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The EDGE: ASU football in must-win against Washington

Can ASU stop its three-game losing streak?

Chambers TD Run
Wide receiver Gary Chambers runs in the ball for Arizona State's second touchdown against Oregon State in the Sun Devil stadium on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015.

Quarterback

Edge: ASU

ASU redshirt senior Mike Bercovici hasn't been completely to blame for the Sun Devils' three-game slide, though he hasn't done much to help the cause. He completed 27 of 44 passes for 229 yards and rushing for a score. His improvement in the run game has been apparent since Week 1, but is still not anywhere near the level that Taylor Kelly was at before him. The biggest key for Bercovici on Saturday will be ball security, which Bercovici struggled with again against Washington State in throwing for an interception. He's thrown eight interceptions this season, and has fumbled nine times (tied for the fourth-most in the country).

Washington freshman Jake Browning hasn't done much in a limited Huskies offense, throwing for 1,852 yards and 11 touchdowns while throwing six interceptions so far. 

Running back

Edge: ASU

One of the biggest bright spots during ASU's losing streak has been the dominant play out of running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage. The duo combined to rush for 195 yards and two touchdowns against Washington State, and the addition of more D.J. Foster carries out of the backfield makes the unit one of the toughest in the conference to face.

Washington freshman running back Myles Gaskin has shed many of the expectations he had early this season and has rushed for 748 yards and seven touchdowns through his team's first nine games this season. He provides a rushing element to the Huskies offense, but not nearly as much as his counterparts on the other side do.

Wide receiver

Edge: ASU

Washington simply hasn't been able to get much of anything going in the vertical pass game this season. Senior Jaydon Mickens leads the way for this unit with 33 catches for 357 yards and one touchdown, but that would still slot him as just ASU's fourth-leading receiver this season.

The Sun Devil pass attack has been mediocre at best this season, but it still features some weapons in Foster, redshirt senior Devin Lucien and redshirt junior Tim White.

Offensive line

Edge: Washington

The biggest key to Washington's offensive gameplay will be keeping Browning on his feet. The Huskies haven't been world-beaters in this aspect, but have still yielded eight fewer sacks (24) than ASU has so far this season.

Defensive line

Edge: Washington

The Huskies defense may have lost most of their defense, including linebacker Shaq Thompson, to the NFL, but that isn't stopping them from having one of the top defensive units in the conference. They've bottled up opposing rush attacks to an average of 142.7 rushing yards per game, and hold opponents to just 18.8 points a game.

Linebackers

Edge: ASU

ASU's defensive strength is clearly its linebacker corps. Starters Antonio Longino, Christian Sam, Laiu Moeakiola and Salamo Fiso have all had standout years, but are still forced to fight for playing time against backups DJ Calhoun, James Johnson, Das Tautalatasi and Ismael Murphy-Richardson. If they can get in the backfield, they can wreak havoc on Washington's struggling offense.

Defensive backs

Edge: Washington

The Huskies have been incredibly opportunistic on the defensive side of the ball and it has paid off, picking off opposing quarterbacks 12 times and recovering six of their opponent's fumbles. The secondary has been part of the reason why, holding opposing offenses to 215.8 passing yards per game.

Special teams

Edge: ASU

The ASU special teams unit showed up at times against Washington State, particularly junior punter Matt Haack. Hack's beautiful punt down the stretch appeared to put the Cougars in a tough spot, and Haack added in some offense with a 27-yard completion on a fake punt. Junior kicker Zane Gonzalez needs to regain some of his mojo, and Tim White needs to break a big return to revitalize the unit.

Overall

Edge: ASU

Related Articles:

Washington's flexible defense presents challenges to ASU football's offensive game plan

ASU football looks young in Antonio Longino's absence


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

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