More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

Danny Sullivan picks his receiver, counts to 5, and prepares to throw.

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ASU loses to #24 Cal, 21-23 in stunning ASU fashion.  Relinquishing a one point lead, allowing Cal to drive down the field for the field goal ASU showed typical conservative playcalling on both sides of the ball (three and out - 3 straight run plays with ~4 min left, soft zone coverage on the last defensive stand) and sloppy play (123 penalty yards).

Some highs existed - we were unexpectedly competitive, Marshall looks like he could turn out to be a great back, the WR corp is solid, the defense was good, and special teams was good.  It is just the damn offense.

Most notably the QB. Cal continually relied on their middle of the road QB's arm to get them out of long 2nd and 3rd downs. ASU could not do the same with Danny Sullivan. 

With each incompletion, turnover, and loss - Danny Sullivan hammers another nail into the coffin of his ASU career. Samson Szakacsy getting two goalline snaps today was telling.

While I doubt DE will throw an unexperienced QB to the USC wolves, I would not be surprised to see a different QB finish the season behind center.

Its not all bad folks, we showed some fight, have good supplemental pieces, special teams looked good... and its Halloween. So go out and be joyous, have some drinks, and try and forget about this mediocre team for a night.

Comment here to discuss the game. Go Devils!

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.

Yeah, no ASU sports playing at the moment..unfortunately.. But. Still should be some links out there talking about why that is and whats going on with some of the other sports eh?

• Good news up first. ASU has snagged it's 6th recruit for the class of 2010 in football. Lot of offense so far - TE, RB, RB, QB (6'6), FB, WR.
• A look at the recruits.
• Some scouting reports on the kids.
• A recap of the heartbreak in the CWS.
• Looks like our top four baseball players - Leake, Kipnis, Spence and Ramirez - are all expected to sign. So are two from our recruiting class, second round 3B/C Nolan Arenado and P/1B Jake Barrett 3rd round. There is a look at who is leaving and who is coming back in this story.
• Brent Miller has been hired at Washington as a graduate assistant.
• Finally, Murphy has some VERY nice things to say about Leake. Comparing him to Pedroia and saying this is one of the most special groups he has ever managed.

As CFB starts to gear up we will start profiling the 2009 team, which looks to be awfully good on defense.

We gotta win this one. Hopefully Leake doesn't pull a repeat performance.

Go Sun Devils!

ASU started off awfully strong, with Mike Leake breaking into the top 10 and getting drafted by the Cincinatti Reds at number 8 overall. Most people had Leake pegged at 12-14, but the Reds pulled a mild surprise tapping the wiry righty.

Scouting Report on Leake, via Jason A. Churchill:

Leake is a four-pitch arm who sits in the 89-91 mph range, but with an average or better curve, an average slider and changeup, and rounds it out with plus command and control. He uses a two-seamer regularly, getting tailing action shadowed by good arm speed and a compact delivery that he repeats well.
At Safeco in March, Leake breezed through the UW lineup, sitting at 88 but locating well and inducing dozens of weak swings. He did touch 92 and he profiles as a No. 3 starter. One major concern is that on regular rest, Leake's velocity peaks at 89.

 

From MLB.Com:

Focus Area	Comments
Fastball:	Leake threw his fastball from 88-94 mph. It sat comfortably around 91 mph.
Fastball movement:	There was above-average sink and plenty of side-to-side movement, with some run to it. He changes arm angles for different looks.
Slider:	It's a hard, downward slider, thrown 79-82 mph.
Curve:	An average offering ... not an out pitch. He can throw it for strikes in the 73-76 mph range.
Changeup:	Close to a plus pitch and he'll throw it at any point in the count.
Control:	He has plus, plus command, perhaps a 70 on the scouting scale.
Poise:	It's a plus, plus attribute. He has the presence to pitch in the big leagues right now. He's more of a lead-by-example guy -- soft-spoken, but confident.
Physical Description:	Leake is an undersized righty, but is athletic and strong, kind of like a Tim Hudson type.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	Four pitches that are all usable and the ability to command all of them extremelly well. He's extremely durable, having thrown as many innings as just about anyone in the class over the past few seasons.
Weaknesses:	There's a little hip turn in his delivery, but it doesn't affect him. There will be those who'll be concerned about his size.
Summary:	As a six-foot righty, people may want to overlook Leake as a big-time pitching prospect, but they might be missing the boat. He can throw four pitches for strikes and his poise is off the charts. He may not be that big, but he's athletic, strong and durable with an extremely efficient delivery. He's done nothing but perform with the Sun Devils and whoever looks past his size could have themselves a steal.

