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| LAST WEEK: Arizona State
(3-3, 0-3 Pac10) lost to USC on the road 28-21. The Sun Devils were down
21-0, but were able to tie the game in the third quarter. A 14-play,
74-yard Trojan scoring drive, which gobbled up nearly seven minutes in the
fourth quarter, ultimately tilted the game in favor of the hosts. After
struggling in the first two conference games, quarterback Rudy Carpenter had a
better outing. The sophomore completed 12-of-21 passes for 124 yards and a
touchdown. ASU's ground game was more subdued compared to recent weeks.
JC transfer running back Ryan Torain gained just 57 yards on 20 carries, after
eclipsing the century mark in the two games prior. Junior tight end Zach Miller led all receivers with 36 yards on four catches. The ASU defense
played relatively well in light of some special team miscues that gave USC a
short field to drive on. The Trojans had only 307 yards of total offense,
which was their lowest output in the last six years. | LAST WEEK:
In an 0-7 season, it is difficult for one loss to distinguish itself from the
rest, but Stanford hit rock bottom in a 20-7 defeat at home against Arizona.
The Cardinal's apparently improved defense, which had made marked strides the
previous two weeks in containing or stopping UCLA and Notre Dame, allowed the
Wildcats to run wild with the ball. Arizona had suffered three straight
games with negative rushing yardage yet carried against the Cardinal for 220
yards, two touchdowns and better than four yards per tote. The rush defense
was overshadowed, however, by a record-low performance by the offense.
Stanford slumped to a new all-time low in school history with 52 net yards of
offense (58 passing, -6 rushing). It all started wrong when golden boy and
fifth-year senior quarterback Trent Edwards was injured on Stanford's third
play, and the Card never recovered. Stanford's lone points came on a
scintillating 72-yard interception return by cornerback Wopamo Osaisai. |
| KEY INJURIES: OL Brandon Rodd and CB Chris Baloney are out for the Stanford game. |
KEY INJURIES: QB Trent
Edwards (foot, out), QB T.C. Ostrander (knee, probable), WR Mark Bradford (foot,
out), WR Evan Moore (foot, probable), WR Mike Miller (probable), FB Nick Frank
(spine, out), TE Matt Traverso (out), OG Jon Cochran (staph infection,
doubtful), C Tim Mattran (leg, out), S/CB Brandon Harrison (probable) |
| WHEN ARIZONA STATE IS ON OFFENSE:
With the recent struggles of Carpenter and the wideouts, along with Stanford's
difficulty stopping the run, the ground game will be a prominent feature in the
Devils' offense. Look for the physical Ryan Torain and the shifty Keegan Herring to possibly get close to 40 carries between them. Zach Miller has been
instrumental in the success of ASU's running game, and is by far the squad's
best wide receiver. Junior Rudy Burgess was one of the better receivers
thus far, but injuries at the cornerback position are forcing him to play there
on Saturday, possibly exclusively. Sophomore wide receiver Nate Kimbrough
has been the most consistent wide receiver the last few weeks, and he could have
some big numbers in Burgess' absence. |
WHEN STANFORD IS ON OFFENSE:
The questions are limitless for this group. The very first concern is
redshirt junior quarterback T.C. Ostrander, who the last two years repeatedly
relieved the battered and beaten Trent Edwards, but this game will be his first
start since the 2004 season. Ostrander had a terrible time last Saturday,
completing four passes to the midpoint of the fourth quarter and taking his own
back-alley beatings. He also has a knee injury that by all rights should
keep him from playing. When healthy and mentally prepared, Ostrander is a
talent with a big arm and playmaking instincts. Stanford's wideouts have been
decimated by injuries and played most of this season with only true freshmen or
walk-ons. The results have been predictably poor. Redshirt junior
and 6'7" weapon Evan Moore may play this week for the first time since a stress
reaction took him out of the first quarter of the September 16 Navy game.
How effective he can be is the question that could separate Stanford from having
an awful offensive day from a decent showing. Moore is a threat in the red
zone, can muscle off press coverage and is difficult to defeat in both short and
deep patterns. If Moore does not make a dent, ASU's talented corners
should stuff Stanford's remaining receivers and enable a blowout for the home
crowd.
Redshirt sophomore running back Anthony Kimble has quickness and slashing
ability and is rotated with freshman Toby Gerhart, the power back who hits the
hole and would-be tacklers hard. They have had uneven success
to date, and the day this offense clicks is the day they establish the ground game with the O-line. |
| WHEN STANFORD HAS THE BALL:
With the struggles of the Cardinal offense, it would stand to reason that ASU
may blitz more than they normally do. If they do have success in that
department, look for senior rush end Kyle Caldwell and senior linebacker Derron Ware to have standout performances. The possible return of 6'7" wideout
Evan Moore for Stanford, could naturally pose a great challenge for the Sun
Devils' secondary. The maroon and gold may take their chances doubling on
this taller-than-average wideout and see if the other Cardinal receivers can
make them pay. |
WHEN ARIZONA STATE HAS THE BALL:
"Run, Forrest. Run!" Let us not mistake Stanford for a defense with
lock-down play in the secondary, but they have lately been respectable in
downfield coverage. More to the point, teams have rushed for mind-boggling
numbers on the ground and not needed to risk lower percentage passing plays.
Arizona was the worst rushing team in the conference prior to last week yet
gobbled up big chunks of yardage running. Dirk Koetter will control his
own offensive fate by his playcalling. Stanford has moments where they
have stopped inside running plays and gotten the defense off the field, but
athletes can kill the Card in open space (i.e. outside plays or misdirections).
