After coming up just short against San Diego State last week, ASU football faces No. 10 Washington for the second game of its road stand.
A week ago, the running game and run defense were both nonexistent.
Yet, ASU still found itself down a score with less than a minute left. The Sun Devil effort came up just short, but it showed what the offense is capable of in a short amount of time.
Though not the result ASU hoped for, head coach Herm Edwards said he was pleased with the team’s fight toward the end.
“That’s critical,” Edwards said. “I like that mindset, you’ve got to build on that.”
After the loss, the team shifted its focus to Washington, who enters Week Four ranked 10th in the nation.
UW is 2-1, and the Huskies’ only loss came against Auburn, who is also ranked in the top 10. Last week, Washington impressed on the road, defeating Utah 21-7 and limiting the Utes to just 261 yards of offense.
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While it isn’t ranked as high as San Diego State’s, Washington also has a solid run defense. Against Utah, the Huskies limited running back Zack Moss to 67 rushing yards.
Last week, ASU’s run game didn’t show up, combining for just 36 rushing yards as a unit. In particular, the Sun Devils ran for -2 yards in the third quarter.
That being said, the Huskies are more known for their elite secondary.
Washington ranks tied for third in the Pac-12 in the conference in passing yards allowed per game at 170.7; however, the Huskies have only forced one interception this year.
Offensively, Jake Browning is the leader for the fourth season in a row.
Browning led Washington to the College Football Playoff his sophomore season, but since then his production has continually decreased. This year, Browning has thrown four picks to match his four touchdowns, and most recently, he threw for only 155 yards against Utah.
In the running game, Myles Gaskin is an experienced back who ran for almost 150 yards against Utah after two dismal performances to start the year. Gaskin, a senior, has started since his freshman year and rushed for more than 1300 yards each season.
In the SDSU game, the ASU front got torched, and the Aztecs combined for 311 rushing yards. Edwards said a lot of the unit’s struggles were a result of incorrect alignments.
“We didn’t line up correctly,” Edwards said. “Some of that is just alignment error, and that’s what you dread the most.”
Although last week was ASU’s first road game, this will be the first time of the season ASU steps into a ruckus atmosphere.
Husky Stadium is well-known as one of the loudest stadiums in college football, seating just over 70,000 people, and its metal panels soak up all of the noise.
While he knows it will be loud on Saturday, Edwards said he is excited to play in that atmosphere.
“I think it’s just great,” Edwards said. “Those folks, they’re big time fans up there. You gotta like that.
All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.