Arizona State finds a spark in loss to Ducks

2009 Arizona State Sun Devils ... Head Coach: Dennis Erickson

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 7-5
2009 Record: 4-6

9/5 Idaho State W 50-3
9/12 OPEN DATE
9/19 UL Monroe W 38-14
9/26 at Georgia L 20-17
10/3 Oregon St L 28-17
10/10  at Wash St W 27-14
10/17 Washington W 24-17
10/24 at Stanford L 33-14
10/31 California L 23-21
11/7 USC L 14-9
11/14 at Oregon L 44-21
11/21 at UCLA
11/28 Arizona

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 7-5
2008 Record: 5-6

8/30 No. Arizona W 30-13
9/6 Stanford W 41-17
9/13 UNLV L 23-20 OT
9/20 Georgia L 27-10
9/27 OPEN DATE
10/4 at California L 24-14
10/11 at USC L 28-0
10/18 OPEN DATE
10/25 Oregon L 54-20
11/1 at Oregon St L 27-25
11/8 at Wash. W 39-19
11/15 Wash St W 31-0
11/22 OPEN DATE
11/28 UCLA W 34-9
12/6 at Arizona

Arizona State Sun Devils

Nov. 14
at Oregon 44 … Arizona State 21
LaMichael James ran for scores from four, two and four yards out in the first half, and Ed Dickson caught a nine-yard touchdown pass, as Oregon got up 31-7 at halftime. ASU made it interesting as backup QB Samson Szakacsy stepped in and ran for a one-yard score and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams to pull the team within ten, but Masoli put the game away on a 21-yard scoring play to Jeff Maehl. LeGarrette Blount didn’t get off the bench.
Player of the Game: Oregon RB LaMichael James ran 22 times for 150 yards and three touchdowns.
Arizona State: Passing: Samson Szakacsy, 13-22, 113 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Dimitri Nance, 26-77, 1 TD, Receiving: Chris McGaha, 5-45
Oregon: Passing: Jeremiah Masoli, 10-30, 120 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: LaMichael James, 22-150, 3 TD, Receiving: Jeffrey Maehl, 4-62, 1 TD  e in trouble after losing four straight to all but get knocked out of the bowl hunt. Now the team needs to beat both UCLA at UCLA and Arizona, and while the defense is good enough to do it, the offense needs to be more consistent. The insertion of Samson Szakacsy at quarterback provided a spark and some life, but the Bruins will get a week to prepare for him; Oregon didn’t do that. On the plus side, the D held the high-powered Ducks to 388 yards, but in a game like this, 211 yards of offense and nine penalties were going to be a killer.

Nov. 7
USC 14 … at Arizona State 9
Will Harris picked off two passes taking one 55 yards for a touchdown and Damian Williams took a short pass 75 yards for a score as USC survived an ugly game. Arizona State outgained USC 347 yards to 258, but turned the ball over four times and only got into the end zone on a 23-yard Chris McGaha pass late in the third quarter. ASU had its chances late, but the USC defense stiffened time and again.
Player of the Game: USC S Will Harris made five tackles and two interceptions taking one for a touchdown
Arizona State: Passing: Brock Osweiler, 11-27, 153, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Cameron Marshall, 16-42, Receiving: Chris McGaha, 9-118, 1 TD
USC: Passing: Matt Barkley, 7-22, 112 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Joe McKnight, 15-78, Receiving: Damian Williams, 2-81, 1 TD 
What It All Means: The ASU defense continues to do its job, but now the team is on a three-game losing streak with a trip to Oregon coming up next. With Danny Sullivan not getting the job done, the coaching staff put in Brock Osweiler at quarterback and told him to sink or swim against the USC defense. He struggled, but he hit on a few nice plays and provided a little bit of a spark. But to get a win in one of the final three games and to become bowl eligible, the offense can’t put the defense in tough spots by turning the ball over, and the running game has to finally show up, if even for a little while to save Osweiler (if he’s the starter from here on). A losing season would be a disaster considering how well the D is playing.

