Quarterback
ASU senior Rudy Carpenter looked to be getting back to his old self against Oregon State last week when he nearly completed a Sun Devils’ comeback by leading a clutch drive at the end of the game.
Carpenter now ranks second in the Pac-10 Conference with 1,837 passing yards and fourth in passing efficiency (135).
Washington is another Pac-10 school which has had a quarterback hit by the injury bug.
Junior Jake Locker, who is regarded by some as the “Tim Tebow of the West Coast” because of his running and passing ability, broke his thumb in the Huskies’ game against Stanford on Sept. 27 and has not seen the field since.
Sophmore Ronnie Fouch has taken over under center and has thrown for 993 yards and four touchdowns.
UW is one of the conference’s weakest teams even with Locker behind center, so it doesn’t have much of a shot to be successful on offense without its most important player.
Edge ASU
Running backs
Junior Shaun DeWitty had the best rushing performance of any ASU running back all season last week against OSU, gaining 110 yards on 16 carries in just his second career start.
ASU coach Dennis Erickson said DeWitty will be in the starting lineup again this weekend, with senior Keegan Herring, junior Dimitri Nance and freshman Ryan Bass also in the mix to get some carries.
Even though he has missed the Huskies’ past four games, Locker still leads UW in rushing yards (180) and rushing touchdowns (three).
Freshman Terrance Dailey rushed for 102 yards in his first collegiate start against OSU on Oct. 18, but has gained just 72 yards the rest of the season.
While the UW rushing attack (90 yards per game) is statistically a bit better than ASU’s (86 yards per game), in reality, it isn’t without Locker in the backfield.
Edge ASU
Receivers
ASU junior Chris McGaha had his best game of the season last week against OSU, as he caught three deep balls for 76 yards.
Senior Michael Jones still ranks fifth in the conference in receptions per game (4.9) and receiving yards per game (63.4).
Senior tight end Andrew Pettes has also come on strong the past couple games and caught the touchdown pass on the Sun Devils’ final drive of the OSU game.
The Husky wide receivers are extremely young, as sophomore D’Andre Goodwin was the only one in the corps that had a catch entering the 2008 season.
Goodwin is the Huskies’ leading receiver this season (533 yards) and is currently tied for second in the Pac-10 in receptions per game (5.5) and ranks third in receiving yards per game (66.6)
UW does have a veteran at tight end, as senior Michael Gottlieb has 123 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Goodwin will still get the bulk of the Husky passes, but Carpenter and the entire ASU receiving corps should have no trouble taking advantage of a UW secondary, statistically one of the worst in the country.
Edge ASU
Offensive line
After giving up five sacks and committing six false start penalties against OSU, the ASU offensive line has been shuffled around again during this week’s practices.
Junior Shawn Lauvao moved over from left guard to right tackle to replace junior Tom Njunge, while freshman Zach Schlink has filled the vacancy at left guard.
The Sun Devils now rank 109th out of 119 teams in the nation in sacks allowed per game (2.88).
While every starter on UW’s line had first-team experience entering the season, the Husky unit hasn’t fared much better in terms of protecting the quarterback.
The Huskies have allowed an average of 2.5 sacks per game so far this season, which ranks 100th in the country.
While neither offensive line has played well this season, UW’s is more experienced and has been slightly better than the Sun Devils.
Edge Washington
Defensive line
ASU’s defensive line had a tough game against OSU, allowing 133 rushing yards to freshman Jacquizz Rodgers and recording just one sack.
Junior end Dexter Davis has now dropped to sixth in the Pac-10 in sacks (five), while freshman tackle Lawrence Guy leads the defensive line with 32 tackles.
UW’s entire defense has been a major weakness this season (116th in the nation in both total defense and scoring defense), and a major reason for that is its lack of production from the defensive line.
The Huskies rank dead last in the nation in sacks (five) and tackles for loss (25).
Junior end Daniel Te’o-Nesheim leads the Husky defensive line in tackles (37) and sacks (three).
UW also ranks 117th in the country in rush defense, allowing 243.3 yards per game.
ASU’s defensive line has been inconsistent all season, but UW’s has not been able to make enough big plays at any point this year.
Edge ASU
Linebackers
ASU’s Mike Nixon (junior) and Morris Wooten (senior) each recorded double-digit tackles against OSU, and Nixon still ranks third in the Pac-10 in tackles per game (8.1).
Junior Travis Goethel ranks second on the team in tackles with 52 and has climbed up to 10th in the Pac-10 in tackles per game (6.5).
One of the few bright spots on UW’s defense is sophomore outside linebacker Mason Foster.
Foster ranks second in the Pac-10 with 66 tackles and has also recorded an interception so far this season.
Foster will likely be making plays all over the field Saturday, but none of ASU’s linebackers will have to do that all because its group is way more balanced.
Edge ASU
Secondary
ASU senior Troy Nolan is really starting to look like an All-Pac-10 player at safety, as he recorded eight tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown against OSU last week.
Nolan now ranks third on the team in tackles (42) and is tied for third in the Pac-10 with three interceptions.
UW’s defense has also struggled mightily with opposing teams’ air attacks. The Huskies rank 91st in the nation in pass defense (237 yards per game), tied for last in interceptions (three) and last in pass efficiency defense (177.7).
Sophomore safety Nate Williams has turned into a solid playmaker at safety in his first year in the starting lineup, recording 52 tackles and an interception so far this season.
ASU’s secondary should be able to keep UW’s receivers at bay, and the Huskies should expect the ASU passing attack to successfully fling the ball down the field early and often.
Edge ASU
Special teams
ASU sophomore kicker Thomas Weber appears to be getting his groove back, as he connected on four of five field goals against OSU last week.
Weber will resume his punting duties.
Junior wide receiver Kyle Williams, who is expected to return from a concussion this weekend, will return kickoffs.
Senior Nate Kimbrough also had a dynamic 58-yard punt return against OSU last week and will return to that role Saturday.
UW’s special teams have also been poor this season, as the Huskies rank ninth in the Pac-10 in punting (32.2 yards per punt) and last in the conference in field goals (three) and field goal percentage (.375).
ASU’s special teams made several improvements last week, but UW’s play has been anything but special all season.
Edge ASU
X-Factor
As disappointing as this season has been in Tempe, it’s still not nearly as bad as it has been in Seattle.
The Huskies played one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country. Then they were robbed by officials when Locker was called for an excessive celebration penalty that cost them a chance to upset No. 15 BYU on Sept. 6. Then they lost their superhero quarterback to injury. Then they informed coach Tyrone Willingham he would be out after the season.
Because of all that drama, UW now holds the unwanted title of the only winless team in college football’s bowl subdivision.
While desperate is still an accurate word to describe the state of both the ASU and UW football teams, the Sun Devils have much better talent across the board and still actually have a shot of salvaging something out of this season.
Edge ASU
Overall Edge ASU