Five Questions With An Arizona State Writer Ahead of Ducks vs. Sun Devils
The No. 6 Oregon Ducks travel to the desert this week for a matchup with the Arizona State Sun Devils.
At 9-1 Oregon has firmly established itself as one of the best teams in college football, but Dan Lanning is telling his group that they can't overlook a single game in a crucial month of November.
To help get you ready for this matchup I asked Hod Rabino, publisher of DevilsDigest on the Rivals Network, five questions.
1. What's the vibe of the Arizona State fan base given how the season's gone so far?
The vibe really has not been that bad for a team that is 3-7. Every Pac-12 game aside from a 55-3 loss at Utah, was a game that the Sun Devils could have won. And with a mountain of injuries they have had on offense, they came up short, while their defense, for the most part, has played very well.
So it may not make that much of a difference in the win-loss mark, but it's not like every conference loss ASU was completely out of the game. Obviously, on Saturday there is a potential for Oregon to blow out ASU, but as mentioned Arizona State is one team that really has made life difficult on its opponents, and you wouldn't expect it just by looking at their record.
2. What do you view as the biggest strength of this team?
It's by far their defense. Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward who coached at Washington State last year, has been an outstanding hire. Even though this was an ASU defense that was absolutely atrocious last year and nowhere to go but up, you cannot discount the job that Ward has done.
The way the defense played in the close loss at Seattle and last week at UCLA in a win, were absolute masterpieces. It's still a defense that could use perhaps better depth at each position, but it's front six has been able to put a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks and, for the most part, really slow down rushing attacks.
Their defensive backfield, even though they don't have an enormous number of interceptions, does a good job of normally not getting burned on big plays. Washington's explosive offense really grinded to a halt against ASU and I know that Oregon's offense can be just as dangerous, if not more, so I'm curious to see if that matchup does play out like the one the Sun Devils had in Seattle.
3. What are your thoughts on Kenny Dillingham in his first year as a head coach?
He's definitely been a a breath of fresh air that was much needed after a horrendous Herm Edwards tenure. Everybody's going to talk about him being the youngest head coach in the Power Five ranks, but his energy and enthusiasm are definitely contagious both to his players and the ASU fans.
He relates to the players very well but still demands discipline, accountability, and toughness. So it's not like he goes out of his way to be a players' coach. ASU fans are happy that they have an alumnus as a head coach who is willing to stay here for the long haul and try to really turn around the program and have it sustain success in the long run.
As I mentioned before, even though the win-loss record is nothing to write home about, you could see that it is a well-coached team for the most part that has shown resolve and has not allowed itself, for the most part, to be embarrassed against their opponents even though the talent disparity is an issue they consistently have to deal with.
4. Most people know about Cam Skattebo and Elijhah Badger, but who are the defensive players you think people need to know about?
On defense, defensive tackle Dashaun Mallory (#0) a Michigan State transfer has been another tremendous addition to the defensive line, and has created a domino effect for the rest of the defense with his play. BJ Green (#35) is a returning defensive end who has played solid in his first couple of years and has elevated his game that much more because of a better scheme and better quality around him.
BYU linebacker transfer Tate Romney (#24) has been solid and perhaps one of the biggest surprises among the newcomers. Nickel back Jordan Clark (#1) has been outstanding in coverage this season and, much like the rest of the secondary, is enjoying a very strong pass rush up front.
5. How would you define success for Arizona State this season given a first-year head coach and Ray Anderson stepping down as AD?
Kenny Dillingham himself said that he's more focused on the process and the team truly getting better each and every week or at least not getting worse, so he knows that despite several losses, the team is still marching in the right direction. So I think that's how success has to be defined, and I do believe that the fan base in general, knows that they'll have to be patient this season because the new coaching staff had one hell of a mess to clean up and also was welcoming over 50 newcomers, which obviously brings with it an acclamation process that is not swift.
As far as Anderson stepping down I don't know too many fans that are disappointed with that move because he brought the disaster that was the Herm Edwards era, and it's not like everything concerning big sports like basketball and baseball has been a smooth ride. Belief is that the NIL efforts will get better now that Anderson is out of the picture, so that's definitely a positive there
