ASU’s football team (4-6, 2-5 Pac-10) comes out of their bye week to face the UCLA Bruins (4-6, 2-5 Pac-10) on Senior Day this Friday.
It also marks the last home game of the season for the Sun Devils.
In head coach Dennis Erickson’s weekly press conference, he explained how much a win would mean to the ASU seniors in their last game at Sun Devil Stadium.
“It's a good group and we want them to go out the right way,” Erickson said. “It's important that we all play well and let the seniors go out well in their last game at home. That's huge for us.”
The Bruins are a team who like to run the ball and they do it rather well. Their passing game hasn’t been as effective so expect ASU’s defense to focus on shutting down UCLA’s Jonathan Franklin. The sophomore running back averages 94.5 rushing yards per game, good enough for fourth place in the Pac-10. Slowing him down will be the key to ASU winning the game. This season, the Bruins have won every game in which Franklin ran for more than 100 yards but they have also lost every game where he was held under 100 yards.
“Because of what they do, which is primarily running, we have to create some blitzes in our package that is good against what they do in the run game,” Erickson said. “We will mix it up.”
ASU’s defensive team is more than capable of limiting UCLA’s running game. They have been very effective against the run this year. The Sun Devils have only allowed an average of 119.0 rushing yards per game. That is the second-best average in the Pac-10 behind U of A which only allows 113.3 rushing yards per game.
Both teams have been plagued by turnovers this season. UCLA has the most turnovers lost (25) in the Pac-10 while ASU has the second-most turnovers lost in the conference (22).
If the Sun Devils can hang onto the ball and limit their turnovers they should have no problem picking up their fifth win before heading to Tucson for the final game of the season.
A win on Senior Day would do wonders for the Sun Devils’ confidence heading into their rivalry game against the Wildcats. If they can beat UCLA and pull off an upset against U of A, they will be able to head into the offseason with a positive outlook for next season.
