Remember, ASU has become the favorite in the Pac-12 South this year. That includes USC, UCLA, Zona, Zona State, Utah, Colorado.
- For every good thing you could say about ASU, you could say something bad. Yes, they put up 600 yards, outplayed, and should have defeated Oregon. Yes, they led through 50 minutes at Stanford (my favorite cover of the year, ASU was +4.5, leading 13-10, let up a TD with 5 mins left, then didnt get a first down, went for it on 4th down. As stanford was running out the clock, the RB broke free, and instead of running it in, he fell down on the 3, and Stanford subsequently took a knee to win by 4......gambling). And yes, they could have beaten Wisconsin in Madison. Those three things are nothing to sneeze at. On the other hand, they went 6-6. Two of their wins were against D-II teams (which is why they didnt go to a bowl). Another two were at home vs Wazzu and UCLA, which equals 0 quality wins. They also gave up 55 points to Cal. They return 18 starters in total, all of them on offense. So, looking at them half full, they could compete for entire Pac 12 crown, half empty, they shouldnt be favored to win any division in college football.
- Vontaze Burfict might be the best player in the Pac12, and I am aware that Andrew Luck is coming back this year.
- As Ive mentioned before on this blog, they run an interesting offense, led by QB Steven Threet. They line up in shotgun, 2 RBs, and one of the RBs sprints parallel to the line, straight towards the sidelines. This accomplishes the same thing as the read option, but before the snap. As with all motion, it gives an indication as to what defense the opponent is in, only the sprint quickens it up. They now have an "option" so to speak, where they can snap it and throw it in the flat if they want. Its pretty interesting. It worked against Oregon for the most part. They amassed 600 yards, but only 31 points. Threet threw 3 TDs, and 4 INTs - not good. They were for the most part ineffective against USC, who was not a dominant defensive team. ASU ran a trick play for 55 yards the first play of the game. Then, through the next 2.5 quarters, they gained MAYBE 70 yards, and threw a pick 6. So, not good. After USC went up 22-7, ASU put together a pretty good drive. Then, after it was 29-14, ASU returned a kick, and the game got out of control from there on out.
- The game was out of control period. Both teams threw a pick 6. USC ran tadpole on the extra point and scored a 2 pointer. ASU returned a kick for a TD. USC missed two chip shot field goals. ASU got an extra point blocked and returned for 2 points. Ultimately, USC kicker Joe Houston hit a FG with 3 mins left, and ASU missed a fg with a minute and change left. All in all, a pretty sloppy game.
- All this being said, I wouldnt be doing backflips over the fact that ASU has all 11 starters coming back. Threet had a TD-Int ratio of 18-16, and his wildness was certainly notable in the Oregon loss. He threw 3 TDs and 0 Ints in the Wazzu game, so take that away, and hes in the red. They don't have the talent that Oregon or even USC does, but their smoke and mirrors might be enough to keep putting points on the board.
Overall, I'm not 100% buying into the Sun Devils yet. And the weird thing is that I really liked them last year. I bet on them in the aforementioned Stanford game, and the Oregon game (and probably some times in which I lost). I like Dennis Erickson despite his scumminess. This is a team that for all intensive purposes, I would enjoy. But since everyone is on their bandwagon, which has elevated them to Top-25 status in a lot of preseason rankings, I have to be hesitant. (I understand that preseason ranking has no bearing on on-field results, no matter whether the team is over or under ranked. All I'm saying is, I think ASU is a top 40 team, a bowl team, and could be capable of an upset. They arent all of a sudden a top 25 team and the Pac12 favorite simply because they have a lot of people back).
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