Not A Good Day For Defense......
Game Report Posted: October 30, 2011 17:36
Neither team's defense showed up to the Colosseum and Michael Eubanks played one of his worst games of the season as the Trojans hand the Devils their first defeat of the season. The 2 teams combined for:
1103 yards of offense
34 1st downs
576 rushing yards
8 rushing TDs
527 passing yards
The Devils defense was completely incapable of stopping Trojans' HB Morgan as he embarrassed us to the tune of 265 yards, 4 TDs, and 9.1 YPC. When it was almost all said and done, ASU had the ball in USC territory on the edge of studly PK Garoutte's range with less than a minute to go, down by 3. Eubanks chose this opportunity to throw his first interception in over 4 games (over 100 pass attempts) and USC was able to run the clock out for the win. While Eubanks threw the pick (and lost 2 fumbles as well) the blame for this loss falls squarely on the shoulders of the entire defense. Our offense could've scored 100 in this game and we still would've lost.
Key Stats:
QB Eubanks - 20/29, 158.0 QBR, 292 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD
HB Lewis - 14 car, 178 yards, 1 TD
WR Hollidary - 10 rec (career high), 162 yards, 1 TD, 6 car, 59 yards, 1 TD
TE Wilson - 7 rec, 76 yards
The Most Costly Win EVER!
Game Report Posted: November 01, 2011 01:01
#7 ASU got the win over the Cow Patties, but their season may be over. Late in the 1st quarter superstar WR J.J. Holliday caught an innocuous 5 yard slant for a 1st down conversion. When he didn't get up after the play, coach Jello got worried. When he later received word (later my ass, my star player was down so I checked his status immediately after the play) that he had a torn shoulder and would miss the remainder of his SR season, his heart really sank. Eubanks looked completely lost without Holliday to throw the ball to and turned in the worst passing game of his career. Things are looking very bleak for ASU without Holliday.
For this game at least, they were playing Colorado and were able to beat them up on the ground. 323 of their 426 yards came on the ground as did 4 of their 5 TDs. HB Lewis went for 144 and 3 TDs while Eubanks had a career high 142 rushing yards with a TD. Next week ASU will host Arizona, but they'll do so without their most dangerous weapon.
ASU Embarrass Hokies in Orange Bowl
Game Report Posted: November 09, 2011 05:06
The Hokie offense made a valiant attempt in the BCS Orange Bowl, but the ASU offense was just too explosive to keep up with in a rain soaked Miami stadium. The ASU 3 musketeers were all outstanding in what would be their final game together with the graduation of HB Lewis and Biletnikoff winning WR Holliday. Holliday's performance earned him the Orange Bowl MVP trophy as he helped coach Jello win his 2nd BCS bowl in 3 years.
Key Stats:
QB Eubanks - 228.3 QBR, 10/16, 198 yards, 3 TD, 1 rushing TD
HB Lewis - 13 car, 159 yards, 2 TD
WR Holliday - 5 rec, 125 yards, 3 TD, 3 car, 47 yards, TD
ASU Cruises in Conference Clash With Beavers
Game Report Posted: October 25, 2011 05:36
QB Michael Eubanks recorded his 2nd straight 100 yd rushing performance en route to a 34-17 Devils' victory. Passing the ball he was off today as he only completed 60% of his passes and if you threw out WR J.J. Holliday's 95 YAC yards, Eubanks would've only had 129 passing yards. The ASU defense was shredded for 96 yards on the ground and 336 through the air, but they stiffened enough in the red zone to make the game comfortable for ASU. Next week ASU will host an upstart 4-1 UCLA team.