Oct. 31
California 23 … at Arizona State 21
Cal PK Giorgio Tavecchio nailed a 24-yard field goals with 21 seconds to play to come back to beat ASU. In an ugly game, the two teams combined for 23 penalties and five turnovers, but the Cal passing game worked with Kevin Riley throwing for 351 yards with first quarter touchdown passes from 11 yards out to Jahvid Best and 12 yards away to Marvin Jones. But that was it for Cal getting in the end zone with Tavacchio hitting three field goals. ASU tied it in the second quarter with a three-yard Jovon Williams touchdown catch from Samson Szakacsy on a trick play and a 80-yard Kyle Williams touchdown catch from Danny Williams, but only managed a six-yard Cameron Marshall touchdown run the rest of the way.
Player of the Game: California QB Kevin Riley completed 27-of-44 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns.
Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 16-29, 244 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Cameron Marshall, 16-71, 1 TD, Receiving: Chris McGaha, 4-76
California: Passing: Kevin Riley, 27-44, 351 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Jahvid Best, 18-63, Receiving: Jahvid Best, 7-61, 1 TD 
What It All Means: Arizona State has come up with big breaks and some nice late plays this year, most notably the win over Washington, and now it got bit the other way by failing to stop Cal on a final drive after stuffing the Bear offense for three quarters. The defense did a nice job all game long of keeping Jahvid Best from going crazy, but the secondary struggled, especially on the final drive. On a two-game losing streak, now the Sun Devils are in big trouble with USC and at Oregon up next. The defense is there to have a chance in both games, but the offense has to be more consistent and the penalties have to slow down after committing 11 for 123 yards.

Oct. 24
at Stanford 33 … Arizona State 14
Stanford got up 24-0 in the first half on a 22-yard touchdown run from Jamal-Rashad Patterson on a reverse and two short scoring runs from Toby Gerhart and Owen Marecic. ASU never threatened, even after an 18-yard Chris McGaha touchdown catch in the third quarter and a 40-yard T.J. Simpson score in the fourth. Stephfan Taylor put the game away for the Cardinal with a 33-yard touchdown run. ASU committed ten penalties to Stanford’s three.
Player of the Game: Stanford RB Toby Gerhart ran 27 times for 125 yards and a score.
Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 12-23, 143 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Dimitri Nance, 7-35, Receiving: Chris McGaha, 6-80, 1 TD
Stanford: Passing: Andrew Luck, 17-28 , 236 yds
Rushing: Toby Gerhart, 27-125, 1 TD, Receiving: Ryan Whalen, 7-93
What It All Means: Just when it seemed like ASU was about to go on a nice run after a strong win over Washington, albeit with a miracle finish, this was a rough loss coming just before the big boys hit. With Cal, USC, and at Oregon coming up over the next three weeks, the Sun Devils need to come up with at least one win to stay alive for a bowl game, and that’s the goal now. A possible sleeper for the Pac 10 title before the Stanford game, that’s over now because the defense that played so well over the first part of the season couldn’t handle anything the Cardinal wanted to do. To beat Cal next week, the run defensive front has to play better. 