In Stanford's 3-4 defense, the linebackers are expected to make plays.
Their premier playmaker is senior inside linebacker Michael Okwo. #55 has
explosiveness and instincts that put him near the ball throughout the game.
Though he broke his hand in August, the one-armed Okwo has managed double-digit
tackles in all five games he has played this year; now he can play with two
hands. The rest of the linebackers are young but promising, with two
redshirt freshman starting at the outside positions: Clinton Snyder and Will Powers.
The defensive line does not have their names called often because they mostly
open holes for the linebackers to make plays. The three-man front with no
seniors and many true and redshirt freshmen has had difficulty reaching
quarterbacks, so expect Rudy Carpenter to have ample time unless linebackers
blitz. Two inexperienced corners, redshirt sophomore Wopamo Osaisai and
redshirt junior Tim Sims, have broken out in the last few weeks and made
surprising plays in coverage. They are still green and should not yet be
confused for all-conference players, however. Stanford has three senior
safeties who are experienced, sound and can tackle.
|
| SPECIAL TEAMS: ASU's
punting woes of 2005 are thus far a thing of the past, thanks to solid play of
JC transfer Jonathan Johnson, who averages 40.8 yards a punt. Kicker Jesse Ainsworth is 3-of-6 on field goals this season, and hasn't made a field goal of
40 or more yards in a couple of years. As always, the senior boots the
majority of his kickoffs for touchbacks, but when he doesn't, the Sun Devils
have been somewhat shaky in their kickoff coverage. Senior Terry Richardson is
arguably the Pac-10's best kick and punt returner, averaging 33.6 and 11.2
yards, respectively, in those categories. He must however refrain from
mishaps such as the one he had against USC. In that instance, he let a
punt hit him on the leg, which allowed the Trojans to recover deep in ASU
territory en route to a score. |
SPECIAL TEAMS: For a
number of weeks, this was an even greater weakness than the epically awful
defense. Stanford is without a scholarship placekicker for the first time
in at least a couple decades, and it showed early in the season with crucial
misses, including an extra point that was the difference on the scoreboard in
the 35-34 loss at San Jose State. Redshirt sophomore walk-on Aaron Zagory
has manned those duties; he is 8-of-10 on PATs and 4-of-7 on field goals this
season. His long field goal is 34 yards and not one has yet been attempted
outside of 40 yards. Look for fourth down attempts by the offense where
you might otherwise expect a field goal. Another weakness has been Stanford's
cellar-dwelling coverage teams for both kickoffs and punts. Osaisai is a speed
demon and has helped both improve of late, particularly teaming with redshirt
junior punter Jay Ottovegio. Ottovegio was expected to be an All-American
candidate this year and has fallen short, though his 45.3-yard average last week
was impressive. Kickoff returns have been anemic at best this year,
including a couple fumbles. Stanford may put Osaisai back there at some
point Saturday after making an impression with his hands and feet on last week's
interception. |
| ARIZONA STATE CAN WIN IF: The
Sun Devils can come away victorious if their offense can once again limit its
turnovers, and commit to its solid running game. ASU's wide receivers will
have to step up their game, especially in light of the aforementioned position
move by Burgess. ASU's defense was a sacking machine at the beginning of
the season, and a dominating performance by their front seven can further
demoralize an already distraught Cardinal offense riddled with injuries. |
STANFORD CAN WIN IF: The
ground opens up and swallows the Sun Devils during pregame warm-ups.
Gallows humor aside, the defense needs a little help from Koetter (which has
happened the last three meetings), plus some of the playmaking they have shown
in flashes the last three weeks. The D will have the ball moved against
them in some drives with great ease, but they are forcing more turnovers and
making some stops of late. Even a decent defensive performance will be
marginalized, however, unless the offense gets on track. Ostrander and
Moore hold those keys in their hands, and if they connect for a big day, who
knows what the Cardinal could do. Ostrander will need to make much better
decisions in the pocket, finding his receivers faster and getting rid of the
ball rather than taking sacks. He has sparked Stanford before and has
plenty of ability to surprise on Saturday. Still, this team needs breaks
given their injury-riddled roster. A win almost assuredly requires
something big on special teams and a +2 or +3 day of turnovers. |
| ARIZONA STATE OUTLOOK: To say
that ASU is chomping at the bit to meet Stanford, and halt their slide of three
consecutive Pac-10 losses, would be an understatement. Their performance,
albeit in a defeat, against USC has given the Sun Devils hope that they are
possibly over the hump of less than average play during most of September.
One can expect a very fired up squad to show up at its school's Homecoming game. |
STANFORD OUTLOOK: Bleak.
Losing to Arizona last week signaled a fast train to 0-12, and that's a dark
place to live. With season-ending injuries to almost all of Stanford's top
talents on offense (Davey O'Brien
candidate quarterback, best wide receiver, sensational fullback and best
lineman) and the remaining cupboard painfully bare, this team has little reason
for hope. Improvements on defense and special teams - which had nowhere to
go but up - have been mildly heartening but not yet inspiring. It is an
unfair burden on one man's shoulders, but the offense and this team can only get
unlocked if Evan Moore makes a splash in his return the last part of this
season. Otherwise, bloodshot Cardinal eyes will have to focus on the
approaching basketball seasons to avoid blindness. |
|
Hod Rabino is the publisher for DevilsDigest.com
|
Mike Eubanks is the publisher for TheBootleg.com and has been covering Cardinal
sports since 1998. |
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