Next guy off the board for ASU was our boy Jason Kipnis. While he played CF for us, rumors have it the Indians, who took him 63rd overall in the 2nd round, will switch him to 2B. Maybe he is the next Pedroia?

Scouting report:

Focus Area	Comments
Hitting ability:	Kipnis has tightened up his swing, getting the loop that had been an issue out of it. He still uses the whole field, but has been successfully pulling the ball more. He's a big on-base guy.
Power:	He's got a little power, a guy who could hit 12-15 homers annually.
Running speed:	Has average speed.
Base running:	He's a good baserunner and maximizes what speed he does have.
Arm strength:	Has average arm strength.
Fielding:	He's able to play all three outfield spots, though he doesn't profile at one particular position.
Range:	He's got average range, using instincts well to make the most of his tools.
Physical Description:	Kipnis is strong for his size, but he's not that big and has drawn body-type comparisons to guys like Mark Bellhorn or Todd Hollandsworth.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	He plays hard and above his tools. He's very patient and is an on-base machine, something that should appeal to the stats-minded folks.
Weaknesses:	He doesn't profile well as an everyday guy at one outfield spot.
Summary:	It's hard to argue with the statistical success Kipnis has had at ASU, particularly in his junior season. But projecting him is a little more difficult. He's got average tools across the board and does tend to play above them. But he doesn't profile as an everyday guy at any one outfield position, making him more of a tweener or fourth-outfielder type. Still, he's tightened up his swing and his on-base ability should appeal to those teams who really value those skills.

I think he could be awfully good at 2nd.

Josh Spence was next, tagged in the third round by the Angels. Much higher than I thought he would go, frankly.

Carlos Ramirez went at the end of round 8, 261 overall, to the Angels.  Jared McDonald went in the 21st round to the White Sox.

At this point that does it. If anyone else gets taken, i'll update.

I think they all sign except McDonald.

So with ASU taking on Clemson in the Super Regionals i think we should crusie around baseball news and take a look at some of the stuff going on in regards to the Devils on the Diamond:

• AZ Republic takes a look at all the impact freshman we had this year. There is a reason we got the #1 recruiting class according to baseball america.
• The game against Clemson is SOLD OUT.
• Mitchell Lambson is named a freshman All-American.
• Mike Leake is a finalist for player of the year. Strasburg will take it.

A look at the game:

#2 ASU (47-12) will take on #13 Clemson Tigers (44-20).

Clemson is an interesting team. Their pitching rotation only has three players who threw more than 60 innings, and only two who threw more than 63. Casey Harman is probably their "ace" - 81 innings, 7-3, 3.78 ERA, 85/15 K/BB.

They use a lot of relief pitchers, give hitters lots of different looks, and rely on their depth more than their overall talent in their pitching staff.

Their offense is potent, with three hitters with 12 or more home runs and is anchored by JR 1B Ben Paulsen.
.369avg/.436obp/.627slg/1.063 ops 13 HR, 60 RBI, 32/36 BB/K. Wilson Boyd (.948 OPS), Mike Freeman (.909 OPS), Jeff Schaus (.977 OPS) and Kyle Parker (.811 OPS) all are threats at the plate. They all get on base and show some pop, so it will be important for the pitchers to stay on top of these guys and Kipnis and crew get going against the Clemson Tiger's somewhat weak pitching staff.

I expect us to win, but it should be closer than some people think it will be.