ASU head coach Todd Graham directs practice on Wednesday, Sept 10. Graham's team opens conference play on Saturday (Photo by Alexis Macklin).ASU football hasn't faced a true test this season. The trend should continue in Week 3 against Colorado, but coach Todd Graham is excited to finally face a Pac-12 offense.
In Week 1, the Sun Devils played an FCS team, Weber State. In Week 2, they played New Mexico, a team that wasn't much better but ran a triple-option offense that forced ASU to prepare and play differently than its base defense.
But the Buffaloes run a somewhat similar offensive scheme to ASU, and Graham is ready to see how his defense performs in what will be the first look at how it performs against the Pac-12.
"It's just so hard to gauge," Graham said. "We've played the triple option — I can't tell, I can't figure it out. I think we've played well ... but we haven't played against a conventional Pac-12 style offense yet."
Like the Sun Devils, Colorado has a mobile quarterback, but they lost their Jaelen Strong-receiver, Paul Richardson. Still, much of the offense returned and improved from last year, when it was one of the youngest in the Pac-12.
The Buffaloes return sophomore quarterback Sefo Liufau and junior running back Christian Powell. Despite losing their leading receiver, Richardson, their next three leading receivers are back, and they added four-star receiver Shay Fields, who already has 14 receptions for 139 yards.
Colorado has relied on Liufau much more than any of its running backs, splitting their 81 carries five ways, with no one getting more than 24. Liufau has taken the extra responsibility and ran with it, throwing five touchdowns to just one interception in two games, in addition to 559 passing yards and 50 more on the ground.
The Sun Devils and their in-flux secondary will have to focus on stopping Liufau in order to find success against their first Pac-12 opponent.
With ASU's inexperienced defense, there's been a bevy of mental errors. That's something Graham won't hesitate to point out. In fact, it's something he has pointed out nearly every time he's spoken to the media since the New Mexico game.
"The only time we've given up anything, we've left somebody uncovered or made a critical error," Graham said.
As much as Graham doesn't know about his defense, he knows equally as little about his Pac-12 foes. He has film of Pac-12 teams beating up on lesser programs early on in the season, but he refuses to even look at stats of those games.
"Right now, you've got (teams that you ask), who have you played?" Graham said. "It just skews the stats. I just look at Pac-12 opponents."
Going forward, Graham should have a better sense of where his team is at, even after playing Pac-12 South cellar dweller, Colorado.
"I think we'll be able to tell a lot more of where we're at after this week," Graham said. "If we execute the system to what we're doing, that's the key."
Three things to watch for
1. Devilbacker
Just like the secondary, the Devilbacker position is very much in flux, too. Redshirt sophomore Edmond Boateng seemed to be in control of the starting job after the first two weeks of the season, but redshirt junior Antonio Longino was taking first-team snaps at practice on Thursday, and Graham said both should play versus Colorado. He also said to expect redshirt senior De'Marieya Nelson to rush the passer on third downs and that he wants to get redshirt senior Marcus Washington more playing time at the position.
2. How does the secondary hold up?
Colorado doesn't present much of a threat, but it does still have a potent passing attack, which will attack the biggest question mark of the ASU defense. This will be the third starting four ASU has rolled out in three games this season, with freshman Armand Perry making his second straight start and redshirt junior Jordan Simone getting his first start since Week 1.
3. The most points since...
Probably Week 4 against USC last season. It's hard to imagine the Sun Devils eclipsing 62 points on the road, but expect this game to be a shootout. The Colorado defense doesn't bring much to the table, and Taylor Kelly should be able to cut it apart with back shoulder throws to Jaelen Strong and screens to D.J. Foster. If Colorado is able to score enough points to keep ASU's starters on the field for the majority of the game, there's an outside chance at the two teams combining for 100.
TV/radio information
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Arizona time
TV: ESPNU
Radio: 92.3 AM KTAR
Prediction: ASU 55, Colorado 31
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Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
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