CUSportsNation.com Publisher Kyle Henderson answers your questions concerning ASU’s upcoming opponent and perhaps the most surprising Pac-12 program this season.


Know Your Foe: Colorado

TACKLING

Armand Perry is the leading tackler (imagine that, a safety) 32 solos, 5 assists 6.2 per game (21st in Pac 12)

Kareem Orr is 2nd with 26/4/30/5.0 (not good when a CB is your 2nd leading tackler...obviously Fiso/Sam injuries are the reason) Tied for 35th-38th in Pac 12

Moeakiola is 3rd with 17/6/23/4.6 49th in Pac 12

No others in top 50

Not great for Fiso's draft prospects

RUSHING-DR 9th at 72.7 ypg , 29th at 3.9 ypc; KB 14th at 51.7 ypg and 14th at 5.1 ypc

RECEIVING-TW 5th with 71.3 ypg, 3rd in receptions per game at 6.5 (but no TDs)

SCORING ZG #1 at 12.0 per game

PUNT RETURNS-TW 2nd at 13.1 ypr

PUNTING MH 3rd at 44.9

KICKING ZG 1st in FGs at 16, 1st in FG % 94.1,

SACKS Crump tied for 1st with 5

TFLs Wicker 8th at 1.08 per game, Crump 9th at 1.00 per game, Calhoun 10th at .92 per game, Wrenn tied for 15th-18th at .75 per game

INTs Gump tied for 2nd-4th at .5 per game

Passes Defended- Moeak 1st at 1.6 per game, Gump tied for 10th-14th at 1.00 per game

The running back discusses preseason expectations, Colorado game. Thanks to Justin Toscano for filming

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ATTIRE: Helmets and pads

LOCATION: Kajikawa Practice Fields

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: About 25 minutes

SPECIAL GUESTS: Not really a guest, but I saw ASU baseball head coach Tracy Smith walking out of the practice fields right as media were allowed in. More on the Smith family further down in the practice report...

TOWELS AND SUNSCREEN (Muscle beach): OL Tyson Rising

OTHER NOTES:
- QB Manny Wilkins stretched with the team, but did not participate in the media availability session. He was playing catch with a staffer for a bit while the team worked through drills.
-I did not see LB Christian Sam at practice. Could be me, but I didn't see him get off the tram either.
-Kalen Ballage had his ankle taped. Jalen Harvey had his right ankle taped. DJ Calhoun had his left ankle taped. Nothing new, just noting what I saw again.

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TAKEAWAY: The team worked on takeaway drills to start practice. Here is a video of the defense working through the drills:

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The team then worked on tracking drills before moving to the 11-on-0 offensive session.

11-on-0 OFFENSE:

Here's how the teams looked...

First team: QB Dillon Sterling-Cole, RB Demario Richard, WRs N'Keal Harry/Tim White (slot)/Jalen Harvey, TE Kody Kohl, LT Evan Goodman, LG Sam Jones, C A.J. McCollum, RG Stephon McCray, RT Quinn Bailey

Second team: QB Jack Smith, RB Nick Ralston, WRs Ellis Jefferson/Fred Gammage (slot)/Cam Smith, TE Raymond Epps, LT Cohl Cabral, LG Alex Losoya, C Tyler McClure, RG Steven Miller, RT Mason Walter

Third team notables: QB Coltin Gerhart, RB Jason Lewis, WR Terrell Chatman

If you have any questions, please fire away.

ASU's offensive coordinator talks about the possibility of starting Dillon Sterling-Cole on Saturday. Thanks to Justin as well for this video.

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Frederick has 11 offers and says that he would like to visit Arizona State. Good looking prospect. Check out the hit highlight in the story.

https://n.rivals.com/news/frederick-already-up-to-11-offers#

After beating UCLA, there is a LOT ot discuss about this Sun Devil team at the halfway point of the season. @Joe Healey and I are joined in studio by @Hod Rabino & @Ralph Amsden for an in-depth review of the season-to-date & the biggest concerns moving forward...plus, a detailed ASU v CU preview.

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this game is tough to watch. One of the most enept offensive displays in years in SDS. Fortunately our defense also has picked the right time to play like Devils.

Can't run. Can't throw. Even STs can't seem to get the right number of people on the field.

Both teams are lucky but the Bruins have shown more ability to move the ball.

Article with quotes from one of ASU's prime recruiting targets

Sorry, I couldn't post this earlier since I had to conduct the interview driving on my way to the Speak of the Devils Podcast recording.

Things are looking very good right now with the four-star guard who knows Bobby Hurley very well. If Wigginton is indeed done with his official visits, you like ASU's chances in landing him.

If the process drags out and he takes more visits (Baylor will probably be one of those visits) then ASU's chances could diminish.

