try to pull off the first down. If it didn't work time would have run out and the game would have gone to overtime.

Sark didn't play the percentages. If Washington took it to overtime the Huskies had a 70% or greater chance of winning this game. The ASU FG kicker was crippled with a leg injury last night. He was already 1-3 for the evening. The odds were firmly on UW's side with Locker at QB and a healthy Erik Folk.

On the miraculous Arizona State TD play Sark had these comments:

"We jumped a route, a crossing route, and left the middle of the field wide open."

When you look at that final play on film you see a series of broken assignments and a defense that was confused about what it was supposed to do on what should have been the last play before overtime.

ASU coach Dennis Erickson was as surprised as everyone else was in the stadium. The play he called was designed to go for 20 yards and to set up a FG shot. For some reason the entire middle of the field was left open. Chris McGaha made the catch but he was one of two Sun Devils left completely open down the middle on that play.

Don James used to make a list of every possible scenario that would happen in crucial moments during game six months before the season started. It was one of those things that made James a genius. He would often say after making a call that would contribute to winning a game in the last two minutes that the decision of what to do in that situation was made six months before. All he had to do was look at the clip board and the best call was there. It didn't work 100% of the time...nothing does...but he significantly beat the averages by a wide margin in his career by being more prepared in crucial situations than his opponents.

Sarkisian and Holt would be wise to contact James about that list.

This is a tough loss for the Washington Nation to take. It is even tougher for the coaches and players. The only thing left to do is put it behind them and prepare for Oregon. This can be the type of loss that breaks a teams spirit even though I am betting that this team and staff will bounce back from this hard lesson.

Jake Locker summed it up best after the game:

"It's not easy after a loss like this," said Locker. "We thought we were going into overtime, and it didn't work out. I don't know how many games I've seen it end like that."

Keep your head up Jake!

There is still a lot of football to be played.

Pac Ten Officials Lose Control of the Game

This was a typical Dennis Erickson type game. The Sun Devils came out with one purpose last night and that was to hit Washington in the mouth after that first TD drive. ASU created anarchy out on the field by committing eight penlties in the first half.

ASU middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict was called for three personal fouls in the first half. After a quick review of the film the officials could have called him for at least a couple more because he was punching players with closed fists after plays. Somehow the officials never picked that up. Burfict should have been ejected from the game in the first half.

With anarchy starting to reign on the field and ASU getting penalized all over the place the officials called a few makeup calls on Washington that were inexplicable. In particular a helmet to helmet penalty by Mason Foster which kept a drive alive which looked very clean upon review of the film. Coach Holt was then penalized another 15 on the same play for protesting the call and once again being out on the field. Washington had a season high twelve penalties for 124 yards.

A young Husky team and coaching staff were sucked in by the anitics of Erickson and his thugs. Once the penalties started flying the successful strategy took Washington out of its usual game plan.

Pac Ten Commissioner Lary Scott has to take a serious look at completely restructuring his staff of football officials at the end of the season. Every single game by every single group of Pac Ten officials seems to be a complete mess. Blown calls, lack of control, indecisiveness, and utter incomptence which penalizes all the teams in the conference seems to be the trademark of Pac Ten officiating.

Inside the Pac-10: We Have Our Top Dogs

Avinash — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:15:09 -0000

via www.cnnsi.com

We have two clear contenders for the crown, plus one dark horse now (more on them later). Everyone else clearly has deficiencies that can't be covered up, as evidenced by their tough but decisive losses in conference play.

Despite my usual calm, unfazed demeanor, I get plenty annoyed with the way the Bears play, especially when things go to hell. Sometimes I think dark dark thoughts, especially when we can't anticipate a bubble screen, our quarterback is throwing into orbit, that our players can't be like USC's and have five star talent and make plays even when another guy screws up, etc. etc.

Oregon 52, Washington State 6

And then I remember I could be a Cougar fan.

