From a yardage standpoint, Cal looked on even terms with the Sun Devils last season (359 to 363). The Bears defense also came up big early, garnerng an early fumble return for a touchdown and two sacks and maintaining strong pressure on Carpenter through the first half. Even the running game was less than sparkling, as the unsteady run defense gave up only 2.7 yards per carry even as Arizona State took over the game.
It didn’t matter though, because the Sun Devils made up for the promising start with time, time, time. Arizona State held the ball for 37 minutes , including 12 minutes in the fourth quarter to rush the Bears out of the desert. Arizona State converted nearly half of their third down conversions, and both of their fourth down conversions, both of which resulted in touchdowns on their respective drive. Just like Oregon State, those conversions made all the difference.
Injuries, penalties, and those aforementioned late turnovers in turn allowed Arizona State to just run out the ball on Cal’s Rose Bowl hopes and placed themselves in a position to dominate the Pac-10. So what comes next?
Bears Wih Fangs has the following:
Veteran senior Rudy Carpenter is throwing his way into ASU records books, and is the obvious focal point on the Sun Devil offense. However, this is mostly attributed to ASU’s struggling rushing game, which currently ranks 110th out of 119 teams in Division 1 Ball.
The return of RB Keegan Herring figures to help (please no pitches to the outside, our defense doesn’t like that), especially when Bears fans remember the way Keegan contributed in ripping Cal a new one on the ground in last year’ win. But how much Herring will matter remains to be seen, with ASU’s patchwork offensive line that features a plethora of young green talent.
It’s a good thing they have Herring back, because Arizona State’s rushing game can best be described as turgid. Against UNLV, the eighth worst rushing defense in the country, they managed a glorious 3.64 yards per carry. It bottomed out against Georgia at home, managing a superb 19 carry, 4 yard performance.
Keegan Herring has been out of the lineup, but his stats from last season don’t seem to indicate he’s capable of dominant stretches as opposed to schizophrenic play.
Although Herring did spectacular things against UCLA and Oregon, he was stuck in the mud against USC and laid eggs against Colorado and Washington State. Against Cal he was right at average, doing no more, no less. We should see a steady diet of Herring and Nance, but they averaged only 4 yards per carry in last year’s games. They should be watched, but they shouldn’t be the focal point given how strong our run defense has looked this season (currently 1st in the Pac-10).
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