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The EDGE: Can ASU football keep its momentum against Colorado?

The Sun Devils have yet to lose to the Buffs since they have joined the Pac-12

The Arizona State student section celebrates with the Sun Devil football team after an upset win against UCLA on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 38-23.
The Arizona State student section celebrates with the Sun Devil football team after an upset win against UCLA on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 38-23.

Quarterback

Edge: ASU

Maybe he's just at his best in his native southern California, but ASU redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici was tremendous in ASU's 38-23 upset win over No. 7 UCLA last week. Perhaps his biggest play of the game actually was made with his legs, setting a new career-high with a 34-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to go with his 273-yard, three-touchdown performance.

Colorado junior Sefo Liufau has elevated his game this season, throwing for 1,002 yards and five touchdowns with just two interceptions, but has yet to ascend to become the talk of the Pac-12. 

Running backs

Edge: ASU

ASU sophomore Demario Richard saw his streak of 100-yard rushing games come to an end against UCLA, but has still managed to total more than 100 all-purpose yards in each game this season. Oh, and his backup, sophomore Kalen Ballage, can do this:

Colorado has done a solid job distributing the wealth between Phillip Lindsay, Christian Powell and Michael Adkins II, but few running back groups in the Pac-12 can compare to the Richard-Ballage one-two punch.

Wide receivers

Edge: Colorado

ASU got multiple receivers going for the first time this season against UCLA, with strong performances from senior D.J. Foster (four catches, 57 yards, one touchdown vs. UCLA), redshirt junior Tim White (five catches, 42 yards, one touchdown) and redshirt senior Devin Lucien (three catches, 34 yards). However, there are few wide receivers in the conference who can be as dominant as Nelson Spruce is for the Buffaloes.

Spruce, a senior, hasn't seen the amount of targets he's been used to these far this season, but still is far and away the team leader with 31 catches for 363 yards and a touchdown thus far. 

Offensive line

Edge: ASU

ASU's offensive line held up well against an athletic (albeit banged up) UCLA defense last week, allowing just one sack while being impactful with the inside run. After being criticized for poor play for much of the season, the tackle rotation of Evan Goodman, Billy McGehee and Sam Jones played their best games against the Bruins.

Defensive line

Edge: ASU

ASU's defense has based itself off of its offensive line through the team's first five games, and it's easy to see why. They have experience (redshirt senior Demetrius Cherry), explosive play (freshman JoJo Wicker) and the development of a surprise star (junior Ami Latu), opening things up for the experienced ASU linebackers to attack.

Linebackers

Edge: ASU

Speaking of the linebackers, ASU has really stepped things up in regards to pressure. Head coach Todd Graham has raved about them, saying that redshirt junior linebackers Salamo Fiso and Laiu Moeakiola have been playing at an All-Pac-12 level. Sophomores Christian Sam and DJ Calhoun are coming off of stellar games, as the defense has limited the USC and UCLA offenses to less than 100 yards rushing each during the last two games.

Secondary

Edge: ASU

ASU's secondary did its best to handle freshman phenom Josh Rosen and UCLA last week, and were pretty successful until late in the fourth quarter. Corners Kweishi Brown and Lloyd Carrington have been solid, Jordan Simone has worked his way through struggles and freshman Kareem Orr has adapted well to his new starting spot.

Special Teams

Edge: ASU

The Sun Devils are coming off of one of the best special teams performances of the Todd Graham era, cemented by Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week Matt Haack's corner punt that pinned UCLA at their own 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. Tim White has shown his explosiveness as a kick returner, and could break an even bigger run soon. The lone concern is junior kicker Zane Gonzalez, who has already missed three field goals this season.

Overall

Edge: ASU


Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.

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