Last year, Arizona State came into Stanford Stadium battered
and bruised and in the midst of an alleged mutiny against their
head coach. However, don't expect the same turmoil-ridden club
this time around as the Sun Devils should once again be a
challenge for the Cardinal.
Stanford is trying to win three consecutive games for the first
time in this series, but it won't be easy. Fifty-one
letter-winners and 16 starters return from last year's team that
lost four out of its last five games after a 5-2 start. ASU has
generated the third-best overall record of Pac-10 teams, behind
Washington and Oregon, since 1996 but that wasn't enough to save
Bruce Snyder's job. After several seasons of high expectations
that weren't exactly fulfilled, “Take the Money and Run”
Snyder was given a rude exit by his superiors in Tempe. However, a
new era has dawned in the desert.
Former Boise State boss Dirk Koetter (as in Cutter) inherits this
experienced team that included 21 seniors and has promised a
wide-open passing attack. This being said, Coach Koetter has
what an offensive guru craves the most: a quarterback with both
loads of skill and potential.
Lost amid the Broadway Joey Harrington hype is Arizona State's
sophomore Jeff Krohn. With his performance against San Diego
State (271 yards, 4 touchdowns), quarterback Jeff Krohn helped
show that he is fact one of the two best young signal-callers of
the conference (along with the Cougs' Jason Gesser). Krohn,
the son of late-70's Arizona starting QB Jim Krohn, started nine
games as a true freshman in 2000 and threw for almost 1700 yards
and 12 touchdowns against just five picks. In his team's 38-7
rout of the Aztecs, he basically picked up right where he left
off last year. Interested in legacies? Jake Plummer and Jeff Van
Raaphorst were the last two Sun Devil quarterbacks to start that
many games as freshman, and by their senior seasons they were on
their way to leading Arizona State to the Rose Bowl.
Koetter's offense is the spread attack that has been used to
give Northwestern and Oklahoma their success in the last couple
of years. Krohn will throw short passes to the likes of receivers
Donnie O'Neal, Shawn McDonald, and Delvon Flowers, and expect
them to break tackles and run wild after the catch. O'Neal is
impressive target at 6'2" and 180 lbs, a senior who averaged
almost 17 yards a catch and snagged seven touchdowns last season.
The top three rushers also return from 2000. Delvon Flowers, Tom
Pace and Michael Williams rushed for nearly 80% of their team's
total rushing yards in 2000. The Sun Devils, like Stanford, boast
an impressive O-line. Center Scott Peters was a First Team
All-Pac-10 selection last year, while guard Levi Jones made
second-team honors.
When ASU has had their best teams since joining the Pac-10, it’s
been with a solid and experienced defense. They were tops in the
Pac-10 in defense in 1982 (10-2, Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma),
and their near-National Championship season of 1996. Last year, they finished a relatively weak eighth in total defense in the
Pac-10 but the unit does have its standouts. Sophomore Terrell
Suggs could be the next dominating pass rusher, following the
likes of Jim Jeffcoat and Shante Carver. Suggs was last year's
league Freshman of the Year with 10 sacks and 16
tackles-for-loss.
The linebacking corps loses Adam Archuleta, the leading tackler
in the Pac-10 last season. However, they do return Solomon Bates,
an imposing defender who had 93 tackles and three interceptions
last season. In the secondary, ASU boasts senior captain Willie
Daniel, a safety who last had 57 tackles and three interceptions
in 2000.
ASU seems so always have a strong kicking game. While there are
no more Zendejas brothers (that we know of) on their way to
Tempe, Mark Barth led the conference with 15 field goals in 2000
and also kicked a 49-yarder - tops in the Pac-10 last season.
The Skinny:
Coming off of several seasons of turmoil, exasperated ASU
followers might by ready to go back to their strip malls and
baseball stadiums with swimming pools. However this game could go
either way. Stanford has not fared well against passing teams in
recent years (torched by virtually every quality quarterback
since Drew Bledsoe as Washington State), and will need to defend
the pass well to overcome the Sun Devils. Players like Tank
Williams and Ruben Carter, starters since the their freshman
seasons in 1998, will need to come up big if Stanford has a shot
at winning. I think they will.
We smoke these guys out of
their desert holes, 34-23!