Stats:
QB: Eubanks - 174.7 QBR, 12/20, 234 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 18 car, 101 yards, 1 TD
TE: Wilson - 4 rec, 93 yards
WR: Holliday - 2 rec, 95 yards, 1 TD
Devils Roll Over Bruins
Game Report Posted: October 28, 2011 03:37
Both sides of the ball dominated for ASU today. Michael Eubanks was once again a stud throwing the ball (completing 90% of his 1st half passes before finishing with only 70%) but he was unable to get anything going on the ground. Despite a team high 14 carries he only managed 18 yards. Luckily, he was picked up by HBs Lewis and Love who both had 75+ and WR Holliday who rushed for 43 yards. Next week ASU travels to L.A. to face a very scary USC team. Since will definitely be their most challenging game this year since a week 2 victory over Wisconsin.
Key Stats:
QB Michael Eubanks - QBR 221.0, 14/20, 70%, 281 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
HB De'Antre Lewis - 12 car, 86 yards, 4 TDs
WR J.J. Holliday - 6 rec, 143 yards, 2 TD, 3 car, 43 yards
Michael Eubanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Game Report Posted: October 23, 2011 07:36
You see this cat Mike Eubanks is a bad mother--
Shut your mouth!
But I'm just talking about Eubanks.
QB Mike Eubanks had the game of his young career versus the cougars. He set career highs for:
Completions (also the most for any QB under coach Jello)
Passing yards (the 2nd most by a QB under Jello)
Rushing yards
Rushing TDs (tied for most by anyone under coach Jello)
To say that he went bananas on the Cougars would be an understatement. In less than 3 quarters he completed 75% of his passes (after 81% in the 1st half) for 307 yards (255 in the 1st half), 1 TD, 0 INTs, 122 rushing yards (his first above 50, let alone 100) and 4 rushing TDs. He did it on QB keepers (1st video), read/triple options (2nd video), and once the defense was sufficiently scared of his running, on PA passes (3rd video). As a team, ASU had 555 yards of offense (410 in the 1st half), 216 yards/5 TDs on the ground, 339 yards/3 TDs through the air and an impressive 25 minutes of possession compared to only 7 for Wazzou.
Next week the Devils return home to face a much tougher Oregon State team.
ASU Explodes And Releases Themselves Upon The Heels
Game Report Posted: October 20, 2011 04:47
In a game full of huge plays (scores of 30, 34, 42, 59, 66, 95 and 98 yards) ASU had more of them as they cruised to a 45-22 victory. They returned a kickoff for a TD for the 2nd week in a row and true FR HB Zach Parrish, on the first touch of his career, had a 95 yard TD Run. Both teams were determined to run the ball and did so successfully. They combined for 74 carries for 559 yards and 7 TDs on the ground versus 35 pass attempts for 395 yards and 1 TD. UNC QB Brynn Renner was set on showing off his best Denard Robinson impression with 16 carries for 48 yards, but this also resulted in 8 sacks as he would tuck the ball way too early way too many times (see the 4th video). He did have a [b]BEAUTIFUL[/b] run on a read option that I wish the CPU could pull off more often (see 3rd video). For ASU, the star (outside of QB Eubanks) was SR WR J.J. Holliday who had 241 yards and 3 TDs combined between rushing and receiving.
Next week the Devils will travel to Washington State where they plan to thoroughly embarrass the Cougars.
ASU Hits On All Cylinders Versus Huskies
Game Report Posted: October 19, 2011 02:58
Things began disastrously for the Devils as, on their 1st drive, starting HB (and only good one on the team) DeAntre Lewis was blown up on a sweep play, fumbled the ball which was returned for a TD, and was knocked out of the game with a foot contusion. The 1st quarter was high scoring, including back to back KO returns for TD as UW took a 17-14 lead early. The 2nd quarter belonged to the Devils, however, as they outscored the Huskies 24-0, taking a 38-17 lead into halftime. The ASU offense then went on cruise control as they got conservative so as to not make any mistakes. The entire 2nd half only saw 10 points scored and ASU ended up with a 41-24 victory.
QB Eubanks was the star on offense as he slinged the ball all over the place in the 1st half. He ended the game with a 259 QBR, 12/18 for 255 yards, 4 TDs, and most importantly, 0 INTs. The true heroes on the day was the defense though. They only allowed 10 points (the other 14 from the UW special teams and defense), 200 yards of offense, and forced 5 INTs. After 1 game, ASU will step back out of conference as they travel to Chapel Hill to face the North Carolina Tar Heels.