The Washington State Cougars are a Horrible, Horrible Football Team

I generally like Washington State. They have great fans. I've always felt a certain kinship with them as Husky haters. And I feel horrible for them. My neighbor is a WSU alum, nicest guy in the world, and was just too embarassed to talk about the game much, just a bunch of stuff about how Doba ruined the program to the point of being maybe the worst Pac-10 team of all time. And its hard for me to argue, because I've sat at Autzen for games against the like of Portland State, Montana, Idaho, Utah State, and Nevada and I can't recall any of them being anywhere near the same ballpark as this level of terrible.

Their lines fell over like a stack of cards. Their running back was slow. Their linebackers can't tackle. And Marshall Lobbestael.............those were two of the worst interceptions I have ever seen. I could have come down from my seat in row 81 and picked them off they were up in the air so long. Only their punter was a Pac-10 level player, which is good as he gets more touches than anyone else on the team.

So, in playing a team with such an incredible level of suckitude, its tough to take a lot of meaningful thoughts from this game. Here are a few things I can think of that have some meaning besides "we looked good because the other team sucked."

Yikes. I'm guessing not many Cal fans would like to switch shoes even if we stumbled and bumbled the rest of the season. Anything has to be better than hopeless gloom, right?

Even the Wazzu fan at Gameday has decided to take the week off (HT Cougcenter):

Cougar fans might be the greatest on Earth to sit through this tripe, much less break it down on a day-to-day basis.

One can only watch their team get blown out so many times before they've had enough. Sometimes you wonder - as I am right now with the Seahawks getting blown out in Indianapolis - how all your favorite teams can go to crap at the same time. It's annoying; I used to remember the butterflies I got in my stomach before a big Cougar football game. I still have it for basketball, but hardly ever anymore for football. And while I like the "no pressure" aspect of it all, and the fact we really have nothing to lose, it is also tiring to see so much apathy. A half to three-fourths full Martin Stadium. A lack of any buzz whatsoever as we get close to game time.

We only have one game left that any of us are going to really care about: the Apple Cup. And, adding insult to injury, it's in Seattle. Against a revitalized Husky team under Steve Sarkisian. The spread for the game, at least based on what I've seen so far, will probably be somewhere in the two to three touchdown range. Yeah, I know, throw out the records, rivalries are different blah blah blah. Still, I have a feeling things aren't going to go well, although I have an urge to be there in person just to show the purple bandwagon that WSU has people that still care about their team even when the wins are few and far between.

Cal fans who remember the bad old days, can you think of any ways to console our wounded Cougar brethren?

Notre Dame 37, Washington 30

via www.midwestsportsfans.com

Speaking of the purple bandwagon, the Huskies continue to loom as a potential upset threat to any team, and will definitely be a tough test if they hover at bowl eligibility in the last week of the season. UW Dawg Pound wasn't pleased with the goal-line coaching against the Irish, but for the most part liked what he saw.

I think the coaches made some questionable calls in the red zone. Sark doesn't seem to like spreading the field or trying to exploit Jake around the end when the middle is plugged up. I didn't like the decision that led to zero points in the third quarter when we were at the one yard line. If we took those points we win the game. That of course is all about hindsight. You convert the TD situation and Washington puts the game away. We can nitpick all we want but if you compare the coaching to last year it is night and day. Willingham walks in here with the same talent and loses by 30 points. You have to give Sark and his staff credit for getting us in th eposition to win games. You have to give them credit for going for the jugglar when it was exposed. Winners do that and we are just learning how to win.

What do you feel about Sarkisian's goal-line decision?

As the Irish go on their bye week to prepare for the make-or-break game for Charlie Weis, Notre Dame SBN blog Rakes of Mallow ponders the long two week stretch until the Trojans come to South Bend...

Beyond the dozens of obvious reasons, the Southern Cal game is so important because it will be the light in which we look at these first five games. Was this a bad Notre Dame team getting lucky, or a very good Notre Dame surviving some youthful mistakes and finding their way in the world? Beat the Trojans and this whole season becomes a great story you tell your grandkids about that time Notre Dame and Jimmy Clausen stumbled their way to a great BCS bowl. If they lose? Then hold on, folks, because it's going to be a bumpy ride of calling for Weis' head and spilt tears and booze for the next month and a half.

