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The storyline is played out.
An emotional win can lead to an emotional drop-off.
But against a program like Oregon State, the main concern isn’t about the ASU football team playing poorly.
It’s about the Beavers (0-3, 0-1 Pac-12) possibly springing to life.
Since 2006, OSU is 9-14 in the months of August and September but is 14-4 in October.
For that reason, the No. 25 Sun Devils (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) can’t take the Beavers lightly when the two teams meet at Sun Devil Stadium Saturday night.
“Just when you think they’re down, they’ll come back and kick you in the rear end,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “That’s what their program is all about.”
ASU hasn’t defeated OSU since 2007, including a 31-28 loss in Corvallis last season.
“They’ve got pretty good confidence in beating us,” Erickson said. “They are warriors and they have a lot of pride in what they’re doing.”
The Sun Devils don’t have to go too far back to find the last time they fell flat a week after posting a nationally televised win.
ASU defeated then-No. 21 Missouri Sept. 9 and followed it up the next weekend by losing at No. 24 Illinois, 17-14.
Now a week past a victory over then-No. 23 Southern California, the Sun Devils face another hungry team looking to prove itself against a ranked opponent.
“The Illinois game might have been a blessing in disguise,” junior quarterback Brock Osweiler said. “The majority of the guys learned a ton. That should help us prepare for Oregon State and get us focused.”
The Sun Devils’ signal-caller specifically made a list of five takeaways he learned from the Illini loss to improve on.
“They were just things like keeping two hands on the ball when I’m in the pocket,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll start separating a hand and I need to keep both on it for ball security.”
As for the Beavers, they don’t have the same type of pass-rush Illinois had.
While the Illini notched six sacks against the Sun Devils in one game, OSU is tied for 73rd in the nation with five total sacks in four games.
“They play base defense but they have guys that understand their system,” Osweiler said. “There’s never a letdown with them, and they play with a lot of energy and a lot of heart.”
The ASU defense runs some similar schemes to the Beavers, so the Sun Devil offense will get a preview of what’s ahead for them during practice.
“It does help me out a lot because I see it every day,” Osweiler said. “At the same time though, they do do slightly different things. I’ll study an opponent and understand what they’re doing. I don’t want to force things.”
As for the OSU offense, redshirt senior wide receiver James Rodgers leads the charge.
In three career games against the Sun Devils, Rodgers has 216 yards receiving and one touchdown.
“Bringing Rodgers back and just having his presence there is big for them,” said Erickson, who coached at OSU from 1999-2002.
The current ASU coach is 3-5 against his former school.
“I have a lot of fond memories, great people and great fans,” Erickson said. “I’m proud of my time there. It’s always fun to play them.”
Reach the reporter at tyler.emerick@asu.edu