Oct. 17
at Arizona State 24 … Washington 17
The game appeared to be going into overtime, but inexplicably, Arizona State had two wide open receivers available with five seconds to play, and Danny Sullivan found Chris McGaha for a 50-yard score. The Sun Devils were up 17-7 in the third quarter helped by a one-yard Sullivan run and a 32-yard T.J. Simpson scoring catch, but Washington came back with a 23-yard Chris Polk touchdown run and a 29-yard Erik Folk field goal. The Huskies started off the scoring on a 49-yard Devin Aguilar catch. The two teams combined for 21 penalties with UW’s Vontaze Burfict getting nailed for three personal foul calls.
Player of the Game: Arizona State QB Danny Sullivan completed 21-of-35 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for a score
Washington: Passing: Jake Locker, 22-38, 279 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Chris Polk, 12-51, 1 TD, Receiving: Devin Aguilar, 7-154, 1 TD
Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 21-35, 263 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Cameron Marshall, 4-76, Receiving: Dimitri Nance, 6-41 
What It All Means: The defense has been fantastic. The secondary allowed a big play early on and a big touchdown dash in the third, and that was it. There were nine penalties and QB Danny Sullivan was inconsistent and struggled, but with one big touchdown pass, his career and the season might have taken a big turn. With the nation’s No. 7 defense, the Sun Devils have a shot to pull off some big wins over the next few weeks. Sullivan, though, has to be better in potential shootouts against Stanford and Cal, and he has to be fantastic to give ASU a shot against USC and Oregon in November.

Oct. 10
Arizona State 27 …. at Washington State 14
ASU got up 19-0 helped by a nine-yard Kyle Williams touchdown catch and a seven-yard Danny Sullivan run, and then the defense did the rest. A failed fake Washington State punt led to a ten-yard Cameron Marshall touchdown run for a 27-7 lead, and then came the biggest highlight of the day with Johnny Forzani taking a pass 99 yards for a Cougar score. However, the Cougars only gained 82 yards the rest of the game. Arizona State turned it over six times, and Washington State gave it up four times.
Player of the Game: Arizona State WR Kyle Williams caught 13 passes for 126 yards and a score.
Washington State: Passing: Jeff Tuel, 11-22, 175 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Reid Forrest, 1-15, Receiving: Daniel Blackledge, 5-37
Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 19-29, 169 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Dimitri Nance, 21-113, 1 TD, Receiving: Kyle Williams, 13-126, 1 TD
What It All Means: Is Danny Sullivan still the answer at quarterback? He has been criticized for a rocky start to the season, and he got the win over Washington State, but he threw three interceptions and didn’t do much more than dink and dunk to add a little bit of a passing game to the mix. The defense, though, is playing at an incredibly high level, but everyone looks great against Wazzu. With USC, Cal, and Oregon still to deal with down the road, the coaching staff has to decide over the next few weeks against Washington and Stanford is Sullivan can be the main man or of Brock Osweiler needs more time.

Oct. 3
Oregon State 28 … at Arizona State 17
Jacquizz Rodgers ran for first quarter scores from one and 32 yards away and James Rodgers caught a 25-yard touchdown pass on the way to a 21-3 Oregon State halftime lead. Arizona State committed ten penalties and was held to 68 yards rushing as the passing game tried to bomb its way back into the game. Dimitri Nance ran for a one-yard score in the third and Kyle Williams caught a 12-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds to play, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Player of the Game: Oregon State WR James Rodgers caught ten passes for 114 yards and a score.
Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 32-58, 338 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Dimitri Nance, 18-48, 1 TD, Receiving: Chris McGaha, 15-165
Oregon State: Passing: Sean Canfield, 18-30, 216 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jacquizz Rodgers, 17-81, 2 TD, Receiving: James Rodgers, 10-114, 1 TD
What It All Means: Just when it seemed time for ASU to make a big statement, the defense couldn’t come up with an early stop and the offense couldn’t pick up the slack. Ten penalties for 80 yards and two key turnovers were just enough to tilt the game Oregon State’s way early, but the bigger problem was the inability to produce points until it was too late. Danny Sullivan threw the ball 58 times for 338 yards, but he didn’t come up with anything big with his longest completion just 29 yards. Fortunately, Washington State is up next to heal all the wounds and get everything back on track.
What It All Means: Oregon State needed a relatively easy win on the road, its first win at ASU in the last 16 shots, and now it has a chance to make a big statement. At 1-1 in the conference there isn’t any room for error, and coming up with a big day from the run defense is a must against Toby Gerhart and the Stanford ground game. Against ASU, the secondary allowed several completions but few big plays. Going forward, more is needed from the pass rush to start rushing the more accurate quarterbacks.