This team has been both frustrating and a joy to watch, but not even the biggest Irish (or Weis) hater can say that they ever quit. Not down eleven points in the fourth quarter on the road when every call and bounce had gone against them. Not after their best player was lost with a snapped collarbone. Not on fourth and goal with time dwindling in the lights of Ross-Ade. Not on first and goal inside the one after you'd just stonewalled the man-beast of Jake Locker seven times already that game. Maybe all of these efforts are just a comical warm-up to another skull-crushing by the Trojans, but maybe they're just a young defense learning how to complement a great offense in victory. In eleven days, we'll find out.

I haven't paid much attention to the Irish. Are they a good team?

Oregon State 28, Arizona State 17

via www.eastvalleytribune.com

Time to bust Arizona State's bubble too. They might have a rising defense (which did hold Jacquizz Rodgers in check), but their offense is too stagnant to do much of anything against the Beaver defense. According to House of Sparky, the failings are at quarterback.

Danny Sullivan had decent statistics throwing for over 300 yards and completing over 50% of his 58 passes thrown, however his performance looks better on paper than on the field. Sullivan often missed his receivers badly with overthrows, underthrows, and "who knows where he was throwing it" throws. Erickson is left with a difficult decision going into next weeks game against the Wazzu Cougars, to stick with his senior QB or switch to the freshman Brock Osweiler.

The Beavers have their own concerns; Building the Dam notes the defensive shuffles that could take place all season.

The Beaver defense also at least didn't stand pat, making three changes in the starting lineup. Brennan Olander replaced Latu Moala on the line, Cameron Collins continued to play in place of Suaesi Tuimaunei at safety, as he did in the latter portion of the Arizona game, and Brandon Hardin replaced Tim Clark at cornerback.

Hardin was the change that made the biggest impact, as Brandon had an interception, four tackles, and also broke up a pass. Clark still contributed five tackles for the Beavers in his modified role.

But even with the changes that did produce added pressure, only one sack of Sullivan resulted. And Sullivan threw for 338 yards, completing 32 of 58 passes, as the Sun Devils ran up total 406 yards. Arizona St. receiver Chris McGaha had 15 catches for 165 yards, both game high numbers. That kind of performance can't be repeated if Oregon State expects to make a run at another nine or ten win season.

Furd 24, UCLA 16

via www.seattlepi.com

Here's your sleeper. The Trees can power run the ball behind the White Stallion, and they can play great defense, and that's really all you need to do to compete to win conference titles. We won't really know if they're a full-fledged contender until this two game road trip to Oregon state and Arizona, but right now it's hard to argue that Harbaugh has the Trees back on track.

Jon Wilner breaks down an intriguing possibility that does have a small, but not remote chance of occuring.

Where, and when, does Stanford's run end? There are two possible outcomes to the 2009 Pac-10 title chase:

1. USC shifts into a higher gear, runs the table and wins the league going away.

2. The Trojans never get their groove on, lose one or two more, and the race remains wide open into the middle of November.

That's essentially how things played out for Stanford a decade ago.

In a league lacking a dominant team — it was the only season since the mid-1990s that the Pac-10 failed to produce a 10-game winner — the Cardinal emerged from the masses and made a successful run for the roses.

Are the Furd a sleeper or a snoozer?

As for Bruins Nation, they're not happy with the quarterback situation.

First and foremost it starts with Craft/Brehaut situation. I understand and appreciate the argument on Craft's side. I also recognize how Craft yesterday perhaps played one of his best games (if not his best) as a UCLA QB. His numbers would have been better if Taylor Embree had made the trip to Palo Alto or Morrell Presley was not making freshman mistakes. Still, what is obvious to me that the offense is shackled with Craft at the helm. Coaches are not taking downfield shots with Craft because they just don't have the confidence in his ability to connect. If that is the case, then why didn't they try out Brehaut? Why didn't they try out Brehaut in late first quarter or during third quarter when they were dialing up one unimaginative running plays after another.