ASU Starts Slow, But Recovers Against Ohio
Game Report Posted: October 15, 2011 04:55
On the 1st 2 drives Ohio was unstoppable. Their mediocre QB was throwing the ball all over the place as he completed his first 10 passes for over 100 yards. After ASU started selling out on the pass they did better and after giving up 14 points on the 1st 2 Ohio drives, they didn't allow another point and played exceptionally well. They even got one of the funniest sacks I've ever seen in an NCAA game!
The offense was once again lead by QB Eubanks with both his arm and legs. He completed 16/22 for 224 yards and 1 TD/ 0 INT. On the ground he gained 32 yards on 15 carries and 2 TDs.
In Madison, ASU Shook Up The World!
Game Report Posted: October 13, 2011 05:31
The beginning of Saturday's game went as most had expected and Devils' fans feared. The bigger, stronger Badgers just bullied ASU all over the field and this all started in the trenches. The UW road graders cleared paths for large gains on the ground and whenever they passed the ball, the Badger QB had as much time as he needed (on 1 play I rushed 4 against 5 and I literally counted to 5 before the QB threw the ball and he still wasn't pressured). On the flip side, ASU couldn't run the ball no matter how hard they tried and it didn't take long to realize that they couldn't throw down the field either because any pattern that took more than 2 seconds would likely result in a sack. UW ended the game with 6 sacks while ASU didn't register their first sack (they ended with 2) until UW's final drive of the game! Despite the domination in the trenches, once coach Jello realized what absolutely wouldn't work, he started to move the ball on offense and they ended the half only down 17-10.
The second half was all ASU. They found the recipe for moving the ball on offense and while it only resulted in 10 points, they were still able to be productive. It was the ASU defense that was the story however. They started actually forcing a couple of punts and stalling out some Wisconsin drives. When it was all said and done, they would force 2 turnovers during the game (ASU had 0) and pitched a shutout in the 2nd half to salt away the victory. Probably the most telling stat comes from SS McCullen who had 8 tackles in the 1st half as the Wisconsin players would routinely break through the 1st and 2nd levels of defense, forcing him to make the tackle. In the second half, he only had to make 1 tackle.
While no one's stats were really POTG worthy, coach Jello gave the game ball to QB Eubanks who, despite immense defensive pressure every time he dropped back on his 26 passing attempts (17 att, 6 sacks, 3 scrambles), he never turned the ball over. This was of the utmost importance for this game and coach Jello drove that point home all week and Eubanks executed flawlessly. The Devils should have an easier time next week as they host Ohio.
Down Go The Horny Toads
Game Report Posted: October 12, 2011 05:31
The outmanned Devils took on TCU at home and used their 12th man to get this victory. While there were a couple of stars on offense, the defense was the story as they held TCU to only 24 points whereas most analysts were predicting 40 points from the Horned Frogs. The D did a lot of bending as they gave up 402 yards, but they rarely broke as they forced 5 punts. They were put in a couple of tough spots due to offensive turnovers in our own territory, but overall played great. They forced 2 turnovers, including a HUGE interception in our red zone and got to the QB 5 times, most of which were coverage sacks.
Offensively, the Devils couldn't seem to establish a ground game, but QB Eubanks was brilliant throwing the ball. He had a QBR over 200 for the 4th game in a row (and in 4 of the 5 games of his career) as he completed 68% of his passes for 285 yards, 4 TD, but 2 INTs. The biggest receiving threat, as expected, was SR WR J.J.Holliday who scored a TD on all 3 receptions for a whopping 189 yards. While ASU didn't run the ball well as a team (we didn't even have a single rushing TD), starting HB Deantre Lewis played well with 92 yards on 10 carries.
Next week we travel to Madison to take on the #3 Badgers.
