Pac-10 Power Arizona State Looks to Stick a "Fork" in SEC Foe Georgia

2007 Team Recaps

Dennis Erickson’s first year had ASU fans buzzing as the Sun Devils shared the Pac-10 title with the USC Trojans.  This was their first conference title since Jake Plummer and Pat Tillman led them to a memorable season in 1996 in which they upset the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Coach Erickson brought toughness, desire, and excitement back to a program that had been sleepwalking since.

Even though they lost to Texas in the Holiday Bowl, ASU has a lot to build on using the momentum of a 10-3 season.  ASU fans can expect the same, if not more, for their '08 campaign.

Georgia comes in with the “hottest team” moniker riding their dominating momentum from last year.  Georgia didn’t play for the SEC title, but many analysts believe they were the best team in the SEC.

Mark Richt's Bulldogs had one of the most memorable team celebrations in recent college football memory, as the entire team rushed the field to celebrate a touchdown in their victory against the Florida Gators.  This undoubtedly set the tone for the remainder of their season, which culminated in a victory over Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.

In many preseason polls, Georgia is ranked at or near No. 1 in the country and is picked to go to a BCS bowl game.

Now both powerhouses enter '08 with high expectations as they do battle in Tempe, Arizona on September 20.

What to look for

There are athletes on both sides of the ball for both teams.  However, one area that will be of key concern and will ultimately make the difference in this contest is ASU’s offensive line.

ASU’s offensive line was absolutely atrocious last year, giving up a league-high 55 sacks (four per game), third-most in the nation behind Syracuse and Notre Dame.  Rudy Carpenter is as tough as they come, starting 31 straight games for the Devils.  However, one has to wonder how much more can he take.

Erickson addressed the offensive line woes that ex-coach Dirk Koetter left him by signing five offensive linemen in the '08 class and one for the '09 class.  Even though they may not pay dividends now, the '08 class undoubtedly adds a deeper talent pool to draw from. 

This unit was a topic of conversation in spring ball for Coach Erickson.

"We made a lot of progress.  Are we where we need to be?  No, we've got a long way to go, but I thought, from the beginning of the spring to where we're at now, it's way better.  I thought our pass protecting has been a lot better.  I thought we protected pretty well today.  That's been an area of concern, but they've made a lot of progress," said Erickson.

ASU has a supreme athlete in Jon Hargis who was switched to left tackle from the defensive line.  He will add much-needed speed to that unit.

Scheme and Game Plan

What must the Devils do to handle Georgia's pass rush?  The SEC is known to have fast defensive ends that can get upfield and disrupt plays.  Georgia's aggressive nature was on display for the nation to take notice as they destroyed the Hawaii offensive line with eight sacks in the Sugar Bowl.

ASU can't expect to win giving up that many sacks.  Therefore, they have to find formations that give them the advantage and put Georgia at an disadvantage.

One formation to look for that will give Carpenter more time to throw and doesn't dilute their offensive flow is the three-receiver tight set.

                                WR    FL  LT LG C RG RT TE   WR

                                                     QB

                                                     RB

This formation keeps the wide receivers tight within the formation.  The flanker (FL) would be slightly off the line of scrimmage to catch quick screens or run reverses, or to run quick crossing routes that could match him up against a linebacker.

This tight formation forces the defensive end to go through an extra mental process to account for what the wide receiver and tight end could do to impede his pass rush.  The defensive ends also have to account for screens.  If they rush too quickly, they'll be out of position to assist in a tackle.

This formation can also be changed to a traditional set where the wide receivers spread out across the field.  In this situation, Georgia must account for the increased space.  They have three speedy linebackers, led by Dannell Ellerbe, so forcing Georgia to only play two at a time lowers their effectiveness.

ASU can also run draws and quick tosses to Keegan Herring, who has sub 4.3 speed, to slow down the aggressiveness of the Georgia defensive ends.

ASU must stay out of double tight end sets. ASU is less explosive running Power I sets, so they must use sets that give them the advantage at all times against Georgia.

Wrap up

ASU will not be intimidated by Georgia's speed as they play against speedy USC.  Seeing speedy players means nothing to them—they are used to it.

Georgia can, at times, dig themselves in a hole when a team isn't intimidated and hits them back in the mouth.  In the game against Troy last year, the Trojans exposed some major kinks in the Bulldogs' defensive armor as Georgia gave up a whopping 488 yards.

I expect ASU to play hard and fast and give Georgia all they can handle.  The pressure of perhaps being the No. 1 team will be too much to overcome for the Bulldogs.  ASU beats Georgia in a close game, 34-30.