Also, on that note why UCLA offensive line had opened up some nice holes early on, it was clear Stanford made their in game adjustments and basically challenged Bruins to beat them with Kevin Craft's arm. Given the plays our coaches dialed up, it was evident they didn't have the confidence in Craft's arm, which in turn doesn't explain why they didn't try out Brehaut. BTW preserving Brehaut's redshirt season argument doesn't fly, given Neuehisel/Chow burned it in our first game.

Who do you think should start at QB for UCLA?

Quick hits: Minnesota fell to Wisconsin in a closely contested matchup--The Daily Gopher covered what went wrong...Maryland edged Clemson, but might've lost Da'Rel Scott for the season.

Finally, USC 30, California 3

via calbearsonline.com

We've covered this enough, but we'll get some outside perspective from our fellow bloggers. First, the USC outlook from Conquest Chronicles.

That was pretty much Cal's offense for the night. After that they just disappeared. Yes, they got a FG in the forth quarter but every time they got close the SC defense shut them down.

Matt Barkley played pretty good tonight. He had some balls sail on him but outside of the one INT that he threw he made some nice throws to Damian Williams. USC had 8 or nine different receivers catch a pass tonight. Anthony McCoy is going to be a very effect TE in the NFL. He made some catches and he made some great blocks. Joe McKnight had a great game as well he had some nice runs in the first quarter. Allen Bradford was serviceable but we also saw why he is not an effective short yardage back.

SC did what they needed to do in containing Jahvid Best. He rushed for more yards than he did last year against USC but it really did not matter...SC had his number. Cal QB Kevin Riley never got into a groove after throwing that INT in the end zone. He made a few nice throws here and there but he really never really was a threat to SC. The defense pressured him all night.

Bears With Fangs and The Bear Will Not Quit both had nice writeups of the game. BWF discusses assumptions we had before the season

In defending the passing game, we all assumed that Cal’s highly touted secondary would somehow be able to match last year’s success in passing efficiency and interception totals (tied for 3rd). Yet the Bears’ secondary which returned all its starters, are sitting at just four, with two coming from linebacker Mike Mohammed. The Bears are also giving up 238 yards per game through the air, good for just 8th in the conference in this category.

Cal’s secondary, and its linebackers might I add, continue to struggle in zone coverage and are continually hurt by its tendency to leave the middle of the field open for athletic tight ends to really hurt the Bears. They give up way too much space to receivers and have been hurt continually by big yardage on third down passing situations, an area they excelled at last year.

The Bear Will Not Quit focuses on Riley's psyche.

I have no idea what goes through Riley's head, but twice now, we've seen Riley's quality of play drop off dramatically from where it has been at other times. In both instances, the drop off occurred after he struggled with wide open passes and pressure early in the game.

This tells me something: he has trouble shaking off mistakes. I am not criticizing him. It's hard enough to be a Pac 10 starting QB, but to have to suck up mistakes and frustration in the middle of a game against a defense like SC is just plain hard. Most people couldn't do it.

But that's the job of a college quarterback, and the fact is, Riley looks like he's struggling with it. He looks like a guy who gets into a funk and can't get himself out. I am very curious to see how he does against UCLA. If he rights the ship, and can keep his wits the rest of the season, this team can run the table the rest of the way (yes, I think they are a decent QB away on offense from doing that from here on out). If he continues to struggle mentally, I fear things could get ugly.

Do you fear Kevin Riley has a fragile psyche?

Poll

The best team through Week 5 in the Pac-10 is...

USC

75 votes

Oregon

90 votes

Furd

19 votes

Another team

10 votes

194 votes | Poll has closed

An Arizona State Weblogger Talks About His Team

T Kyle King — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:55:10 -0000

Blogging delays, both here at home and out in the Grand Canyon State, caused this posting to hit the internet later than any of us would have liked, but you may think of this as a special bonus posting.

I exchanged questions with SB Nation's Arizona St. Sun Devils blogger, Cory Williams. My responses to his questions appear at House of Sparky, while his answers to my inquires appear after the jump.

Dawg Sports: Whom should the Bulldogs fear on offense?

House of Sparky: If only it were that easy. The Sun Devils have yet to reveal the full potential of their offense. With Danny Sullivan getting comfortable as the starting QB at ASU, it's realistic to anticipate an increase in production. With that said, he will be aided by the sure hands of WR Chris McGaha.