Lindell Wigginton raves over Arizona State visit

Courtesy of ASU's Media Relations

ASU at Colorado Press Release

ATTIRE: Helmet and pads
LOCATION: Kajikawa Practice Fields
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: ~ 25 minutes (stretch, ball security, team tempo)

ON THE MEND (did not stretch): QB Manny Wilkins, LB Christian Sam

TOWEL AND SUNSCREEN (limited): OL Tyson Rising, CB Kareem Orr, DB Armand Perry

INJURY NOTES: Wilkins wore a sleeve on his left leg and was throwing on the sideline. He was also lining up deep behind the offense during the team tempo session mimicking mental reps. Sam rode a stationary bike during the time media was able to watch. Orr had a large brace on his right knee and was on Muscle Beach. Perry had a compression sleeve on his right knee and also spent his time on Muscle Beach.

BALL SECURITY:

I kept my eyes on the quarterbacks today, particularly as they went through the gauntlet. As Graham indicated yesterday, Dillon Sterling-Cole (wearing No. 14; he should still wear No. 15 in games, according to media relations, for those interested in custom ordering a jersey) went first, followed by Jack Smith (wearing a gold No. 3) and Coltin Gerhart (wearing a maroon No. 3)

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TEAM TEMPO:

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE: Dillon Sterling-Cole (QB), Nick Ralston (RB), N'Keal Harry (WR), Tim White (WR), Fred Gammage (WR), Jalen Harvey (WR), Evan Goodman (LT), Steven Miller (LG), AJ McCollum (C), Zach Robertson (RG), Quinn Bailey (RT)

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE: Tashon Smallwood (TIGER), Ami Latu (NOSE), JoJo Wicker (END), Koron Crump (DEVIL), DJ Calhoun (WILL), Salamo Fiso (SAM), Laiu Moeakiola (SPUR), Mo Chandler (BC), Gump Hayes (FC), Marcus Ball (Bandit), Chad Adams (FS)

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE: Jack Smith (QB), Jacom Brimhall (RB), Cam Smith (WR), Ryan Jenkins (WR), Ellis Jefferson (WR), Raymond Epps (TE), Cohl Cabral (LT), Alex Losoya (LG), Tyler McClure (C), Sam Jones (RG), SCOUT TEAM RG

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE: Renell Wren (TIGER), George Lea (NOSE), Christian Hill (END), AJ Latu (DEVIL), Carlos Mendoza (WILL), Khaylan Thomas (SAM), Das Tautalatasi (SPUR), Bryson Echols (BC), Robbie Robinson (FC), J'Marcus Rhodes (Bandit), Kyle Williams (FS)

TEMPO NOTES:

Sterling-Cole didn't look particularly sharp in his first real reps with the 1s. The offense picked up a couple first downs, but he badly overthrew Gammage on a seam route and two plays later was picked off by Koron Crump.

Smith, the former Mountain Pointe quarterback (on an offense that runs the ball at least 75 percent of the time) who was working at wide receiver, marched the 2s down the field rather easily before Brimhall scored a touchdown.

I looked over at the 3s for one play, just in time to watch Coltin Gerhart throw an interception.

PERSONNEL NOTE: Christian Hill was working with the defense. Jason Lewis was not in a scout team jersey.

FUNNY: The players were trying to explain the ridiculousness of ASU's fall break schedule to OC Chip Lindsey, who shook his head in disapproval. Salamo Fiso got cornrows.

As always, let me know any questions/comments/concerns.

ASU baseball released its tentative 2017 schedule today. It features seven tournament teams and three squads who made the CWS. A couple notable opponents: Oklahoma State (1 game), @ TCU (three-game series).

Here is a picture of the full schedule:
http://bit.ly/2dH8Fbp

TEMPE, Ariz. – Senior kicker Zane Gonzalez picked up another award for his record-setting three field goal performance Saturday, as he has now been named a Lou Groza Star of the Week.

Gonzalez rewrote the FBS record book by kicking three field goals in Arizona State's 23-20 win over UCLA on Saturday. With his 46-yarder in the fourth quarter, the two-time Groza Award semifinalist set a new NCAA mark for career field goals made at 89. The record-breaking kick also proved to be the difference in the game. The Deer Park, Texas, native also scored from 35 and 23 yards out and added a pair of extra points to finish Saturday's game with 11 total points. Gonzalez has made an FBS-best 16 of his 17 field goals this season, while his 72 points are the most by any kicker and second among all players in the country.

The Lou Groza award is named in honor of National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou "The Toe" Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Although an All-Pro offensive lineman as well, Groza ushered in the notion that there should be a place on an NFL roster for a kicker.

