Arizona State: Three Keys to Victory vs. Colorado
There's no overstating the importance of what Saturday night means for the Arizona State Sun Devils. A victory would put the Sun Devils at 1-0 in Pac-12 play for the first time in head coach Herm Edwards' tenure at ASU.
It's especially important to secure a victory and prove to everybody (most importantly, themselves) that the loss at BYU was a mere misstep, and Arizona State is indeed the team everybody believed they would be.
However, that's looking too far into the future. The biggest game for the Sun Devils is indeed the next one, and that's a home matchup with the Colorado Buffaloes. Arizona State currently sits as 14-point favorites, and are highly favored to emerge victorious.
Yet, Sun Devils fans know no opponent can be overlooked, and the same goes for a Colorado team that hung with No. 5 Texas A&M just two weeks ago.
How can Arizona State rebound, and how can they do it in a major way?
3 Keys for Victory for Arizona State vs Colorado
They can't beat themslves: Sixteen penalties simply won't cut it. Not if you're the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not if you're Alabama, and especially not if you're Arizona State.
Despite the penalty issues, Sun Devils were within one possession deep into the fourth quarter in Provo, a sign that even with so much working against ASU the team was able to remain competitive in a hostile environment.
Four turnovers also doomed Arizona State, especially with the first coming off the opening kickoff, spotting the Cougars seven points immediately.
It's a simple concept: Don't beat yourself. That goes for any team playing football at any level, let alone a team as talented as ASU.
Get the running game going early: This would especially be helpful if the Sun Devils had the running talents of Chip Trayanum, who has missed the previous two games, but could potentially make an appearance against Colorado.
If Trayanum is unable to go, fellow running back Daniyel Ngata has proved himself very worthy of more touches regardless of who is ahead of him. Ngata paced the Sun Devils in rushing last week, gaining 82 yards on eight carries and scoring once in the 27-17 loss.
Ngata has the ability to spell Rachaad White and provide a different dynamic to the ground game, attacking with a more physical, downhill attitude similar to Trayanum.
The Sun Devils thrive best when ASU has a rushing attack firing on all cylinders. Whether that's through Trayanum or Ngata (along with White, of course), Arizona State needs to control the clock and consistently move the chains on the ground.
Force Colorado to air it out: This is much easier said than done, especially with defensive end Travez Moore out for the season. However, the Buffaloes offense lives and dies by establishing the run.
Stopping the run on first and second down would put the Buffaloes into obvious passing downs, allowing the Sun Devils' strength of the defense (their secondary) to shine.
This also helps given Colorado's quarterback situation, where starter Brendon Lewis has not excelled lately. Talks of backup Drew Carter taking over at some point in the game doesn't exactly bode well for the overall confidence of the Buffaloes offense, either.
Getting ahead early and turning the Buffs into a one-dimensional offense and playing catch-up to ASU would create more opportunities for sacks and turnovers, a big key to success for Arizona State in the first two wins of the year.