Every season ASU gets absolutely dominated by someone. Usually two someones.
In 2012 it was Oregon and USC.
In 2013 it was Stanford and Texas Tech
In 2014 it was UCLA
In 2015 it was Texas A&M and USC
In 2016 it's USC again.
On the whole, ASU has been largely successful and competitive, but nobody likes getting their ass kicked. Ass-kickings remove credibility. This morning, everyone's still talking about Louisville's heart and grit even though they lost to Clemson. Despite the fact ASU beat Cal, who beat Utah, who beat USC, all people are saying about ASU is that they got exposed for what they really are.
Now, if your expectations were that ASU would be anything less than 4-1 at this point in the season, I'm not sure what there is to be upset about. You've been through a year of what an inexperienced offensive line can mean for an otherwise talented team. In 2008 Rudy Carpenter only threw 16 TD passes, and Dmitri Nance/Keegan Herring were held below 4 yards per carry on the season. ASU followed that up with a transition year at QB which led to the worst, least competitive season in recent memory. In 2016, Arizona State is going through both of those issues, and is 4-1.
This is largely due to Todd Graham's recruiting of both coaches and players. ASU is as good as it's been at QB, RB, WR, TE, and OL (outside of center) as I can ever remember, for now and the future. The defensive side of the ball is loaded with talent outside of the defensive backfield, and part of the reason the depth at DB isn't what you need it to be is because when Chris Ball was here, the philosophy was that they should be swinging for the fences. Jack Jones, Lamar Jackson, Brandon Burton, Byron Murphy, Parris Cobb, Jordin Parker, Shurod Thompson, JoeJuan Williams, and TreyJohn Butler were all Rivals250 guys I talked to about the fact that if not for Graham and Ball, they wouldn't have thought twice about ASU. You can throw Calvin Bundage in there as well.
Unfortunately, the "shoot for the moon, but end up in the stars" cliché isn't true in recruiting. 1) Because it's a scientifically ignorant expression- stars are much further away than the moon, and 2) recruiting is hit or miss. You miss, and you end up with underclassmen, Juco transfers, and position transplants manning a unit that serves as your most critically important for sustained success in this conference.
Right now, ASU doesn't have the personnel. Kareem Orr should be a nickel, on spot duty. Gump and Echols are hanging on like wet band-aids. Moekiola's physical ailments have changed who he is as an attacking tackler. James Johnson and Chad Adams can't earn their way onto the field without somebody else messing up. Robbie Robinson looks good, but they're as afraid to put him on the field as they were De'Andre Scott. The next tackle Chase Lucas makes will be his first. Kyle Williams is physically ready to be on the field, but a freshman in Pac-12 play with no experience at the position? They'll avoid that at all costs. Mo Chandler and J'Marcus Rhodes are here to help with big WRs, but tackling guys off screens, slants and crossing routes, as well as outright blowing coverages are the problem- not a bunch of Calvin Johnson types pulling down back shoulders and jump balls.
We did our best on this site to prepare you for a down year at QB, OL and DB. We've been pleasantly surprised at QB with Manny's unification of the team behind him, his quick delivery, early chemistry with N'Keal Harry, and ability to run. Manny seemed to be able to take punishment on his own terms, and while I believed that to be unsustainable, he's won games by extending plays. This would not be a 4-1 team without him at QB. The hits he was taking in the pocket, however, are some of the most brutal that I've seen. Wilkins was hit harder on three consecutive plays last night than I ever saw Berco get, save one time late in last year's Utah loss. Free rushers with free shots happens because you're outside of your gameplan, and if there's any problem to discuss, that's the one I want to get to.
Running backs touched the ball on handoffs nine times in a terrible first half against Cal. Last night a banged up Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage shared 13 carries. Nick Ralston took over duties when the game was out of hand, and nine of his 12 carries came in the 4th quarter.
"The running game wasn't working" isn't a proper excuse for abandoning the effort. If that were in any way valid, USC would have done the same after their first four carries went for -9 yards.
Then again, it's hard to say ASU even abandoned the running game. During their first 13-play drive, Ballage took two handoffs. On their three-play second drive that STARTED in USC territory, Richard took one handoff. He had two more carries on ASU's next nine-play field goal drive. Your best players combined for 5 touches on the first 25 play calls.
The commitment to their best feature isn't there. It wasn't there against Cal. It wasn't there last night. This is Mike Tyson going into the ring and refusing to use his right cross. This is Steph Curry passing up the open three. This just doesn't make sense for how this team is constructed. Manny Wilkins has too much responsibility, too early. As does N'Keal Harry. I think that's what happens when you start believing your own success instead of working with the hand you have and letting the chips fall where they may.
The hand ASU has is two of the best running backs in the conference, a QB that is dangerous in the option and screen game as a secondary option, and receivers who can make plays after the catch. This offense is one that Noel Mazzone dreams of having an infuriatingly boring set of five plays to get the job done with.
The other primary issue has been tackling. ASU as been doing a lot of rugby-style tackling practice- but when game time comes, players are diving for legs and trying to grab mobile quarterbacks up high. These are maddening, but fixable issues. Some you fix by putting players that can't get the job done on the bench for a while (Whiley), others is just a matter of showing them over and over again on film what a good and bad tackle attempt looks like. DJ Calhoun and Armand Perry are guys who will do everything right for 2-3 plays, and then on the 4th play they'll turn their head, lower the shoulder, and actually knock a tackler off a ballcarrier and free the runner up for an extra gain. I've personally witnessed Patterson and Slocum talking the players through this, and running through players is part of Rushing's pre-game warm ups out on the field for the DB group.
On the topic of Keith Patterson, I totally get the calls for his head. I'll maintain that this is a personnel issue, and I've heard from others that his strength is preparation. Todd Graham has said that their relationship has nothing to do with his position or the level of responsibility he's been entrusted with, but it's hard not to come to the determination that Patterson is a guy whose presence helps keep Graham comfortable, grounded and sane. He's not in the top 5 recruiters on staff. His schemes, if they are in fact his, are obviously not the strength of the team, so the question becomes 'who's accountable?' What's an acceptable amount of grace for someone to keep your head coach happy? In this specific instance, Keith Patterson had nothing to do with scoring six points at the half. It's easy to blame the defense when nine consecutive drives result in zero points.
UCLA is still a winnable game. Rosen is the least mobile FBS QB ASU will have faced. You have to tackle and run the ball though. It's that simple. Especially with Brady White at QB. This is still a team that in the win/loss column is outperforming expectations. There's not that much to be upset about, unless you let your hopes allow you to forget just who this team is this year. An inexperienced, talented bunch with a new coaching staff and deficits in the defensive backfield. The W/L column doesn't cover that up, it just has a tendency to make people temporarily forget.
