If close losses counted for something in college football, ASU would be in much better shape than they are now.
Unfortunately, being close in the Pac-10 Conference doesn’t cut it. You have to get over the hump and win football games.
The Sun Devils (4-5, 2-4 Pac-10) are running out of time. In order to make a bowl game, ASU needs to move past the devastating losses and start turning the heartbreaking defeats into victories.
“It’s been the story of our year,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “We have had those opportunities a number of times. We haven’t won one of those games and hopefully we can do that here shortly.”
The next opportunity won’t be easy, but with a top-10 team coming into Sun Devil Stadium, it is yet another chance to get a signature win and possibly save ASU’s season for the time being.
“They understand where we are at and what’s left in our season,” Erickson said of his players. “They have a lot of pride and good leadership. We have a great opportunity this week playing a top-10 team at home.”
Getting a win won’t be easy, as Stanford (8-1, 5-1) is playing some of the best football in Cardinal football history. Coach Jim Harbaugh has miraculously taken a team that was 1-11 the year before he was hired, to being in the hunt for a BCS bowl game.
“Stanford is obviously a good football team in all aspects of the game,” Erickson said. “Offensively, they are very physical and their offensive front is probably as good as I’ve seen in college football in a long time.”
Erickson also had high praise for Stanford sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck, calling him the best at his position in the nation.
“Their quarterback is the best in the country,” Erickson said. “Andrew Luck jumps out at you with the way he plays. The way they run the football and play-action pass is very consistent through every game. He has a lot of God-given talent.”
Having a former professional quarterback as his head coach certainly has helped Luck. Harbaugh’s best decision might have been to redshirt Luck as a freshman when Stanford was supposed to struggle, even though he probably was the most talented quarterback on the roster.
“Harbaugh said he was special from day one and he is exactly right,” Erickson said. “They redshirted him the one-year and he probably could’ve played. They had a plan for him and he is an exceptional player.”
Things were supposed to drop off for the Cardinal offense with the graduation of Heisman Trophy-finalist running back Toby Gerhart.
Stanford was supposed to replace Gerhart with a running back by committee approach, however sophomore Stepfan Taylor has grasped the job as the feature running back and is on pace to run for over 1,000 yards behind a gigantic and physical offensive line.
The Cardinal offense can beat opponents in the air with Luck shredding secondaries and also beat opponents on the ground behind a talented offensive line. Stanford has a complete offense.
Last year the offense was talented as well, but Stanford was held back by its defense. At points during this season, similar struggles occurred, but lately, the Cardinal are much improved on that side of the ball.
“Defensively is where I see the biggest difference from a year ago to today,” Erickson said of the Cardinal. “They are really consistent and physical on defense. They do some different things, as they have a new coordinator. Playing very well in the secondary and a lot of those guys played last year.”
In recent weeks, Stanford has put it together on both sides of the ball and has dominated their opposition. In order to spring the upset, the resilient Sun Devils will have to bounce back after another gut-wrenching loss.
“We are obviously a competitive bunch, we fight hard every day in practice and continue to improve, and prepare well and get ready to go on Saturday,” ASU redshirt junior quarterback Steven Threet said. “We battle back from being down this week and were not able to make it happen, but we just have to move on and get ready to go for Stanford.”
Reach the reporter at andrew.gruman@asu.edu
