With six games in the books and six more games to go, an open week came at the perfect time for the ASU football team to reflect upon its season to date.
Although the Sun Devils (3-3, 1-2 Pac-10) lost three straight after opening up 2-0, the team’s defeats have only come by a combined total of 15 points.
Currently, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach predicts ASU to play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl at the end of the season.
But before anyone in Tempe makes holiday travel plans to San Francisco, ASU coach Dennis Erickson wants to see consistent strides of development for the remainder of the year.
“[We have] a lot of work to do,” Erickson said. “Defensively, I thought against Washington and really against Oregon and Oregon State in the second half, we played like we are capable of. The difference was we didn’t give up the big plays [and] that’s going to be a real key for us. We’ve got a new six-game season that we’ve just got to be better for.”
The Sun Devils are nationally ranked No. 36 in rush defense and No. 50 in total defense.
On the other side of the ball, ASU has seen a remarkable rebirth in its offensive game.
“The offense in general and what’s been done from one year to the next is pretty amazing to me,” Erickson said. “We’ve been able to score points and we’ve been able to move the football with a lot of consistency.”
Last year the Sun Devils were ranked No. 91 in the country in total offense, averaging just 334 yards per game. This year, however, ASU is No. 22.
“We’ve obviously come a long way since spring ball when coach [Noel Mazzone] got here, but we feel like there’s a lot left to do,” ASU redshirt junior quarterback Steven Threet said. “[Scoring touchdowns in] the red zone, being more efficient on third downs, there’s just ways we can find to improve ourselves that can make a difference over the course of a ballgame.”
Through his first six games in a Sun Devil uniform, the Michigan transfer threw for 1,719 yards with a 60.7 percent completion percentage and 11 interceptions, including three in the fourth quarter against defending Pac-10 champion Oregon.
Threet described his season so far, as “up and down.”
“There’s some doing a good job and executing the offense but ultimately it comes down to scoring points and winning games,” Threet said. “That’s how every quarterback is measured and that’s the way it should be. So I’ve got to focus on improving and keep working hard every day.”
Scout team scrimmage
At Thursday’s practice the Sun Devils only participated in drills for a little more than a half hour.
Afterwards, both the offense and defense gathered to watch the scout team scrimmage each other.
“It’s great; they get a chance to run our offense and our defense a little bit and [also] get a chance to go live,” Erickson said. “Beating on the scout team gets a little old after a while. This is a good time to have it, right in the middle of the season.”
Highlighting the game was freshman quarterback Taylor Kelly, who completed 7-of-10 passes including one for a touchdown.
Reach the reporter at tyler.emerick@asu.edu
