The Pac-10 Season is Here!

September 20, 2007 by Nasser Kompani

Arizona State begins conference play Saturday, when they host the Oregon State Beavers and their new sports bra look. The Devils finally get the chance to test their skills against one of the toughest conferences in the nation. The next few weeks puts them against second tier Pac-10 teams, but it will provide a little more of a challenge than San Diego State and a good start would be huge before they go on that tough four-game stretch from October 27th-November 22nd (California, @Oregon, @UCLA, USC).

The team has looked impressive during the first three weeks. Rudy Carpenter looks close to being back to his old self. Besides that first half in the Colorado game, he has had a fantastic start to the season.

That may be due to the vast improvement in the receiving corps this year. They were a very inexperienced bunch last season, but they have done a great job so far. Mike Jones, also an outfielder for the baseball team, already has 200 receiving yards and and three touchdowns. Kyle Williams is a big play threat (20 ypr) and receivers don’t get much more reliable than Chris McGaha has been so far. The best part is that the Devils also have a good amount of depth at this position and are spreading the ball around like they did two years ago with Derek Hagan and Co.

However, as you all know, the key to the offense has not been the passing game, but the rushing attack. Ryan Torain and Keegan Herring are an elite duo. A great mix of power and speed. They deserve the credit for the 218 rushing yards that this team averages. This is becoming one of ASU’s most balanced offenses in some time.

The defense has also been impressive. The linebackers have been great, led by Robert James. He played with Dale Robinson and Jamar Williams and I believe that benefited him. He has progressed each year and now in his senior year, has become a big play maker like they were.

The secondary is the most talented part of the defense, but also the group that has given the team the most trouble. Those two near TD’s vs. Colorado would have destroyed ASU’s chances of winning because of the lead Colorado would have had at that point. They are very prone to giving up big plays and that just won’t do vs. the great offenses in the Pac-10. Josh Barrett and Chris Baloney especially are more talented than they have shown this season.

The defensive line has been pretty average. Michael Marquardt is pretty good and Luis Vasquez was a good JuCo pick-up by Dennis Erickson, but ASU still doesn’t put enough pressure on the quarterback. Even so, I feel this is one of the best defenses we’ve had in a while. Facing any Division I-A teams and only allowing only two touchdowns in three games is something to be happy about.

Unfortunately, there IS something that could keep the Sun Devils from having a great season. Penalties! It’s been disgusting to watch. They have lost nearly 200 yards in the last two games because of stupid mistakes. I remember most clearly three 10+ yard Keegan Herring runs in the last game. Instead of those putting ASU in a great position to score, it only moved them up 10 yards. They ended up punting the ball on that drive. Penalties have killed the momentum and have put the other team in a great position to do some damage on offense. This team will go nowhere this season if they don’t stop making dumb mistakes.

I don’t blame Dennis Erickson. He has a history of success at the collegiate level. I know that the transition between coaches can cause some early problems, but this is a huge problem that he needs to address. It was nice to see that at least they didn’t have anymore dirty and moronic personal foul penalties in Week 3, so maybe they’ll reduce the false starts too in the near future.

After watching the last couple games, I have high hopes for this season. This seems to be a team that can pull off an upset or two and start off the Erickson era with a bang. If they reduce the penalties and the secondary plays like I believe they can, a 10-win season is a serious possibility, but of course it can easily turn into a fifth or sixth place finish in the Pac-10 if they can’t get their act together. The upcoming game against Oregon State will be a good indicator of which direction they are headed.

Recruiting News (from Rivals.com):
The recruiting has gone well so far. It’s early, but four-star offensive lineman, Zach Schlink has given a solid verbal. He’s ranked as the 13th best offensive guard and sixth best prospect in the state.

Another player from Peoria, Jarrell Barbour, has also given a solid verbal. He played three positions in high school, but is coming in as the eigth ranked safety and second best prospect in the state. You can already tell that he’s a very smart guy. Ten days after committing to U of A, he switched his pledge to Arizona State.

There are some quality players that have committed to ASU over schools such as Oklahoma, Nebraska, the California schools and Michigan. Erickson and his staff have done a nice job there.

A little more good news to finish off with; ASU received the 28th most votes on the AP Poll and 30th on USA Today. Another win or two and the Sun Devils will be ranked once again!

Posted in asu sun devils, football