ASU Football: Sun Devils Host Cal-Poly
By Mike Slifer
Tonight in Tempe, the ASU Football team hosts Cal-Poly for their home opener. For coach Todd Graham and his team, this is nothing more than a football game. A game that they must prepare for like any other. For fans, media and analysts, this game is what is often referred to as a “rebound game” or a game to “get healthy”.
Coming off of a disappointing loss to Texas A&M last week, the fan base is hoping (and expecting) ASU to lay a whooping on Cal-Poly-to take out their frustrations on an FCS opponent and put to rest any doubts that this Sun Devil team is a contender. Truthfully, it’s safe to say that ASU is more talented than Cal-Poly and that they should win big.
Not so fast, though. This Cal-Poly football team runs the triple-option. Not many teams run this option offense anymore. It will force the ASU defense to adjust their schemes. They will have to truly play assignment football. The triple option is not new. It was run by many college and high school teams in the 70’s and 80’s. Currently, New Mexico, Georgia Tech, Army and Navy run this true read triple option.
Coach Graham and his staff will have a plan. That’s not the issue. The issue is whether the players can execute. Will they be able to adjust their rules and responsibilities for a unique offense? Devils in Detail believes that they will. They’ll get fooled occasionally and they might even let Cal-Poly put together a few drives, but fans should expect the ASU defense to figure things out and dominate.
As for the offense, fans should expect to see the scoring machine that they are used to and were expecting this season. The offensive players may not say it out loud, but they are embarrassed about how they performed last week in Houston. They have gone back to work and are hungry to prove to themselves and everyone else that nothing is wrong.
In fact, ASU fans should expect that attitude and performance from ASU in all phases of the game, including special teams. For every football team, the biggest jump in improvement is between game one and game two. That’s just the nature of amateur sports and football in general. Cal-Poly is playing their second game as well. They are coming off of a big victory over FCS Champion Montana last week. And while Cal-Poly is a worthy opponent and will frustrate the Sun Devil defense from time to time, Devils in Detail predicts a dominant victory tonight.