ASU Football: 5 Lessons from 2010 That Will Make for Success in 2011
By now, the ASU BCS Bandwagon is in full force, with plenty of national media types hopping on-board.
It's hard to fault them.
The Sun Devils are a young and talented team having lost only two starters. They have a wealth of talent on offense and a ferocious defense led by perhaps the best linebacker in the nation in Vontaze Burfict.
Their schedule is tough but also very manageable, as the new Pac-12 divisional format plays to their favor this season. They even have brand new uniforms that are already rivaling those of Oregon.
That's all well and good, but how did this all come to be?
To know where you are, you must look back to where you have been.
In order to fully grasp the Sun Devil optimism for 2011, an examination into the wild and uneven 2010 season must be made.
Here are the five critical lessons that can be gleaned from the past as they pertain to future success.
Deantre Lewis is Their Best Weapon
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Those aren’t the results of a game of Keno. Those are running back Deantre Lewis’ top plays from scrimmage last season.
As a true freshman in 2010, Lewis wasted no time in making an impact. He scored three touchdowns and topped 100 yards receiving in the season opener.
During the season’s first half, he seemed like the second coming of his professed favorite player, Reggie Bush. He had nine plays of over twenty yards from scrimmage and had three 100-yard rushing games against Wisconsin, Oregon and Oregon State.
However, he battled nagging injuries through the rest of the season, and despite registering another 100 yard receiving game against UCLA, including a 70-yarder, he wasn’t the same.
Despite Cameron Marshall proving to be an effective inside runner and ASU’s stable of wide receivers showing glimpses of ability, Lewis is clearly the top playmaking threat for the Sun Devils.
He’s recovering from on off-season bullet wound suffered in a random shooting in which he was an innocent bystander, but he’s expected to make a full recovery.
At 5’9” and 189 pounds, he’s not suited to be the 25 carry-per-game workhorse back, but his dual threat ability is a perfect fit for ASU’s wide open offensive scheme. Barring injury, there should be no excuse for Lewis not to receive fifteen to twenty touches a game in 2011.
A Pass Rush Makes a Defense Better
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Through the season’s first five games, the Sun Devil defense had registered a total of four sacks, with three of those coming against their two FCS opponents.
Heading into their Week 6 game against Washington, ASU hadn’t had a sack since Lawrence Guy took down Wisconsin’s Scott Tolzien for a one yard loss in the second quarter – a span of ten quarters.
Enter Junior Onyeali.
The freshman defensive end got his first career start and had speed to burn. He proved it immediately, harassing Washington’s Jake Locker throughout the game. His pressure allowed his linemates to register three sacks in ASU’s first road victory in a calendar year.
Over the season’s last seven games, the Sun Devils notched twenty sacks, led by Onyeali’s 6.5. As a result, he was named the Pac-10’s Defensive Freshman of the Year. The improvement was not solely due to Onyeali, as the play of the defensive line as a whole also saw an upswing, especially defensive end James Brooks.
With All Pac-10 cornerback Omar Bolden out indefinitely, the pressure will be that much greater on the ASU pass rush to maintain that level of play in 2011.
Extra Points Are Not Automatic
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What’s more automatic than an extra point? It seemingly possesses little more difficulty than a shotgun snap.
Not so, as ASU found out repeatedly—and painfully—in 2010.
It all started in Week 3, when a late touchdown pulled the surprising Devils to within 20-19 of No. 11 Wisconsin. Overtime was just a twenty-yard kick away.
Unfortunately, Badger safety Jay Valai slipped past the ASU blockers to end the Sun Devils’ upset bid.
In Week 9 against USC, who ASU hadn’t beaten since 1999, a late Jamal Miles touchdown put the Devils up 33-29. That PAT was blocked and returned by Torin Harris for the two points. Three minutes later, USC kicked a field goal for the 34-33 win.
A week later against No. 6 Stanford, Kerry Taylor scored to put ASU ahead 13-10, but Thomas Weber shanked the extra point in what would become a 17-13 loss.
Weber, the 2007 Lou Groza Award winner, has graduated. The talented Bobby Wenzig, the likely starter in 2011 who added value with his ability to punt, eventually transferred to Alabama State.
Their departures leaves tremendous uncertainty in their wakes. The Devils have three unproven players—redshirt freshmen Alex Garoutte, Parker Flynn and freshman Andrew Vazquez—to battle it out for the job.
A great way to make a name for yourself? Make the game’s easiest kicks.
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Dumb Mistakes Result in Bad Losses
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Looking back on 2010, an argument can be made that ASU was only beaten by the opposition once, that being their 50-17 dismantling against Cal.
The other five defeats can all be directly tied to a critical ASU mistake—or several.
For the Oregon and Oregon State losses, it was a rash of very ill-advised interceptions in the fourth quarter.
For the Wisconsin, USC and Stanford losses, missed extra points were the culprit.
Had those avoidable mistakes been averted, we are talking about a BCS team.
However, there was one common thread through all ASU games, both wins and losses—penalties. The numbers are troubling.
Arizona State ranked 114th out of the 120 FBS teams in both penalties (8.0) and penalty yards (69.6) per game. As any ASU fan can attest, many of them were costly personal foul penalties that can only be described as “idiotic”.
ASU has proven they can beat any team in the nation—including themselves.
ASU Can Play with the Big Boys
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A blocked extra point away from beating No. 11 Wisconsin on the road...
An eleven point loss to eventual BCS runner-up Oregon despite three interceptions in the fourth quarter...
Another blocked extra point away from beating USC on the road...
Pushing No. 6 Stanford to the brink in a tough 17-13 loss...
The line between winning and losing is often razor thin.
These were games against the nation's elite and ASU, a team picked ninth in the conference pre-season poll, gave them all a run for their money and then some.
A Sun Devil squad that was full of youth, inexperience and question marks in 2010 now has the experience to take that next and necessary step in 2011 to conference contender. Any questions—and excuses—about whether ASU can handle a tough schedule can and should be thrown out the window.
It's time for ASU, in all of their new uniform glory, to not just play with the elite, but to become one of them.
Follow me on Twitter @ASU_Examiner for the latest updates and analysis on ASU football
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