A look at Oregon State's next opponent: Arizona State

Well, ASU used up two games worth of yards against Northwestern. Man, 773 yards is insane. Another offensive juggernaut. Third week in a row. The poor Beaver 'D' just doesn't get a break. Here's the breakdown:

Offense

Going into the season the big question mark for the Sun Devils was "who is going to play running back?" The Sun Devils started the season with a converted wide receiver Rudy Burgess at RB. He has done OK, but they resurrected their running game by playing freshman Keegan Herring who is averaging over 100 ypg and 9.2 ypc. So he's basically the man. Even so ASU struggled to run against LSU and may not be over the rushing problems completely. They are certainly in a MUCH better position than OSU.

The passing game has been the strength of the ASU offense since Dirk Koetter got there. Andrew Walter is gone but Sam Keller has arrived. And he has put up some serious numbers. Their receiving core is touted by some as the best in the nation. So that helps Keller quite a bit. BTW, check out Derek Hagan who has a Mike Hass-like story and is also their best receiver. Their line looks good as they have only given up 1 sack and have 4 returning starters. The ONLY thing the Beavers fans can hang their hat on is that Keller has yet to start a road game. So there's a chance he could get rattled if the stadium is really LOUD! (hint, hint)

The offense looks strong. However, I think the running game could be controlled and then it's a matter of slowing down the pass. I'm not sure I have confidence that can happen unless we sack Keller a few times and put the pressure on.


Defense

The strength of the ASU defense are their linebackers with senior MLB Dale Robinson leading the way. The defensive line is appears to be the weakness of the defense. ASU has only 3 sacks in 3 games with none coming from a lineman. Plus, they are pretty light at DT at 282 and 260 lbs. They do return a DE and DT, but they don't seem to be doing the job. Phew! After last week Matt Moore could use a break. They will have to blitz with LBs and CBs to bring a lot of pressure. Hopefully that will open things up in the passing game.

Their secondary is generally strong with one of the Pac-10's best corners returning in Josh Golden. However, they really haven't been tested yet by a team with a good passing offense. LSU, Northwestern, and Temple. Not exactly Louisville :). I think we will do OK in the passing game. As a side note Bryan Payton (OSU safety) has a twin brother, Jeremy, who is playing for ASU and has got a bit of playing time. Also, Zach Catanese is the starting safety. Many of you may remember his brother Brandon Catanese played for the Beavs a few seasons ago.


Special Teams

This may be the worst part of their team. They completely collapsed against LSU with two blocked kicks for TDs in about 5 minutes. Their kicker is decent, but he only hit 63% of his FGs last season. Their punt coverage seems surprisingly bad at 21 yards per return against. However, they haven't punted it much this season anyways :). We've got to win this phase of the game.



OK, so the Beavers have an uphill battle. But we pulled off the upset the last time they were here and we have a very good home record over the last five years. Plus, they do have a young quarterback who has yet to be tested on the road. Doesn't look like the Devils will pressure the QB much so our offense should have time to get going. Our only hope may be to out score them like we did against BSU. If we win, it will probably be around 37-34. If we can't find a way to stop their passing game a la last Saturday...well, it could be another Cal from last year. I hope it's not the latter.

One thing we can do is be LOUD! Get on the Devils early and often. This is the Pac-10 so bring it!


Here's a few more articles on the Beavers and their game Saturday:

Statesman Journal - Bernard steps up at tailback

Gazette-Times - Oregon State's Mr. Versatility