Sept. 26
at Georgia 20 … Arizona State 17
Georgia WR A.J. Green blocked a field goal attempt and Blair Walsh nailed a 37-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Dawgs the win. Green started off the scoring with a 56-yard touchdown catch and Fred Munzenmaier ran for a two-yard score for a 14-3 first quarter lead, but ASU controlled the third quarter with a six-yard Dimitri Nance touchdown catch and a 47-yard Jarrell Holman interception return for a score. The Dawgs outgained ASU 334 yards to 204.
Player of the Game: Georgia WR A.J. Green caught eight passes for 153 yards and a score and blocked a field goal attempt.
Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 10-32, 116 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Dimitri Nance, 25-92, Receiving: Dimitri Nance, 4-47, 1 TD
Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 17-31, 242 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Caleb King, 11-55, Receiving: A.J. Green, 8-153, 1 TD 
What It All Means: ASU didn’t play a strong game but it still stayed alive until the end. The defense did a nice job of keeping the Georgia ground game in check, and after allowing a big play to A.J. Green to start the game, the secondary didn’t do poorly after it settled down. Now the offense has to reemerge with Oregon State coming up next. The defense is playing extremely well, even though there’s no pass rush, but the offense has to quickly find something that works on a consistent basis.

Sept. 19
at Arizona State 38 … ULM 14
Arizona State had few problems putting away ULM as Omar Bolden took the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and Dimitri Nance added a one-yard scoring dash in the first quarter. The Sun Devils went up 38-7 going into the fourth quarter on one-yard scoring runs from Dimitri Nance and Danny Sullivan before taking the foot off the gas. ULM scored on two Trey Revell touchdown passes, but three turnovers and problems keeping the chains moving allowed ASU to pull away.
Player of the Game: Arizona State DB Omar Bolden made one tackle, intercepted a pass, and took the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 19-31, 220 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Dimitri Nance, 17-82, 2 TD, Receiving: Kyle Williams, 8-129
ULM: Passing: Trey Revell, 10-23, 126 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Frank Goodin, 15-62, Receiving: Darrell McNeal, 4-50, 1 TD
What It All Means: ASU needs to generate some excitement. The stadium was half full, there weren’t a lot of fireworks on the field, outside of the opening kickoff from Omar Bolden, and there was little drama in the breather before the battle against Georgia. Danny Sullivan was accurate, but the running game struggled and 12 penalties for 122 yards hurt the team’s rhythm all game long. Against Georgia, the offense has to get it in gear; the Dawgs can be beaten by a team with a mistake-free passing attack. 

Sept. 5
at Arizona State 50 ... Idaho State 3
Mike Nixon picked off three passes, taking one 34 yards for a score, and Thomas Weber connected on five field goals in an ugly rout. The offense got a nine-yard run from Dimitri Nance early in the second quarter, and while the attack took a little while to get going, the defense made it a blowout. The Bengals managed just 37 yards of total offense and converted one-of-14 third down chances.
Player of the Game: Arizona State LB Mike Nixon made four tackles, intercepted three passes with one going for a score, and blocked a field goal.
Idaho State: Passing: Russel Hill, 6-10, 32 yds
Rushing: Clint Knickrehm, 15-24, Receiving: Jaron Taylor, 3-25
Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 13-25, 165 yds
Rushing: Shaun DeWitty, 8-52, Receiving: Kyle Williams, 5-50
What It All Means: While the defense dominated Idaho State holding its offense to 37 yards and four first downs, this was by no means a perfect game. The ASU offense had too many problems in scoring range with six Thomas Weber field goal attempts. Danny Sullivan and the passing game didn't click as well as it should've and there were only four third down conversions in 14 attempts, but it's not like the offense needed to be its sharpest. It will have to be far, far better in two weeks against Georgia, but there's a date with Louisiana-Lafayette next week to try to figure out how to be more consistent.