Sooo… Arizona State This Week, Huh? Should Probably Talk About That

Sparky might be a little better this year. They also might get blown out again (money's on the latter).

We need to talk about Arizona State here, people. I mean, we can’t just ignore that this is going to happen all week right? Well, by we, I mean this blog and the content within it. I already know you and I are busy consuming useful and informative content elsewhere that you most certainly won’t get here.

“Criminy, Nick, get to the point already!” Yeah, ok. The point.

Oregon’s darling ducklings have a date Saturday night in the hot (it’s a dry heat) desert that is Tempe, AZ. While a more youthful (re: 27 year old) blog would have made the God-awful 6 hour drive from San Diego, this is an older and wiser dot com (dot net, really) that knows how to operate an HD television.

“That’s not the point! Please, for the love of God, say something useful!”

Okay, okay. What was supposed to be a mere nuisance on the schedule has turned into a possibly legitimate threat to Oregon’s rightful place as champion. A few things stick out about the Sun Devils.

• Defensive speed. A word or two was uttered from Portland State people that the Sun Devils may have the faster defense. Maybe so, but does it really matter? I’m more interested in whether or not ASU’s defense is faster than Oregon’s offense. And is it more disciplined than last year’s version that despite being so stingy stopping the run, let the Ducks gash them for 268 yards. If you’re scoring at home (and you are, right?), that’s 174 more yards than the Sun Devils allowed on average against its other 11 opponents. What works against the rest doesn’t hold so true when playing Oregon.
  
• Defensive depth. Chip Kelly’s puppet offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said in The Oregonian, “They remind me of our defense a little bit with how many guys they play, and there is not a drop-off.” Interesting. In stopping Oregon’s offense, speed and depth are pretty dang useful. But can you rotate guys in quickly enough? Not within a singular drive, that’s for sure. ASU will certainly be more formidable than the first three challengers (by virtue of having a pulse, that’s a given), but I’m not sure it’s a disciplined group (Vontaze Burfict, anyone?). All it takes is one blown assignment and there goes “The Michael” again.
• Special teams. This could be a pretty intense matchup. There are superlatives all over the place for both teams. ASU excels with returning kickoffs, Oregon in bringing back punts. The Ducks don’t always get a lot of depth on kickoffs and coverage can be a weakness. The last thing Oregon wants is to give up a couple big returns and let a team hang around when it really has no business doing so (hi Wisconsin! Yeah, yeah… I was talking about you.).
• ASU spread attack. Last year, ASU ranked 90th in total offense and 91st in scoring. The Sun Devils decided that wasn’t good enough (smart people) and have brought in a new offensive coordinator. They also have new blood at quarterback in Michigan transfer Steven Threet. It’s hard to say the product is any better, though, given the offense only put together one drive at Wisconsin that ended in a touchdown. If there’s one thing I can guarantee with enough certainty to wager it all, it’s that one offensive touchdown against Oregon equals a very big blowout (no ASU, not the good kind).