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A thrilling home victory against an AP top-25 team, followed by a stunning defeat.ASU football fans witnessed this scenario just over a week ago, but coach Dennis Erickson does not believe history will repeat itself when winless Oregon State comes to town.
“[The team has] got to step up every week,” Erickson said. “I would like to think we learned a lesson. Better have your hat on the correct way and we talk about it all the time. Our leaders need to know that. We talked about it yesterday. If we play as well as we can, Oregon State is going to come in and give us everything they have. If we don't, they're going to come in and beat us. Our players have got to know that.”
Junior quarterback Brock Osweiler was just as confident that his team would not have a letdown performance against Illinois.
“I would say so,” Osweiler said when asked if the Sun Devils learned from the unexpected loss to the Fighting Illini. “The Illinois game may have been a blessing in disguise. I think the majority of the guys on the team and the coaching staff learned a ton from that game. I know I did personally and that should definitely help us prepare for Oregon State and make sure we go into that game focused and take care of business.”
Osweiler spreading the love
Much has been made about senior receiver Aaron Pflugrad’s fast start. It is no secret that the Oregon transfer has played well, but Osweiler does not favor one receiver over the other or focus on any particular target.
“I have the utmost confidence in everyone that’s on the field with me,” Osweiler said. “Those guys put in a ton of work in the offseason and they are all very quality football players.”
Although Osweiler appreciates the effort of all his wide outs, the play of senior Mike Willie really stood out against USC.
Willie caught four passes for 44 yards against the Trojans.
“Mike played great,” Osweiler said. “He kind of wowed me even with that hurdle he had. Mike’s a great player and I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he does in our run game. Mike’s a great asset to this team. He’s a fun guy to be around. He brings a lot of energy to the team and he’s a great wide receiver.”
Erickson also complimented the receiver saying that he is getting better every week in practice.
O-line makes tweaks
Although it is one of the most important position groups in football, the offensive line is rarely praised.
The Sun Devils struggled up front against Illinois, but rebounded against USC and turned in, by all accounts, an outstanding effort.
“They played really good,” Erickson said. “They made a mistake or two. [Brock] was pressured a couple times. I thought we protected pretty well. It’s a pretty smart group. Probably the biggest improvement was in the run game. We were able to knock a few guys off the ball and that made a big difference.”
Senior offensive lineman Dan Knapp does not think the line made many adjustments leading up to the game against the Trojans, but he did talk about the importance of execution.
“We came out here, we knew we had to play to the best of our ability and that’s what we did,” Knapp said. “We got to keep focused. We got to be mentally prepared. We got to be physically prepared.”
Tello retires
ASU senior guard Adam Tello has decided to leave the football team due to back problems. Tello has already had two back surgeries in his career and feels that giving up football is his best option. Tello played in nine games in his ASU career.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
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