A possession receiver who may have NFL-talent catching abilities, McGaha is often looked to in the flat on out routes, maximizing his opportunity to catch the ball, but minimizing the the potential for a big play.

Ball possession and a tough attitude will help ASU win the battle in Sanford, but they must be well aware of the speedy defense they are about to face.

DS: Whom should Georgia fear on defense?

HOS: The new recruits that coach Dennis Erickson has brought in, including Vontaze Burfict and Corey Adams, have largely boosted the athleticism and quickness of the Sun Devil defense. Burfict was ranked #1 in the country at LB, the #9 overall recruit, and #2 in California.

His speed and pursuit routes are like clockwork, and his elusiveness has acquainted him nicely to the college game. I am sure he and Rennie Curran will put forth maximum effort in a competitive, high exposure environment, with the recruiting world watching closely.

DS: What is Arizona State's biggest weakness?

HOS: ASU is an inexperienced, mediocre football team who has received an infusion of talent from the recruiting class of 2009. All positions considered, the offensive line has been the sieve that has brought us losing efforts against top-flight schools.

Georgia was able to penetrate our porous OL all day last season, and Rudy Carpenter never had a moment to do his reads, or find that open receiver on the 3rd check down. There just wasn't enough time with the excellent penetration by the Georgia front seven.

There have been changes on the line, with a few players returning from season-ending injuries in 2008. Even so, the inconsistencies that have plagued the ASU offensive line for years continue to come into play.

DS: How are your new recruits working out and what role will they play in deciding the outcome?

HOS: I have already played into this answer a little bit, but I will spare you any further praise of Burfict.

For the most part, ASU has seen value in letting its true freshmen play. We have seen Burfict, Adams, QB Brock Osweiler, K Bobby Wenzig, and a few others, which means that we are finally replenishing the quality of this program.

The main issue of 2008, ASU's lack of speed, has largely been addressed with the new additions. We are still years away from any semblance of contention, but the path has been created by the recruiting classes of 2008 and 2009.

With Thomas Weber, the 2007 Lou Groza award-winning kicker for the Sun Devils sitting this game out with a strained groin, Wenzig will be tasked with a difficult task on Saturday: kick the ball, and do it well. In a stadium with 92,000 screaming fans of the opposition, his impact will be felt, regardless of his performance.

My thanks go out to Cory for participating in this exchange. You may feel free to follow the unfolding action at SBNation.com.

Go 'Dawgs!

Pac-10 Referees Are Absurd; Other Insights From Arizona State @ Oregon State

Cory Williams — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:35:04 -0000

Okay.

We lost. That much is clear, and we had an excellent chance to tie it at the end on our 2-point conversion attempt. So, I can't complain; our defense was excellent and our offense did its part by actually putting 12 points on the board.

But why do we keep having to discuss Pac-10 officials? It seems like never a week goes by where there isn't some complaint about lackluster officiating, from missed calls to inconsistencies in the treatment of each scenario.

Tonight, Omar Bolden was flagged for pass interference on a play that Jason Sehorn found to be nothing more than a well defended pass deflection. As a matter of fact, I nearly jumped out of my chair when I saw the flag come in out of the corner of the screen.

What exactly did he do wrong, sir official, sir? Was his form too pristine? His deflection too overwhelming? Did he really impede the receiver's ability to catch the ball? Absolutely, because he jumped and smacked it away. This wasn't pass interference, it was excellent pass defense.

On the ensuing drive by Arizona State, Chris McGaha was whacked right before the ball got to him on a long distance throw from Rudy Carpenter. Expecting a reciprocal call, I quickly realized that no flag was coming. It's funny listening to Sehorn blow up on air; his reaction along the lines of "this is difficult to watch" really resonates with me and bothers me at the same time.

As the Pac-10, Tom Hansen and his cronies have the obligation to provide us with superior officials. If these are the best we can do, ASU is at a constant disadvantage. It's embarrassing to watch these referees ruin the integrity of our sport.

