The ASU football team’s staying power amongst the most penalized teams in college football has been unmatched the last three seasons.
In 2010, the Sun Devils have ascended up, or descended down (depending on your perspective) two more undesirable categorical rankings — red zone inefficiency (or red-zone efficiency) and turnovers.
After the Sun Devils’ three interception, one touchdown in three red zone trip performance against Oregon State, ASU ranks 111th in the country in scoring percentage inside the 20-yard line, getting points on only 69 percent of their drives in the ‘gold zone,’ and 110th in the nation in turnovers with 13.
The encouraging news for ASU coach Dennis Erickson and his staff is that only four teams in the country have more drives inside the twenty. Of ASU’s 26 trips however, only 12 have resulted in touchdowns.
“We’re moving the football but we’re not moving it with enough consistency when we get inside the red zone,” Erickson said. “We threw a pick and had a bad snap (against OSU). Our production down there, as you know, has not been very good.”
Against FBS teams this season, the Sun Devils have scored just four touchdowns in 13 trips, coming up empty an astounding five times.
After redshirt junior quarterback Steven Threet threw a critical interception in the end zone against Oregon with the team trying to make a comeback in the fourth quarter, he made the same error, if not more egregiously, against the Beavers on Saturday.
Once again in the fourth quarter, and down 11 on second down and nine yards to go from the 13-yard line, Threet inexplicably threw into what appeared to be at least triple coverage in the end zone and right into the hands of junior Beaver safety Lance Mitchell.
“Mistakes offensively is what is holding us back from the potential that is there,” Threet said. “We get into the red zone and turn the ball over.”
Threet has thrown the second most interceptions, 10, of the 100 qualified FBS quarterbacks in the country.
Threet has not been the only one to blame in ASU’s lackluster performance in scoring situations. On the drive previous to Threet’s end zone pick, the Sun Devils ran the ball five times from inside the Beavers’ 5-yard line, making it inside the one, before a bad snap to Threet in the shotgun on third and goal forced ASU to attempt a field goal.
Special delivery
Naturally, it was ASU’s special team that gave it a chance Saturday.
Redshirt senior safety Mike Callaghan led ASU’s comeback attempt against OSU.
With just under three minutes remaining and ASU down 11, Callaghan broke through the Beavers’ punt protection and spiked the punt out of bounds. The ball rolled out at OSU’s 21-yard line and the Sun Devils would score one play later.
“We had like a twist block on where the guard was going to hit the ‘A’ gap and I was going to come around off his butt in the ‘B,’” Callaghan said. “It was a great call by coach (Steve) Broussard and it just opened and I just tried to take it off the foot the best I could.”
Callaghan spent 2006 and 2007 on ASU’s scout team and has played special teams the last three seasons, recording 13 career tackles the last two years. Callaghan is a graduate of Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix.
Reach the reporter at nick.ruland@asu.edu
