(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Bye weeks provide teams with an opportunity to reflect and improve on their weaknesses. After two full weeks of practice following a road loss to Stanford, ASU football will need its best effort of the season when it returns to the field Saturday.
No. 5 Washington (6-0) rolls into Tempe fresh off a dominant victory over Cal, carrying with it a balanced offense and menacing defense that could prove troublesome for the Sun Devils (2-3). This is the best team ASU has faced this season.
Offensive coordinator Billy Napier is familiar with the Huskies. Last year at Alabama, he saw the full capabilities of this team in the College Football Playoff — particularly their physical and talented defense. Napier said Washington has added even more wrinkles to its defensive approach this year.
“Their front is extremely talented and requires a certain amount of effort from your front,” Napier said. “Across the board, they’ve got sound players, they’re well-coached and they do a great job tackling in space.”
Offensive line play has plagued the Sun Devils all season. That group, which has experimented with various lineups, will need to turn in a quality performance if it wants to keep Manny Wilkins out of danger and finally establish the run.
Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage don’t have a run over 20 yards this season. That’s been a byproduct of the offensive line not getting a significant push.
“Running the ball effectively and creating explosive plays is usually a group effort,” Napier said. “Everybody’s got to understand their role in making the key block.”
ASU has found creative ways to utilize its skill players and make up for whatever might be lacking up front. Wilkins’ mobility and the versatility of N’Keal Harry and Kyle Williams have been incredibly valuable. That being said, they’ve never faced a defense like Washington. It remains to be seen if the Sun Devils can maintain that production and go score-for-score with the Huskies.
The ASU defense has to get key stops to give its offense a chance, too. Phil Bennett’s unit shows visible improvement week to week, but a lack of talent and personnel continues to set the Sun Devils back, whether they’re playing a power run or air raid team.
The most balanced offense ASU has played so far was Oregon. Although the Sun Devils were able to slow down the Ducks and complete the upset, Washington presents a much greater challenge.
“The reason they’re good, besides having good players, is that they’re consistent in what they do,” Bennett said. “I played Chris (Petersen) from the time he was at Boise and I was at SMU — it’s never changed.”
Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin are a notch above Justin Herbert and Royce Freeman, so a young and thin ASU defense will have no room for critical error. That will be tough considering the injuries and lack of depth it’s dealing with.
Bennett is considering multiple rotations up front for this game and has inserted Jay Jay Wilson and John Humphrey into the fold. Koron Crump and Joey Bryant’s season-ending injuries complicate a lineup already in flux.
“We’ve been in a semi-quandary since we lost Koron,” Bennett explained. “We’re trying to find that right combination.”
It will require a near-perfect combination of luck, execution and mental strength for ASU to pull off the upset over Washington. The offense has to get good protection and put the ball in the hands of its playmakers. The defense has to bend but not break against a dynamic Huskies offense.
If they aren’t able to pull off one or both of those feats, the Sun Devils could be in for a long, embarrassing night on Saturday in Tempe.
