Two days after being knocked out “colder than a cucumber,” ASU football coach Dennis Erickson strolled into his weekly press conference without the haze he wore like a badge of honor on Saturday.

Erickson was knocked down, and briefly out, during the third quarter of ASU’s 27-14 road win over Washington State when sophomore wide receiver Gerell Robinson was pushed into his coach.

“G-Rob [Robinson] came up to me and goes, ‘Man, I just knocked out Coach. That’s not supposed to happen,’” ASU senior quarterback Danny Sullivan said.

Though he remained on the sideline, Erickson was forced to leave the play calling to offensive coordinator Rich Olson for the rest of the game.

The 62-year-old two-time national champion coach was jokingly asked Monday if he would take any tests to be cleared for sideline duty during the Sun Devils’ tilt with Washington this weekend.

“No, because they probably wouldn’t let me play,” Erickson mused. “So I wouldn’t take one of those.”

Self-deprecating humor aside, Erickson admitted his headache would’ve lingered a lot longer if the six turnovers the Sun Devils committed on Saturday had come against a more worthy opponent.

“If we turn it over like that again, we won’t beat anybody,” Erickson said. “That’s ridiculous. ‘Ball security is job security’ is what we try to tell our players. To have three interceptions, to have a high snap, to fumble twice — you can’t beat anybody when you’re doing that.”

If it weren’t another stellar performance put on by the ASU defense, which forced four turnovers of its own, the Sun Devils (3-2, 1-1 Pac-10) could have been staring at a shattering loss in Pullman.

“We were fortunate that we played so well on defense that every time we turned it over, we got it back,” Erickson said. “But we would not beat any of the opponents we have ahead of us turning it over like that.”

After spending his Sunday watching film of the WSU game, which included several repeats of Erickson’s tumble, senior quarterback Danny Sullivan took responsibility for the offense’s lack of ball control against the Cougars.

“I felt bad that we kept putting [the defense] back out on the field,” said Sullivan, who threw three interceptions in the win. “We can’t do that. Six turnovers is ridiculous, it’s inexcusable. I take full responsibility for it, that’s for sure. At this point, we were lucky to get a win, and we needed one however we could get it.”

For all the mistakes the Sun Devils committed on Saturday, the offense certainly had its bright spots.

With just more than two minutes remaining in the first half, Sullivan led a brilliant nine-play, 78-yard drive, which he capped off with a 7-yard touchdown run that gave the Sun Devils a 13-0 lead at the half.

The senior quarterback found his rhythm on the drive, connecting on six of seven pass attempts and called plays from the line of scrimmage.

Sullivan said operating in a no-huddle formation might be a way the Sun Devils can keep defenses guessing going forward this season.

“I like it. I can get right up there and call a play and see what they’re doing,” Sullivan said. “It keeps [defenses] on their heels a little bit. They can’t rotate guys in and out, and they can’t call a defense that quick. It’s something that we can look at, but at the same time, we’ve still got to have our running game going.”

Erickson made it clear Monday that freshman Brock Osweiler will get another opportunity to play against the Huskies (3-3, 2-1 Pac-10) this weekend, but the coach said game situations will dictate when the Montana native gets his shot.

Osweiler, in his first significant game action of the season, completed three of four passes for 21 yards in three drives against WSU.

Injury note

While the hit on Erickson may have been the most memorable image from Saturday’s contest, it was not the only injury the Sun Devils suffered.

Senior tight end Stanley Malamala broke his jaw against the Cougars and will be out at least six weeks, Erickson said.

Junior wide receiver Kerry Taylor missed Saturday’s game due to an injured hamstring but figures to be in the lineup against UW.

“If we really need to play him, he could’ve played [against WSU],” Erickson said of Taylor.

Junior kicker Thomas Weber won’t play against the Huskies but could return next week.

Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu.