(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
In ASU’s eight Pac-12 conference games this season, the Sun Devils have faced eight offenses that all share one common denominator:
Each had a dangerous and statistically dominant running back.
In two months, ASU has faced six of the Pac-12’s seven most productive tail backs. But that streak will finally be broken this week.
The Sun Devils will head to Pasadena to face UCLA, tasked with stopping a Bruins attack built different than most of its conference counterparts. Its top rusher, Bolu Olorunfunmi, ranks just 15th in the conference in rushing. Soso Jamabo, the Bruins No. 2 ball carrier, is 22nd.
Jim Mora’s team has no individually transformative talent in the back field; instead, UCLA’s most gifted player is the one throwing the ball.
Insert Josh Rosen.
The Bruins quarterback ranks in the top 15 nationally in both passing yards (2713) and touchdowns (20). He is projected to be one of the first quarterbacks off the board in next spring’s NFL draft. And he torched the Sun Devils for 400 yards passing in last year’s matchup.
The Sun Devils plan on how to slow him down:
“Pressure him,” senior linebacker A.J. Latu said. “Try to get in his face before he starts to get in a rhythm.”
Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett concurs.
“Rosen is a heck of a passer,” he said. “If you give him a bunch of time and he is free, you can get in trouble.”
That is easier said than done however, especially against a Bruins offensive line that is one of the country’s best in protecting the passer – UCLA is ranked No. 21 in the nation in “adjusted sack rate” by footballoutsider.com and allows less than three sacks per game despite averaging more than 40 passing attempts per game.
ASU coach Todd Graham cited UCLA’s big-play abilities throwing the ball as one of the biggest challenges facing his back end this week.
“They are talented at receiver and their tight ends are very, very talented, very deep,” he said. “Offensive line is very good, very talented, very big. Obviously they have a great quarterback.”
Rosen did miss last week’s loss at Utah with a concussion and is still questionable to play this week. But he told ESPN.com on Wednesday that he felt “great” and was expecting to play against the Sun Devils.
All the more reason for ASU to keep him under duress inside the pocket at Rose Bowl on Saturday night.
“He reminds me of USC’s quarterback (Sam Darnold),” Latu said. “I don’t think he is as fast, but he has got an NFL quarterback arm. He is a smart quarterback.”
Darnold tore up the Sun Devils secondary two weeks ago in Tempe, aided by the fact he was only sacked three times. So, Bennett mixed up his pass pressure schemes last week against Colorado, most notably adding a package that includes both pass-rush specialists, Latu and Jay Jay Wilson, on the field together.
Five second half sacks of Buffaloes quarterback Steven Montez later, and Bennett and Latu want to see more of their new scheme.
“I love those packages,” Latu said. “We just come off the edge, quarterback comes down and we are just able to make inside moves on the quarterback. With [Wilson’s] speed, he can hold his edge, I can hold my edge and the quarterback’s not gonna go anywhere.”
But, Bennett was careful to not solely focus on Rosen either. UCLA’s running back duo might not stand out statistically, but the long-time defensive coach disputed the claim that they were not “elite.”
Olorunfunmi, a 5-foot-10, 215-pound junior, is averaging 5.5 yards per carry this year, a yard more than ASU’s top running back Demario Richard. Jamabo meanwhile is leading the Bruins with 5 touchdowns despite having just 72 carries.
“Those running backs were elite when they were recruited,” Bennett said. “I recruited Soso (Jamabo) a long time; I know what kind of player he is.”
Even if Bennett wasn’t impressed by UCLA’s backfield, stopping the run would still be a priority.
After all, as Bennett said: “If you can’t stop the run…you are not going to win.”
ASU needs just one more win to reach bowl eligibility. The Sun Devils might not be headed to the Rose Bowl Game this January, but they can quench a postseason thirst in the famous stadium with to games left to spare on the schedule.
To do that, ASU’s defensive orchestrator has a plan he wants to execute. As always, it starts with slowing down opponents’ ground games first.
“I know this sounds cliché, but (our defense) doesn’t change,” he said. “You try to do the same thing every week and that’s to make offenses predictable.”
Rosen is talented, but Bennett will take his chances by forcing the junior gunslinger to single-handed overcome ASU’s defense.
“When you make an offense predictable, you can do some things to stop the pass.”
