ASU Football: Keys to Victory over Arizona
By Mike Slifer
Tomorrow, the ASU Football team takes on the Arizona Wildcats for the Territorial Cup. The Duel in the Desert kicks off at 1:30 in Tucson and can be seen on Fox. (Ch. 10)
There is a lot riding on this game. Besides the normal rivalry implications involved (bragging rights, recruiting, alumni/fans), both teams are fighting for a possible PAC-12 South Championship. The winner of this game is the South Champion if UCLA loses to Stanford. Even if UCLA wins, the winner of this game will likely be invited to play in a premier bowl game, (Fiesta) while the loser probably plays in a lesser bowl. (Holiday/Alamo).
Devils in Detail will dispense with one obvious key to victory. It’s a key for both teams. That key is emotion. In games like this, emotions and the atmosphere created can make players/teams/coaches do silly things. Some people get overwhelmed with the moment and forget their assignment, or go for a big hit instead of wrapping up as they tackle, or go for an interception instead of bringing down the receiver. The anxiety created can cause pressure to perform for kickers, punters and long-snappers. Quarterbacks and play-callers (coaches) can feel this pressure too. Again, it can be crippling to have to come up with the right call or the right play at certain moments.
There’s also the emotion that accompanies all the trash-talking going on. There will be plenty of it. In these kinds of games, emotion can lead to stupid penalties. So, whichever team can calm down and channel all this energy to play good football will have an advantage. Realistically, once the game starts, most players will calm down and focus. But there are always a few that let the moment be too much for them. Recall that back in September, ASU was so keyed up that they winded themselves in pre-game warmups. During the game they were gassed, fatigued and ineffective.
Controlling emotions will be a key for both teams. Here are some keys for ASU:
1) Run, Run, Run….
ASU needs to run the ball. The Wildcats are not very good at stopping the run. Last year, they had no answer for ASU’s DJ Foster. They are not much better this year. Arizona especially struggles stopping a run game that has a quarterback who is a running threat. So the onus not only falls on the offensive line and the running backs, but quarterback Taylor Kelly as well. Kelly has to make the right decisions in the zone-read option and his run/pass options. The coaching staff would be wise to mix in DeMario Richard and Kalen Ballage at running back. Though only freshmen, they are big physical running backs that will be problematic for Arizona. Finally, the offensive line has to get a hat on linebacker Scooby Wright. Wright is a ball-hawk that is an all-conference talent. He absolutely has to be accounted for. The OL combo blockers at the point of attack have to climb quickly to the next level to neutralize Scooby Wright.
Running the ball successfully will also demoralize the UA defense as well as take the crowd out of the game.
2) When You Throw….Throw to Strong
Obviously, ASU will have to throw the ball to win this game. They are a passing team. The offensive game plan should call for a lot of isolation looks for ASU WR Jalen Strong. Perhaps he could be the lone receiver on one side opposite the “trips” side, creating a one on one situation. Or he could be the #3 receiver in trips sets, forcing Arizona to put a safety or linebacker on him. However, they do it, they need to create the mismatches that Strong can exploit. And then, of course, Taylor Kelly needs to look for him, especially on third downs. Strong missed the game last week due to a lingering concussion. His absence was felt by ASU last week against Washington State. ASU needs to make his presence felt by Arizona.
3) Effective Blitzing
In the last 2 games, the ASU blitz-happy defense has had some tough moments. It is literally ‘feast or famine’. And the ‘famine’ part can be fatal. When ASU brings pressure, but fail to actually impact the quarterback, they get burned. And they get burned bad. Big plays abounded for Oregon State and Washington State. (Notre Dame in the 2nd half as well). And coach Graham has shown that he can be stubborn about his blitzing philosophy. Even when they are getting torched with blitzing and man to man coverage, he’ll keep doing it. So be it. That’s his philosophy. But it better work. Different blitzes, different fakes and varied types of coverages will have to be employed to confuse the Arizona quarterback (Solomon or Scroggins).
4) Special Teams Shenanigans and Trick Plays
As with the idea of harnessing emotions being an obvious key to victory for both teams, Devils in Detail will also dispense with the kicking game as a key to victory. Undoubtedly, field position is huge in a game like this. The coverage and return teams have to be spot on. The loser of this phase of the game will probably earn a loss on the day.
But to be more specific, ASU needs to be on guard for trick plays. In games like this, opponents are always looking to make a splash on special teams. Fake field goals, fake punts, surprise on-side kicks and whacky formations are all on the table for a rivalry game like this. It’s not limited to special teams. Fans should expect ASU offensive coordinator Mike Norvell to reach into his bag of tricks at least once.
But it will be in the kicking game where one team could get caught off guard and be a victim to a big play. Vigilance and executing your assignment in the kicking game are absolutely critical. (Note: last week, ASU almost had a punt blocked on their own five yard line).
So there you have it. Keys to Victory from a football coach. None of these keys are earth-shattering revelations. But they are keys nonetheless. If ASU can do those four things, they’ll win.
Check back tomorrow before kickoff for our prediction.