There are no “What ifs?” in Corvallis.
Oregon State doesn’t beat itself.
If the Beavers (1-2) lose, it is because they were outplayed, not because of mental mistakes.
The same cannot be said of ASU.
Through the first three games of the 2010 season, OSU has yet to commit a turnover.
No fumbles lost, no interceptions thrown.
On the other hand, the Sun Devils (2-2, 0-1 Pac-10) are ranked 100th in turnover margin, thanks in large part to their seven giveaways Sept. 25 against Oregon.
“That is one thing that stood out the most,” OSU senior linebacker Keith Pankey said. “That will flip the game, even in the worst circumstances. If someone makes a pick on third down that is huge. A pass interference is like a turnover, basically. I think it is huge going into this game [Saturday]. Getting those turnovers; that is how you win football games [on] defense.”
The Beavers offense has struggled, however, to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes.
OSU has faced 34 third downs so far this year and has only converted nine of them.
That 26 percent conversion rate has the Beavers ranked 115th in the category.
“Having no turnovers is definitely a great thing,” OSU sophomore quarterback Ryan Katz said. “But we haven’t done well on third downs at all this year and that results in having our defense on the field as much as they have. It’s a critical down in the game, you have to convert third downs to keep drives going.”
Although Katz is the only quarterback in the Pac-10 without an interception thrown, the Beavers are ninth in the conference in pass offense.
“We are not very productive right now but I hope that Ryan is on a fast learning curve and comfort level,” OSU coach Mike Riley said. “He’s been [through] the fire pretty good, he’s seen a lot of stuff already, all the atmosphere and defenses.”
Both of OSU’s losses came in road tests against top six teams in Texas Christian and Boise State.
“I think the competition was good for our team,” Riley said. “It sure exposed some things that we need to work on. The competition itself prepared us for the kind of competition we’re going to see for the rest of the year in our league.”
Since 2008, the Beavers are 0-5 against ranked non-conference opponents.
“Coming into the season 1-2 may seem like the norm around here right now,” Pankey said. “It is something that nobody likes, and I do not like at all. So now, we need to go into [conference play], one game at a time, and take details from the previous games, regardless of the outcome, and we will just get better and better.”
Like most of the Sun Devils’ opponents, OSU has been impressed with the ASU defense.
“Based on the past few games, I probably won’t face a better defense in the conference,” junior running back Jacquizz Rodgers said. “We need to be more physical, with me running the ball and everyone else around us blocking.”
For the Beavers’ defense, they feel the ASU no-huddle offense reminds them of an in-state rival.
“It seems like every team that we play now goes to that spread option similar to Oregon,” OSU senior cornerback James Dockery said. “Arizona State uses their running back in the passing game a lot. The running backs are a big part of what they do, in both the running game and passing the ball.”
Reach the reporter at tyler.emerick@asu.edu
