Redshirt junior quarterback Mike Bercovici scans the field for an open teammate in a home game against UCLA on Sept. 25, 2014. The Sun Devils lost to the Bruins, 62-27. (Photo by Alexis Macklin)On Saturday, redshirt junior Mike Bercovici will be lining up across from his best friend, USC redshirt junior defensive tackle Antwaun Woods, just how it all started, on the field at Taft High School.
"When I transferred to Taft, and I threw one football, I think he gave me like one huge bear hug, and he realized what we can do there," Bercovici said.
When Bercovici goes out to take the first snap, he'll practically be face-to-face with the guy who used to spend the night at his house.
But has he talked to him this week?
"No," Bercovici said with a smirk. "No I'll talk to him Sunday, when we beat 'em 42 to whatever the score is."
After that 42 to whatever win, Bercovici would then invite Woods over for dinner with his family, with whom Woods is quite close. Although Bercovici isn't talking to him, he didn't rule out the possibility of Woods texting his mother.
"That kid is family to me," Bercovici said. "It's gonna be pretty fun."
While Woods will be the person he's closest with on the field, Bercovici, hailing from Calabasas, California, will know plenty of people in the crowd. It's been particularly special for Bercovici to start his first two games against his hometown schools.
"I guess it couldn't have happened to me any better," Bercovici said. "It's funny, because I've got a bunch of buddies over on the other side of the football."
But there will be no distractions for Bercovici, despite his ties to Los Angeles. And there can't be. While Bercovici can hardly be blamed for ASU's 62-27 loss, his three turnovers go against coach Todd Graham's main mantras.
Still, it was the defense and special teams that allowed the Bruins to score 62 points. Tackling, which Graham insists the Sun Devils practice for 15 minutes at the start of every practice, was poor.
Graham blamed his players getting too amped up before the big game against UCLA. He said it led to them tackling out of control, trying to make the big hit.
"You tackle with your eyes and your feet," Graham said.
Although Graham and his team say they're moving on, a performance such as as the one against UCLA is hard to forget. And the coaching staff isn't ignoring it.
The 62-point effort led to some changes to the depth chart in practice. Redshirt sophomore Carlos Mendoza, redshirt freshman Marcus Ball and redshirt sophomore Edmond Boateng have taken first-team snaps in practice that they didn't a week ago.
The Sun Devils are using last year's loss at Stanford as a comparison for the beating they took from UCLA. After the Stanford loss, ASU closed the regular season 8-1 before losing again to Stanford in the Pac-12 championship game.
Graham believes his past players set an example and expectations for how to bounce back, and he thinks this year's team will follow in their footsteps.
So what was the response that allowed ASU to have such success after last season's disappointment?
"Exactly like ours is now," Graham said.
If ASU is able to turn it around like last season, the loss to UCLA will be long lost in the rearview mirror. First up: USC.
Graphic by Sam Presley.Three things to watch for
1. Does ASU respond like last year?
That's what Todd Graham is saying, but it doesn't mean anything until the Sun Devils show it on the field. Last year's team was more talented and more experienced. It also had its starting quarterback healthy all season. ASU faces a tougher schedule, too. If it wants to finish 8-1, the first step is beating USC.
2. Mike Bercovici's turnovers
Bercovici didn't cost ASU the game on Thursday. He even played pretty well. He threw it more times than redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly ever has in a single game (he attributed it to an enigma of the game situation) and for more yards.
However, turnovers plagued the first-time starter. He made risky throws — more than just the two that turned into interceptions — and didn't protect the ball well. Graham preaches winning the turnover battle, a goal the Sun Devils were far from achieving against UCLA.
3. Getting the run game going
Most of the time, when a backup quarterback throws the ball 68 times, that team isn't going to win. Add in only 36 rushing attempts for an average of just 3.83 yards, and its odds get worse. Impressively, ASU did put up more than 600 yards of offense, but these led to only 27 points.
Even Bercovici agreed: The team needs to balance its offense against USC. Junior running back D.J. Foster was held to nine carries for 30 yards — the first time this season he's been held to less than 147, and the first time since the Pac-12 championship game that he's been held under 100.
TV/radio information
Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. Arizona time
TV: FOX
Radio: KTAR 620 AM/98.7 FM
Prediction: No. 16 USC 38, ASU 27
2014 season in photos
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Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
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