(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
The last six quarters have showcased significant improvement for ASU football. A road game at Stanford presents an opportunity to continue that trend and pull off another upset, but the Sun Devils (2-2) will need to play their best game so far to escape Palo Alto with a victory.
The greatest obstacle to that achievement lies in the Cardinal backfield. Running back Bryce Love, the nation’s leading rusher, is coming off a dominant performance against UCLA where he put up 263 yards on 30 carries. Expect Stanford to maintain a steady diet of Love on Saturday, especially with its quarterback situation in flux.
That could be beneficial to an ASU secondary that’s still trying to find its groove. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett never fails to call their development a “journey” and emphasized that they still have room to grow.
“We’re not where we want to be yet,” Bennett said. “We have to get our consistency level up to the 80’s, 85’s, and we can. I think we can make some vast improvement with that.”
ASU has faced the second and fifth leading rushers in the country in Rashaad Penny and Royce Freeman, turning in two starkly different performances. Against Penny and the Aztecs, the Sun Devils withered, allowing big play after big play. Against Freeman and a talented group of Oregon backs, they allowed just 120 yards.
Whichever ASU defense shows up on Saturday will determine the outcome of its first conference road game. Todd Graham said there’s been visible improvement from his team in the last few weeks.
“We’re getting better,” Graham said. “I think we’re finding our identity and fine-tuning what our identity is.”
Defining a defensive identity will be a challenge without Koron Crump for the foreseeable future, but ASU is starting to lock down its identity on the other side of the ball. Manny Wilkins has been excellent so far this season, finding a consistent rhythm with receivers like N’Keal Harry and Kyle Williams.
What remains a question is the Sun Devil offensive line. Run blocking remains a challenge for this group, but there have been moments where they’ve provided Wilkins the time he needs to be successful. Stanford ranks 9th in the Pac-12 in total defense, so there’s an opportunity for another solid offensive outing.
A pass-first approach can be a beneficial change for the Sun Devils on offense, but establishing the run is still at the forefront of their approach. Previous running back performances against Stanford show the potential for that on Saturday.
Overall, the Cardinal hasn’t looked impressive through these first four weeks. That vulnerability could result in ASU’s first road win of the season.
To achieve that, the Sun Devils will need to maintain the momentum they’ve been building on offense and avoid major mistakes on defense. It’s hard to contain a talent like Bryce Love, but even a serviceable performance against Stanford’s feature back should be enough to give ASU a chance.
The Sun Devils were in a similar position last week and delivered. The direction of the next few weeks depends on another delivery this week in Palo Alto.
