Pac-10 Preview: Arizona State Sun Devils

Hey Football Friends!

My good friend Pat Rajsky has agreed to preview his beloved Arizona State Sun Devils for us.

Pac-10 Preview: Arizona State Sun Devils

 

So there I was, at Arizona State University, on a glorious November afternoon in sunny Tempe, AZ in 1988. My main focus for that afternoon was staying in the bar as long as possible, yet arriving at the game in time for kick off. My other goal was to not lose the shirt I bought from some kid in my dorm.  We were playing USC, and the shirt exclaimed, in large red letters on a white background, “Rodney Peete is Devil Meat.”

Three hours later, I was staring at the scoreboard that read USC 50, ASU 0 (Gridiron Goddess says: And it should not surprise any of you that I mock Pat’s Devils for this 21-year-old game TO THIS VERY DAY). Somehow, the shirt migrated to the bottom of a rag pile in my parent’s garage.

Fast-forward to 2009—my good friend, the Gridiron Goddess, asked me to preview the upcoming ASU football season. This requires me to write for the first time in 18 years, so bear with me.

Coach Dennis Erickson leads the team for his third year at ASU. Coming off a disappointing 5-7 year in 2008, there is no place to go but up.

New starter Danny Sullivan leads the Sun Devil offense, which according to Coach Erickson, shall consist of “spreading people out and running the short passing game.” This is a new system and it will take some productive practices to keep the ball moving.

Wide receivers Chris McGaha and T.J. Simpson lead the way in the new system. Running backs Dimitri Nance and Keegan Herring will try to improve on last year’s lackluster running game. Kicker Thomas Weber is a Grazo Award finalist for the county’s top kicker.

The defense is anchored by a strong linebacking group led by Mike Nixon. It will be an improved defense, but Erickson is worried about the depth.

ASU’s 2009 schedule begins with a home game against Idaho State, followed by Louisiana-Monroe. Hopefully these two “wins” will prep them for an away game down south against Georgia. Later in the schedule we play three tough games in a row against Cal (No .12), USC (No. 4), and Oregon (No. 16).

In this fan’s opinion, I believe 7-5 season would be respectable. If all else fails, a win on November 28th against the Arizona Puddycats would get me through the offseason with a smile on my face.

Go Devils!