ASU’s 35-20 win against OSU on Saturday told us a lot about the state of Sun Devil football as we approach the midway point of the 2011 season.
Even though ASU (4-1, 2-0) faced a 13-0 first quarter deficit to the winless Beavers, who had lost to FCS Sacramento State earlier in the year, there were more good signs than bad ones taken away from this football game.
Let’s start with what didn’t go right for ASU: junior quarterback Brock Osweiler doubled his season picks from three to six, the Sun Devil secondary had skillet hands for the majority of the night and the offense as a whole looked completely discombobulated in the first quarter.
But really, I see good in the bad here.
Osweiler bounced back tremendously after his Danny Sullivan-like first quarter, showing Sun Devil fans that he is mentally tough. The ASU secondary, who butchered a gazillion potential interceptions, played exceptionally all night long and never allowed a catastrophic blown coverage assignment. And that disoriented Sun Devil offense to start the game? They made the necessary adjustments in the second quarter to turn the momentum around.
On a more specific level, the performances of several Sun Devils on Saturday night were an indication that this is a very explosive ASU team, and one that will be difficult to beat when all their weapons are firing.
Junior running back Cameron Marshall tops the list of Sun Devils who epitomized the newfound tenacity and maturity of this year’s team. Marshall carried the rock 14 times for 80 yards and two scores on a bum ankle Saturday, including one 37-yard scamper during which the San Jose, Calif. native did his best Marshawn Lynch impression by shedding four would-be tacklers en route to the end zone. After that run, which is hands down the best play of ASU’s season so far, #CameronMarshall was trending worldwide on Twitter for a time. Can you say Beast Mode?
But Marshall isn’t the only Sun Devil who has proved to be a dominant force through the first five games. Junior Jamal Miles, ASU’s jack-of-all-trades running back, wide receiver and returner, is perhaps the most potent weapon in maroon and gold.
Give this guy a mere sliver of a window and he will streak through it all the way to pay dirt, just as he did against OSU with his 78-yard punt return to the house. Miles, the main reason ASU leads the Pac-12 in kick and punt return average, also caught eight balls for 62 yards and ran for 45 more against the Beavers to garner him a share of the Pac-12 Player of the Week honors.
Then there’s the defense. While most of the media’s praise has been heaped upon junior Vontaze Burfict, a preseason All-American and ASU’s man-eating middle linebacker, Saturday’s win over the Beavers showed us that the Sun Devil D has a lot more depth than just one head-hunter.
Sophomore cornerback Alden Darby came out of nowhere to record two fourth quarter INTs and play a pivotal part in ASU’s successful nickel package against the Beavers. The Sun Devil D-line did work, too, as senior defensive end Jamaar Jarrett (two sacks, three TFL) and sophomore defensive tackle Will Sutton (five tackles, one sack) headed up a unit that forced OSU quarterback Sean Mannion into ill-advised decisions all night long.
Critics will dismiss these observations and say that the Sun Devils were fortunate to be playing cream-puff OSU. But I’ll reiterate what I’ve said before: this team is for real.
With its victory on Saturday, ASU is sitting pretty atop the Pac-12 South, as Arizona, Colorado, UCLA and Utah all lost last week. And should the Sun Devils win this week in Utah, no one in the South will catch them for a spot in the conference title game.
If you haven’t already, “It’s Time” to jump on the bandwagon.
Reach the reporter at kjnewma2@asu.edu
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