Redshirt junior defensive back LLoyd Carrington tackles Stanford running back Remound Wright. ASU beat Stanford 26-10 at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday Oct. 8, 2014. (Photo by Mario Mendez)ASU football is coming off its best game of the season, and it has a chance to follow it up against an opponent that's similar in many ways to the Stanford team it beat 26-10.
Stanford and the Washington Huskies (5-2, 1-2 Pac-12) are the two least-intimidating offenses in the Pac-12, but both boast two of the best defenses.
The Sun Devils (5-1, 3-1 Pac-12), however, might not be the same team in at least one aspect: redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly is expected to start for the first time in six weeks, in place of redshirt junior Mike Bercovici.
Defensively, however, ASU is sticking with what worked against the Cardinal: going big.
"Big Mo (Latu) and (Tashon) Smallwood are our starters at three-technique," ASU coach Todd Graham said. "It all depends on the situation along with our ability to be able to substitute and the tempo the opponent goes at."
That could prove to be the biggest difference between Washington and Stanford: the tempo. Stanford rarely, if ever, runs a no-huddle offense; it's been a staple of Washington's offense in previous seasons, and the trend has continued into the Chris Petersen era.
One of staples of the Steve Sarkisian era was a high-powered offense. That hasn't been the case this season, though. While the Huskies have put up points on teams such as Eastern Washington and Illinois, it has yet to prove itself against a team the caliber of ASU.
Yet, the Sun Devil defense has been far from impressive in every game but Stanford. There still may not be much to be learned about the Sun Devil defense until it faces a better offense than Stanford and Washington. Graham does like what he's seen in recent weeks, though, so he's sticking to it.
"Up front, we've gotten better each week," Graham said. "Last week, our secondary was great as well, but I think they all kind of tie in together, because obviously, we put pressure on the quarterback and it helps in the back end."
It will be a rotation of Latu, Smallwood, sophomore Ami Latu and junior Jaxon Hood in the middle of the new four-man defensive line. On the edges, senior Marcus Hardison will continue to play the majority of the snaps at defensive end, while it's now redshirt junior Demetrius Cherry and redshirt sophomore Edmond Boateng.
While Graham cleared that up, the quarterback situation is still not 100 percent clear. Kelly, however, says he is 100 percent. And Graham says he's going to start. But he also was unclear about where Bercovici fits into the equation.
"We're not the same team as before Taylor got hurt," Graham said. "I think we're better because of how Mike's developed. Will we use him? I think we will."
And that's it. Against Washington's swarming defense, it should be helpful to have a more mobile quarterback such as Kelly on the field. But the Sun Devils could also use Bercovici's more prototypical quarterback skill set, too, to take advantage of the one weak point of Washington's defense: its young secondary. Beyond junior cornerback Marcus Peters, the Huskies secondary is comprised of two freshmen and one sophomore — all three are first-year starters.
Assuming Kelly gets the start, it's not a bad game to get the rust off, after sitting for six weeks. Graham doesn't believe it will be an issue, though.
"I don’t think he will have any problems," Graham said. "The main thing is that he is healthy, physically. I am not worried; it is just a matter of practicing and getting his timing and rhythm back."
3 things to watch for
1. Quarterback
The issue here isn't necessarily who will start, like it was against Stanford, but more how the Sun Devils handle having two competent quarterbacks. Graham has foreshadowed using both, but Kelly was healthy enough to play against Stanford, and it was still the Mike Bercovici show. If situations arise where ASU has to throw down field, Bercovici could see playing time. A two-QB set would be interesting but unlikely.
2. Can the defense ride the momentum?
Todd Graham's personnel changes proved to be key last week against the Cardinal, and ASU has continued to use its bigger defensive set in practice leading up to the Washington game. Graham said he plans to use Mo Latu and Demetrius Cherry more going forward, and use less of the Devilbacker. This proved fruitful against a powerful team like Stanford, but Washington is smaller and faster — more in line with the rest of the Pac-12. Even though the Huskies don't present as much of a threat offensively, seeing the defense have success two weeks in a row is a good sign for the future.
3. How to attack UW's attacking defense
Only two teams have scored more than 20 points on the Huskies, and both of them run nontraditional offenses: Eastern Washington (52 points) and Oregon (45). ASU is going to have to work in something special to find similar success, whether it be trick plays, unique formations or both. The biggest issue, though, is the Huskies' pass rush. UW averages 3.83 sacks per game, the most in the Pac-12. ASU's offensive line has performed admirably this season, but it struggled against Stanford — the Cardinal got 12 tackles for loss.
TV/radio information
Kickoff: 7:45 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: KTAR 620 AM/98.7 FM
Prediction: No. 14 ASU 31, Washington 24
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
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