The Lou Groza Award will be presented as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards in Atlanta, GA on Thursday, December 8th. The three finalists will be honored at the Silver Anniversary Lou Groza Collegiate Place Kicker Award Banquet on Monday, December 5th at the Marriott Hotel in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

HONOLULU, Hawaii– Former Arizona State University Football standout Junior Ah You (1972) has been selected to be inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, announced Tuesday afternoon.

Ah You enjoyed an illustrious playing career in the Maroon and Gold, earning All-America honors by both the AP and United Press following the 1971 season. Ah You was also a two-time first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection, earning first-team honors in both the 1970 and '71 seasons.

Following his time at ASU, Ah You continued his playing career with the Montreal Alouettes after turning down an opportunity to play for the New England Patriots, who drafted him with the 425th pick in the 1972 NFL Draft. Ah You enjoyed a nine-year playing career with the Alouettes, helping the team win the Grey Cup Championship in 1974 and '77. In 1981, Ah You made the jump to the USFL where he played two seasons with the Chicago Blitz before returning to Arizona to finish his football playing career with the Arizona Outlaws.

Ah You joins Riki Ellison, Chris Naeole, Ma'a Tanuvasa, as player inductees, and John Manumaleuna as a contributor in the 2017 class.

The Inductees were chosen by a selection committee composed of past head football coaches Dick Tomey (Chairman), LaVell Edwards, Ron McBride and Dick Vermeil, ESPN SportsCenter anchor Neil Everett, NFL player personnel expert Gil Brandt, past NFLPA president Kevin Mawae (Polynesian Football HOF Inaugural Inductee) and Hawai'i sportscaster Robert Kekaula.

The Class of 2017 will be honored during the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend, to be held on January 21 & 22, 2017 in Oahu, Hawai`i. Inductees will also be recognized at the inaugural Polynesian Bowl, a premier senior high school all-star football game featuring the world's elite players of Polynesian heritage and other ancestries.

Thanks to BC Sports Radio AM 1060 for the assist

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I had to do an Aaron Rodgers style double-check when I saw their record. Crazy that they haven't even won a game in the Pac so far this year. Inspired this meme:

Third time Gonzalez has been honored this year

Defensive: Marcus Ball, RS-Jr., LB, Arizona State
• Recorded a career high 10 tackles (all solo) in ASU’s 23-20 win over UCLA.
• Added an interception that was returned for 22 yards in the third quarter that set up Zane Gonzalez for his NCAA record setting 89th career FG.
• Key contributor to the Sun Devil defense that held UCLA to -1 rushing yards during the game.

Special Teams: Zane Gonzalez, Sr., PK, Arizona State
• Broke the NCAA career field goals made record with his 89th career FG in the fourth quarter of ASU's 23-20 win over UCLA.
• Contributed 11 points in the Sun Devil win and tallied his fourth game with three or more FG's made.
• His 16 field goals on the season are the most in the FBS as of 10/8.
• Gonzalez has now scored at least one point in each of the 45 games he has played at Arizona State, tying Luis Zendejas’ school record

@Joe Healey was right to predict a 5-7 2016 season.

I may have had a conflicting prediction for the Sun Devils (8-5), but for me, Joe's prediction served as a realistic baseline. I believed Arizona State would outperform that baseline, specifically because I believed that Oregon, Washington State and Utah would all underperform against their own realistic baseline expectations. Thus far, the jury's out on WSU, Oregon is obviously struggling, and Utah's only got two home games left. Even in Arizona State's precarious quarterback situation, I believe all three of those to be winnable games.

I was being optimistic. Joe was being realistic. At 5-1, the reality cake has been baked, and over the next six games, it's time to add the icing.

National expectations were that ASU would struggle to make a bowl. Jerry Palm, who notably said Washington would be in the CFB Playoff this year, had ASU out of the bowl picture completely. Athlon Sports said making a bowl would be tough for ASU. Jon Wilner said ASU would be 3-9. The Pac-12 media said ASU would be 8th in the conference, and 5th in the south.

The bottom line is this, ASU might have been dealt a rough hand with injuries to Manny Wilkins, Bryce Perkins and Brady White, but at 5-1, they're going to get to play that hand with house money.

