ASU football’s game on Saturday against UCLA means a lot more than just the Pac-12 South title for the team's veterans.
The Sun Devils are going up against the same team that prevented them from winning the Pac-12 South for the past two years. Both meetings between the schools came down to a last-second field goal, the one ASU missed in 2011 and the one UCLA made in 2012.
Pain from the last two years still lingers for a lot of ASU’s players, who were on the team in both games. Avoiding a third loss is another source of motivation for the veterans.
“I don’t want to end my senior season at ASU losing to UCLA,” redshirt senior wide receiver Kevin Ozier said.
To this day, senior safety Alden Darby is still bothered by the 2011 game at the Rose Bowl, when he allowed a deep pass on a third-and-29 play that led to UCLA’s game-winning touchdown.
“I asked for (the play) on DVD,” Darby said. “That’s something I never forgot. If you ask me, ‘How did y’all lose to them your sophomore year?’ I tell them, ‘It’s all my fault.’ I take that personally, and I just want to go back out there to the Rose Bowl and make up for it.”
The two losses haunt redshirt senior defensive back Osahon Irabor, who started both years.
“The only thing I remember is that field goal at the end,” Irabor said. “We had a chance, and it didn’t go our way. You think of all the times you messed up on defense and offense and how close it really was. Even last year, the same thing happened. We lost to a field goal again, this time at home. It definitely stings a little bit. We have to make sure we leave no doubt this week.”
Despite the sore feelings, coach Todd Graham has commended his players’ attitude and focus all week. The team’s general preparation hasn’t changed at all in comparison to other game weeks, and it’s an encouraging sign as the Sun Devils leave for Pasadena, Calif., on Friday.
“Our guys are pretty business-like,” Graham said. “They know the significance of this game, obviously.”
The team wants to carry on that approach heading into the game. All three seniors said it will take careful preparation and focus, not just schematic adjustments to beat the Bruins this time around.
“What separates (this team from those) are penalties and discipline,” Ozier said. “I feel like our team is more disciplined, so that should give us the edge.”
ASU signs first 2014 recruit
ASU formally announced the signing of recruit D.J. Calhoun, a four-star linebacker from El Cerrito High School (Calif.), on Thursday.
Calhoun will enroll at ASU and join the team in the spring semester under the NCAA’s new Institutional Financial Aid Agreement option, which allows high school seniors to graduate a semester early to practice with their university in the spring.
According to Rivals.com, Calhoun originally committed to USC but de-committed after watching the ASU-USC game at an on-campus visit. Calhoun verbally committed to ASU on Oct. 27.
“D.J. is not only a versatile and physical linebacker, but he is a young man with great character, discipline, class and integrity,” Graham said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to having him on campus in the spring and are excited about what he will bring to this team for years to come.”
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