Another thing I couldn't help but notice was the clock management. Every time we got a first down on our march late in the 4th quarter, the clock seemed to run 3-4 seconds longer than it should have, after the whistle blew. I don't want to go out on too big of a limb and call shenanigans on the time keeper, but come on. This is your job, you should be able to do it correctly. If you can't flick a switch when you hear a whistle, you are in dire need of some help.

But anyway, let me quickly talk about the game itself.

Troy Nolan came up huge with that INT returned for a TD; he is a workhorse that I am truly proud to have on our team.
The offensive line was a leaky faucet again tonight.
Carpenter needs protection, but he also needs to look a little harder for open men. This is a problem that is not a recent development.
I dislike Pac-10 officials. Oh, I already mentioned that.
Jacquizz Rodgers is impossible to bring down; it's downright ridiculous to see 5 defensive Sun Devils fall down when they try to tackle him. Terrell Carr should be ashamed of that tackle attempt he had; he was made to look plain silly by a 5'7" running back.
The Sun Devils are now 2-6, and the Beavers are in control of their own destiny to go to the Rose Bowl. Does anyone remember 2007 anymore? I sure seem to have forgotten that magical season.

Pac-10 Preview and Predictions, Week #2

Cory Williams — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:12:10 -0000

The Pac-10 got off to a strong start as a whole last week, collecting six victories (two of which came against Pac-10 foes). The biggest victory of the week was UCLA's triumph over #18 Tennessee, in a game that was nearly impossible to watch in the first half.

This week, BYU rolls into Washington, Oregon State crosses the country to play Penn State, and Stanford takes on the Sun Devils in a battle of unbeaten squads. USC and UCLA have much-deserved off weeks after their victories in week 1.

On to the prognoses...

#15 BYU Cougars @ Washington Huskies. Saturday, September 6, 12:10 PM Pacific.

I was wrong last week when it came to my prediction about UCLA having "no chance" against Tennessee. Dead wrong. Tennessee was not nearly as good as I gave them credit for; it was probably all the SEC bias that gets tossed around on ESPN.

This week, I am willing to make another bold statement. Washington has no chance against BYU. QB Max Hall has looked phenomenal and will throw all over the Husky secondary.

UW QB Jake Locker gives Washington a change to keep this close, but if he falters at all, down they go, like a dogsled team falling into a frozen lake during the Iditarod.

Prediction: BYU 45, Washington 28

Oregon State Beavers @ #19 Penn State Nittany Lions. Saturday, September 6, 12:30 PM Pacific, ABC.

The Beavers take on the Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium... in Pennsylvania. What a coincidence, huh? Penn State is implementing a new quarterback for 2008, junior Daryll Clark. He looked good against Coastal Carolina, going 11/14 for 146 yards and a touchdown before getting pulled in the blowout victory.

On the other side of the coin is the OSU attack. Led by QB Lyle Moevao and WR Sammie Stroughter, the air game picked up 404 yards against Stanford in week 1's losing effort. The interceptions Moevao threw were backbreakers, and ended up being the difference between victory and defeat.

I can't help but wish for a huge upset, seeing as I think Penn State is perpetually overvalued, but in reality it just won't happen. Oregon State is known for being awful at the start of the year, and they won't go into one of the most hostile stadiums in the country and walk away with a win.

Prediction: Penn State 42, Oregon State 17

Utah State Aggies @ #18 Oregon Ducks. Saturday, September 6, 12:37 PM Pacific.

Allow me to quickly put this game into perspective. Last week, Utah State lost to UNLV 27-17. In 2007, UNLV was 2-10. Need I say much more?

Oregon won 44-10 last week against an overmatched Washington team. The most interesting part of this game will be how well concussed QB Justin Roper plays for the Ducks. He was out last week, and backup Jeremiah Masoli took care of business.

Prediction: Oregon 52, Utah State 7

California Golden Bears @ Washington State Cougars. Saturday, September 6, 3:30 PM Pacific.

California took care of business against Michigan State, and QB Kevin Riley is no longer in a platoon with Nate Longshore. Talk about a bust. Longshore was supposed to be the Golden Boy.

