(Photo: Brett Deckert/WCSN)
Another game, another Air Raid team visiting the Sun Devils. Saturday will make it three of the five Arizona State home games that the road team centers its offensive attack through the air.
This time, it will be the sign-stealing-accusing Washington State Cougars. The hyper-vigilant Pac-12 foe from Pullman has emerged as a legitimate threat in the conference landscape in the past two seasons.
The Cougars are 5-2 and on a five-game winning streak after finishing a surprising 9-4 last season. The recent success they will bring to Tempe makes Saturday an intriguing matchup on many levels.
What impact, if any, will the sign stealing accusations have on the game?
WSU head coach Mike Leach once again accused ASU of stealing signs, going as far as to say it has an entire command center dedicated to the operation.
While it probably won’t have much of an impact on the result of the game, you have to wonder if the Cougars will try any tactics to foil what they believe ASU is doing.
Last season, Oregon used sheets to try and hide their plays, so the anticipation of whether WSU will try anything even more elaborate is more of a humorous storyline than anything.
How many passing yards will Luke Falk rack up?
It’s a broad question, but Air Raid quarterbacks have had an inordinate amount of success throwing the football against the Sun Devils so far.
Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes and Cal’s Davis Webb combined for 1,018 passing yards in their contests against ASU’s defense, though both performances resulted in losses for their teams.
Falk threw for 4,561 yards last season and already has 2,113 this season, which is sixth in the nation. The matchup against a banged up Sun Devil pass defense, which is still last in the country in pass yards allowed, is a favorable one for him.
Can the Sun Devils’ secondary match up against Gabe Marks and River Cracraft?
The best receiving duo the Sun Devils will face all season might just be the one that consists of Marks and Cracraft.
Marks was a first team All Pac-12 selection last season and leads the team with six touchdowns this year. Cracraft is the top receiver on the team with 391 yards. Both are considered among not only the top wide outs in the Pac-12, but in the country as well.
Cornerback Kareem Orr and safety Armand Perry have both been battling injuries over the last two weeks. Orr is expected to play against WSU and will be matched up against Marks for most of the game, while Perry is listed as questionable, according to head coach Todd Graham.
Having both for the game will at least give some hope to the secondary that they can limit Falk and his receivers.
Will Manny Wilkins look like the Manny of old?
Wilkins’ recent play has made some forget about his hot start. Last week, it was a combination of injury issues in addition to some poor blocking that caused him to complete only 13 of his 34 passes.
He has established himself as a dual threat, but his ankle injury may once again hinder his ability to run the ball.
Against Cal and Texas Tech, his two signature wins so far this season, he amassed over 350 total yards in both games. If he wants to do that against WSU, he will need to do accumulate his yards primarily through the air.
The Cougars have allowed 25 points per game and are towards the bottom of the pack in passing yards allowed per game, so it is certainly doable if he is healthy enough.
What broader significance will this game have on the Pac-12 standings?
ASU has reached the middle point of its Pac-12 slate and have just a 2-2 record to show for it. A third loss at this part of the schedule would be devastating, even in the jumbled Pac-12 South.
However, with a win and a few other results going their way, the Sun Devils could find themselves in a four-way tie for the South division lead.
Future games against inter-division foes Washington and Arizona will give a better indication on where ASU stands, but in order to avoid digging itself into a hole, a win has crucial implications.
