There is a pattern that has developed this season with the ASU football team.

Win two. Lose two. Repeat.

Based on that, it safe to assume that the Sun Devils will enjoy a fruitful next couple of games against USC and Oregon, respectively.

Yeah, not so much.

Smart money is on the Pete Carroll-led Trojans coming to town and laying the proverbial wood to the Sun Devils, which they will not be able to recover from for the rest of the season.

Not only have the Men of Troy not lost back-to-back games since 2001, but last week’s 47-20 trouncing at the hands of Oregon was the worst in the Carroll era.

Loss might not even be the word to describe the massacre that USC will dole out on Saturday.

It gets better — or should I say, worse — for ASU.

The Trojans have not lost to the Sun Devils since 1999 and since Carroll took over in 2001, he has never lost a game in November.
Never.

“I figure they are going to be fired up and ready to go,” senior quarterback Danny Sullivan said at his weekly press conference. “Coach Carroll is going to do a good job of getting those guys ready and getting them back to where they want to be.”

Sullivan does know that where they want to be is trying to make him an actual feature of Frank Kush Field, right?

Well, no worries, Danny, they will be right there.

An offensive line that has shown indomitable resilience all season, battling injuries and critics after the previous two campaigns that yielded a bevy of sacks, will finally meet its match on Saturday.

The Trojans are second in the nation in sacks, led by junior defensive end and Valley product Everson Griffen, who has tallied eight this season.

So, where will ASU find its motivation this weekend?

Amazing winning streaks? None.

The simple fact that Sun Devils fans are tired of being USC’s whipping boy? Maybe.

Maybe the Sun Devils just need to look around the locker room, or the stadium, or anywhere else in Tempe where “PT42” is clearly visible to find some motivation.

On Saturday, the ASU football team will walk out of the locker room to the field.

But their trip to the field is different than other team’s around the country.

Four days before Veteran’s Day, they will walk down the Tillman Tunnel, and that should be all the motivation the Sun Devils need.

He was told he was too small and not fast, but Tillman never quit and never surrendered.

And when he left the multi-million dollar contracts of the National Football League to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country in
Afghanistan, Tillman showed that courage is not taught, but sought.

This Saturday, the Sun Devil football squad should take some time to think about everything that man embodies.

Erickson makes sure his players know about the legacy he left at their school. And if they need any extra inspiration this weekend, it is right in front of them.

“[Tillman] is inside of our locker room, outside of our locker room [and] in his tunnel,” Erickson said.
Play like it.

Reach Erik at emschimm@asu.edu.