2013 ASU Season Preview
Season Report Posted: October 12, 2011 05:32
The Devils are coming off of a 2012 campaign that saw them over achieve and finish as the #19 team in the country. Can they repeat this performance in 2013? Let's examine them to see. The Devils are very, very young because since coach Jello took the reigns of the program they have graduated 40 players in only 2 years. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to recruit a high caliber of player yet so there will be a lot of subpar players not only seeing the playing field, but starting as well.
Offense:
ASU lost a lot of firepower on offense as they lost 3 of their top 4 receivers (and 7 in 2 years), starting QB Brock Osweiler, and most importantly, stud HB Cam Marshall. At QB, ASU may actually be better off with sophomore Eubanks taking over full time. He isn't as talented or nearly as good of a passer as Osweiler, but he played very well when given the chance last year. He was the team's 4th leading rusher on only 52 carries, and he really, really impressed with his passing. He had a QBR over 220 and had 7 TDs to only 1 INT. Here's hoping that this wasn't a fluke and that he can lead this team to great things in 2013.
Cam Marshall really emerged in coach Jello's system as he totalled 3134 yards and 37 TDs in 2 years and his production can't be expected to be replaced by 1 guy. Deantre Lewis is looking to try, however, as he finally steps out of Cam's shadow. Lewis should definitely be a good back and he brings a different style than Marshall. While he doesn't have the "run you the fuck over" that Marshall had, he does have more "make ya miss" in him. You can expect to see true FR Clifton Love getting some carries as well as he has the potential to house the defense every time he touches the ball.
The receiving corps is definitely down as we only return 1 receiver that has seen any kind of playing time. While coach Jello's system rarely uses the TEs it would be prudent of him to find a way to utilize them more as his 2nd best receiver is TE transfer Richard Wilson. ASU will only get 1 year out of him so we'll have to see if he's used in the passing game or only as a blocker as is the norm for Jello.
The O-line is the definite weak spot on the offense as they'll start a true FR, FR(RS), and a SO. This could be really scary because last year's much maligned line had serious issues protecting the QB and this year's line is much worse. 2 postions have gotten better (+4, +7) but the other 3 have gotten worse (-2, -5, -11!). It's very likely that this group of kids will be manhandled even more than last year's batch.
Defense:
Like the offense, the defense lost quite a few players. ASU will need to have some young kids step up and play big. The line is decent and will be anchored by DE J.R. Onyeali and DT Mo Latu. Onyeali had 11 sacks last year to lead the team and looks to continue to dominate tackles this year. Latu hasn't gotten to the QB much, but his 320 lb frame (I can't believe he was a DE originally) is tough against the run game.
The LB corps is still very much a work in progress. Last year, 4/5 OLBs were 1st year recruits who were thrown immediately into the fire (the 5th was a FR(RS)). While they were out of their league at times, they've got 1 year of experience under their belts and look to improve this year. Coach Jello is still trying to transition to more of a 3-4, but he hasn't found the MLBs that he needs yet.
The secondary is probably the strongest unit on the entire team. CB Osahon Irabor is an All American candidate and outside of CB2 Spann who's a 76 OVR, the rest of the secondary is at least an 80 OVR or better (which is really good for this team). With a true shutdown corner and a good supporting cast, the secondary should be fine.
Verdict:
While the offense has been bleeding away talent and not replacing it through recruiting, at least they're going to be able to bring more of the spread option attack to the table. The QB is way too slow (77) but he's at least serviceable until he can be superceded by a FR recruit in the future. The main question mark will be in the passing game as HB Lewis should be fine. Will Eubanks continue to pass as well as he did last year, or will he play down to his ratings? Can the weak receiving corps step up? Can the meager O-line prevent Eubanks from leaving games on a stretcher? Devils' fans had better pray that there are some "yes" answers to those questions. Defensively, ASU should struggle at times, but overall they should be able to hold their own more times than not. It's definitely not a championship caliber defense by even the loosest definition, but it's not a .500 defense either. ASU will definitely lose some games this year, but they should be able to compete for a Pac12 championship. That's not a terribly realistic goal, but it's more realisitic than it would've been last year.