Washington State showed how bad they were in Seattle last week, getting dismantled by a 40-year old man to the tune of 39-13. This game will be in Pullman, so the final result might be closer, but I can't see Washington State winning this game. California is a team with a lot of potential. That doesn't mean it won't be close.

Prediction: California 28, Washington State 17

Toledo Rockets @ Arizona Wildcats. Saturday, September 6, 7:00 PM Pacific.

Arizona subscribed to the theory ASU has been working off of for years: play really crappy teams at the start of the season, and have a head start in the bowl chase. Toledo was 5-7 last year in the MAC, losing to teams like Kansas, Purdue, and Bowling Green.

Anyway, Toledo hasn't played a game this season, and Arizona already took it to Idaho 70-0 last week. I can only imagine more of the same in this match up, as Arizona improves to 2-0 and the polar ice caps begin to freeze over anew.

Prediction: Arizona 58, Toledo 13

Stanford Cardinal @ Arizona State Sun Devils. Saturday, September 6, 7:07 PM Pacific.

Check out "Breaking Down The Stanford Cardinal" for more information about the intruders from Palo Alto.

ASU can exploit the holes in the Stanford secondary with their quick speed at WR and their experience at QB with Rudy Carpenter. I think Kerry Taylor and Chris McGaha will have a field day, whether or not Mike Jones is 100%.

Prediction, Arizona State 42, Stanford 14. No mercy.

Side note: See the "Buzz!" icon next to the title of this page? Please click it! It will help generate more readers to the site. Thank you so much!

Observations From Inside Sun Devil Stadium

Cory Williams — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 05:17:30 -0000

The student section was rowdy and ready for another season of college football. After taking a beating in the Holiday Bowl at the hands of Texas, Rudy Carpenter and the boys looked prepared to show their fans that they are a legitimate Pac-10 contender.

The first thing I noticed was the inexperience of the offensive line really shining through. While statistically looking good on paper, Rudy was flushed out quite often. He showed his mettle and got rid of the ball when he needed to, rather than taking those sacks he was so familiar with.

To be fair to the line, they look promising. There are no guarantees in college football, but if they can give Carpenter 4 seconds to find a receiver, there will be hell to pay.

Lets move on to the skill positions.

Kerry Taylor found a seam up the gut to score the first touchdown of the season, a 52-yard beauty that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Taylor is really developing his routes and looks to be a deadly combination receiver playing alongside Chris McGaha and Michael Jones.

Keegan Herring was out with his sore hammy, but it was a good idea to give Dimitri Nance the majority of the carries (and allow Jarrell Woods the opportunity to play). Nance punched in multiple touchdowns, showing his size on the goal line opportunities.

Danny Sullivan has been looking awful. If he can't do any better than 1/7 on passing attempts against a Division 1-AA opponent, Dennis Erickson may have to reorder the depth chart.

This was Danny Sullivan's first Pac-10 passing attempt ever, against UCLA in 2007.

Thomas Weber hasn't slowed down at all, and looks every bit as good as he did last year when he won the Lou Groza award for best kicker in college football. His punting is much improved as well, with a long of 59.

On the other hand, Robbie Dehaze, NAU's punter/kicker, has a fantastic leg. I would not be surprised to see him land an NFL gig when all is said and done. His 63-yard punt was an absolute bomb, and to have actual coverage downfield would make him an asset.

Speaking of punts, NAU's starting QB, Lance Krieisen, tried a pooch punt on 4th and 12 in the ASU 36. It was a complete disaster and ended up going out at the ASU 23 for a whopping 13 yards. Better than an incomplete pass, right?

Kriesien is a speedy player, and his option runs are good practice for the big time opponents like Knowshon Moreno. With experience against a roving quarterback, everything else will fall into place with our maturing defensive core.

Luis Vasquez and Dexter Davis didn't skip a beat and look ferocious on every down. They chase restlessly until the play is over, and set good precedent for the young defensive tackles like Jonathon English.

The new dance/cheer combo looks good in their new uniforms, and the band sounds as good as ever. Now, if only I could get the student section to stop cheering "F*** NAU" or "F*** the Lumberjacks" and come up with something a little more biting...