Last Saturday brought another close game against a top 10 team and another loss for ASU’s football team. The Sun Devils (4-6, 2-5 Pac-10) could not stop Stanford (9-1, 6-1 Pac-10) from completing a late come-from-behind victory in Tempe. ASU’s bowl opportunities were washed away with the loss.
Stanford’s offense, led by quarterback Andrew Luck, gained a total of 420 yards while ASU’s offense could only muster up 268 yards. Luck was efficient as he completed 33 of 41 passes for a total of 292 yards. He was intercepted once and threw no touchdown passes, but he didn’t need to. Stanford senior Owen Marecic, who plays on both offense and defense, picked up two rushing touchdowns for the Cardinal. His second touchdown came with 5:14 left in the game and put Stanford ahead for good. On ASU’s last drive of the game, Marecic provided a key play on defense as he broke up a pass by ASU quarterback Steven Threet intended for wide receiver Jamal Miles. The Sun Devils were not able to pick up a first down on the drive.
ASU’s defense seemed to be constantly working as Stanford’s time of possession was 42:25, more than doubling the amount of time the Sun Devils had the ball (17:35). Considering how long they were out on the field, ASU’s defense did a tremendous job in limiting Stanford to only two touchdowns and a field goal.
“No question about it, it’s as good of a defensive effort as we have had this year,” ASU head coach Dennis Erickson said. “We created turnovers and had a lot of opportunities obviously. Offensively we’re not very productive as far as getting points on the board.”
With the game tied at 7 in the second quarter, ASU had a golden opportunity to take the lead. They were set up at the Stanford 2 yard line on first and goal. Threet handed off to Marshall and he was tackled for a loss of one. On the ensuing play, Threet rushed to the one yard line and stretched to get the ball across the endzone, but it was stripped by cornerback Michael Thomas and recovered by Stanford. It was something ASU fans have gotten use to this year. Another blown opportunity in the red zone.
Perhaps most alarming of all was how the Cardinal stopped ASU on third downs. ASU was only 1 for 9 on third down conversions. While the defense has done a solid job this season, ASU’s offense has not been able to take advantage of the opportunities they’ve been provided. It has all lead to another losing season for the Sun Devils.
“It’s disappointing,” Threet said. “Our goals were much higher than this, and it’s tough, but after the fact, there have been too many close losses. We had opportunities to win games, and we weren’t able to pull that out.”
ASU is currently in their bye week as they wait for their next home game against UCLA on Nov. 26, which is also Senior Day.