Some notes from Saturday's game:

• @ChillyASU was right about UCLA. He went out to see them play against Arizona and came back saying they were soft. It would seem that sideline tripper and celebrity fisticuff aficionado Sal Alosi hasn't been pulling his weight.
• Antonio Longino tweeted a less-than articulate but wholly accurate scouting report on Josh Rosen before the game. He couldn't have been more right. To me, Josh Rosen came into UCLA a once in five years level pocket passer. He tried to bribe his OL with jewelry so they wouldn't get him killed before his 2018 payday, but that didn't work. Personally, I love the guy. I hated seeing him get hurt on Saturday, but with that kind of punishment, like the kind that Manny self-inflicts at times, it's inevitable.
• Screens and short passes to the RB continue to be a thorn in Arizona State's side. If the Sun Devils really sell out on a blitz, and the secondary is left to get around a block and make a tackle, it rarely ends with good news. Kudos to Koron Crump, whose speed @Hod Rabino championed before he ever committed to ASU, for being able to chase down Soso Jamabo from behind and make a sure TD become a FG. To be fair, it isn't the first time Jamabo has been chased down.
• ASU isn't running the ball early. I don't like it at all. I've now wrapped myself into a giant chicken-or-egg debate trying to justify not giving your best players the ball. With Mike Norvell and DJ Foster, I can definitively call it poor judgement and an obvious mistake... but when ASU is 5-1, Ballage and Richards are a little banged up, and it's obvious that teams are stacking the box, I suppose Chip Lindsey has to take what the defense is giving him. OR DOES HE???? Running the ball is about imposing your will. This early avoidance of sending players between the tackles feels like surrendering before the fight starts. Running back carries in the first half have been in the single digits three weeks in a row. It just doesn;t sit right with me.
• Brady White looked good for his first ever start. The early ball he floated to Tim White (dropped), the touchdown pass to Harry and a few other throws were some of the better balls I've seen an ASU QB let fly. Ever. Now, there's a lot to criticize as well, like the stubborn desire to make a play late in the game that led to him being lost for the season, but if Tim White cuts toward the back of the end zone, and Brady makes that throw, we're talking about something that would be on @JediASU highlights for years to come.
• Putting DSC in for a couple plays (when the Sparky formation would have been a better call) is a debate that would be easy to argue based on the immediate results, but now that we know Brady and Bryce are out for 2016, it's a pointless debate. DSC is probably going to start at Colorado (I don't believe anything coaches say about 50/50 injuries), and will spent the rest of the year at #2. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. I am not, however, looking forward to the resurrection of the three star vs four star debate that saw people beating up on Blair Angulo for attempting to explain a decision that he wasn't even responsible for making. Beyond that, considering Arizona State's uniquely putrid historical track record with quarterbacks rated 4-stars and above (apart from a few nice starts by Sam Keller), the 3-star rating might actually be a much better omen.
• This offense does not use pass catching tight ends. Predicting some shifting around/transfers if Chip Lindsey isn't given one of the 20 high profile head coaching jobs that will be available this offseason.

With quarterback Brady White starting today for the first time, it's important to keep this mind: offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey really game plans around the strengths of his signal caller and will ask what plays they feel comfortable with.

Lindsey has an open and honest dialogue with his quarterback in tailoring the game plan and will not try and fit a square peg into a round hole. He really puts an emphasis on putting his quarterback in a position to succeed.

I know this sounds like a common sense approach, if not the ultimate no-brainer, that every offensive coordinator should have. But we also now that many offensive coordinators don't take this approach. Lindsey's methods have often worked very well for the ASU offense since his arrival. Very curious to see how it works tonight with a first-time starter behind center.

There was some good banter going on and I can't find it so I am starting a new post regarding ASU passing on 1st down vs UCLA

FWIW we had approximately 27 first down plays and we intended (1 sack) to pass on 14 of them.

1)Completion to Harry 1 yd
2)Completion to White 4 yds
3)Interception-White throws up for grabs towards Cam Smith who is blanketed by 2 defenders
4)Incomplete-Harry open, nice pass and Harry drops it 5 yards downfield
5)Incomplete-slant to White and right thru his hands
6)Incomplete to Harry-thrown up for grabs as he was well covered and DB makes catch out of bounds
7)Incomplete-Tim White wide open over the middle and White throws high
8)Complete to White-4 yds
9)Incomplete to Tim White-dropped perfect pass
10)Complete to White -30 yds
11)Complete to White-18 yds on flea flicker
12)Incomplete-double reverse pass by Harvey who threw up for grabs and blatant PI not called
13)Complete to Harry -slant for 15 yds
14)White sacked and injured

6-12 for 72 yards , 1 INT. 3 drops, 1 sack, 1 missed PI call
If just 2 of those 3 drops are caught, you have 8-12 67% for at least 100 yards (8.33 ypa.....somewhere around 8.0 taking into account the sack)

I can't argue with the play calling on 1st down

BLADOW!

Shout Out to dbegg and RoneDevil on winning week Six!

theoriginalsundevil4life is still your YTD leader with 146pts! Solidly taking the lead this week, but there are still 6 weeks left!

Results are here:
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If there are any shenanigans, please post your questions in this thread.

Week 07 up shortly!