Check out more photos from Saturday's game against U of A in this slideshow. OR Were you in the student section for the game? See if The State Press caught you cheering on the Sun Devils in this slideshow.
Quarterback
EDGE: ASU
To say the ASU football team relied heavily on the passing game in last week’s loss to Arizona would be an understatement.
Junior quarterback Brock Osweiler threw for a career-high 487 yards, the second most passing yards in a Territorial Cup game. He shattered his previous career mark by 107 yards.
Osweiler threw the ball a whopping 63 times; completing 36 of those pass attempts. He was also intercepted twice by the Wildcat defense and recorded a touchdown. While his final numbers were undoubtedly eye catching, Osweiler’s inability to lead his team into the end zone on several formidable opportunities proved costly in the 31-27 loss.
Through 11 games, the six-foot-eight signal-caller ranks second in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game with 307-yard average. However, he’s placed sixth among conference quarterbacks in passing efficiency with a 140.7 rating. He’s thrown for 3,377 yards this season, which is the second-highest single-season total in team history.
Zach Maynard transferred from Buffalo and redshirted during the 2010 season before taking the reins of the Cal offense in 2011. The junior has passed for 2,565 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s also been picked off 11 times this season.
Maynard’s 126.6-pass efficiency rating is ninth best among Pac-12 quarterbacks. He’s coming off a 280-yard passing game with two touchdowns in Cal’s 31-28 loss to Stanford.
Running Backs
EDGE: Even
The Sun Devils’ ground attack was less than stellar for the second consecutive week. After rushing for just 37 yards against Washington State, junior running back Cameron Marshall tallied just 44 on Saturday.
However, Marshall did notch not one, but two touchdown runs. He’s now scored 16 touchdowns this season and 27 in his career. Marshall has rushed for 881 yards in 11 games to average 80.1 yards per game.
Junior tail back Isi Sofele waited patiently behind the likes of former Cal backs Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen before seeing extended playing time in 2011. Although he accumulated just 338 yards on 69 carries a season ago, Sofele owns 1,121 rushing yards on 211 carries so far this season. His 101.9 average yards per game is fourth best among all conference running backs.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
EDGE: Even
Senior wide receiver Gerell Robinson has done nothing but help the ASU offense with three consecutive standout performances.
UCLA saw him catch six passes for 131 yards at the Rose Bowl. He did even better in Pullman on Nov. 12 when he reeled in eight catches for 158 yards and a touchdown.
But Robinson’s best showing came in the Territorial Cup when he tagged the UA secondary for 11 catches and 199 receiving yards. His 199 receiving yards established not only a new personal career high, but also a Duel in the Desert record.
Robinson now leads all Sun Devil receivers with 61 catches for 1,100 yards this season. He’s also tied for the lead in touchdown receptions with six. He’s ASU’s first 1,000-yard receiver since Derek Hagan in 2005.
With Osweiler coming up firing early and often, he utilized the Sun Devils’ depth as eight different players caught passes.
Senior wide out Aaron Pflugrad made three receptions for 77 yards while junior wide receiver Jamal Miles corralled nine catches for 54 yards. Junior wide receiver Rashad Ross also caught four Osweiler passes for 77 yards.
While Robinson and several receivers notched impressive catches, the Sun Devils dropped numerous passes down the stretch.
Like ASU, the Cal offense takes advantage of not one, but several targets at wide receiver.
Keenan Allen is in the midst of a breakout campaign with 1,200 receiving yards, 84 receptions and six touchdowns. In just his second collegiate season, the sophomore ranks second in both catches per game with 7.6 and receiving yards per game with 109.1 in the Pac-12.
Allen caught six passes for 97 yards against the Cardinal, thus catapulting him to second on the program’s single-season receiving yards list.
In addition to Allen, senior wide receiver Marvin Jones has caught at least one catch in 36 straight games. He’s also the Golden Bears’ active career leader in a variety of categories including receptions with 143, receiving yards with 2,128, and receiving touchdowns with 13.
Offensive Line
EDGE: ASU
ASU’s unit provided Osweiler with plenty of time to throw, allowing the Wildcats sack him just once. Like it has all season long, the depth and experience on the offensive line is paying dividends.
Senior Adam Tello stepped in and started for senior Mike Marcisz last Saturday. Tello briefly retired earlier in the season due to lingering back injuries.
Cal boasts an experienced offensive line that contains a wealth of upperclassmen. Senior lineman Mitchell Schwartz started all 38 games during the last three seasons. The offensive line has allowed 22 sacks while ASU’s unit surrendered 23 through 11 contests.
Defensive Line
EDGE: ASU
Senior tackle Bo Moos is tied for the team lead with seven tackles for loss. He’s also garnered two sacks and 30 total tackles. Sophomore Will Sutton and senior Jamaar Jarrett have combined for 11 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
Cal’s 31 sacks are the third most in the Pac-12 conference. Senior lineman Trevor Guyton started each of the team’s first 11 games. His 10 tackles for loss are second most by a Golden Bear defender. Guyton is tied for the team lead in sacks with 4.5. Another senior lineman, Ernest Owusu, amassed 4.5 sacks as well to combine for nine sacks with Guyton.
Linebackers
EDGE: ASU
Talent at the linebacker position for ASU is abundant, yet it’s not always present when the defense needs it most. The Sun Devils struggled as a whole to simply tackle the Wildcats, who posted 508 yards of total offense.
Junior linebacker Vontaze Burfict remains a statistical leader for ASU on defense. He’s recorded seven tackles for loss, five sacks, three pass breakups and an interception. Senior linebacker Colin Parker is not far behind with his six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Cal’s linebacker unit has played well for the majority of the season, and its defense has limited five opponents to fewer than 70 yards rushing
Senior linebacker Mychal Kendricks grabbed his second sack of the year, and now leads all Golden Bears with 11 tackles for loss and 53 solo tackles. Fellow senior D.J. Holt garnered nine tackles in the Big Game and owns 9.5 tackles for loss on the year. Freshman linebacker David Wilkerson emerged as a welcome addition to the defense with four sacks.
Secondary
EDGE: Even
One week after WSU freshman quarterback Connor Halliday dominated ASU’s secondary for 494 passing yards and four touchdowns, UA took a similar approach. Wildcats senior quarterback Nick Foles threw for 370 on 35 completions and a pair of touchdowns.
Coach Dennis Erickson discussed his team’s issues with allowing big plays last week. But little changed for the Sun Devils as they saw the Wildcats complete passes for 48, 46, 33, and 23 yards.
The Sun Devils sit at No. 10 in the conference in pass defense having forfeited 3,014 yards in the air.
However, Cal leads the Pac-12 in passing defense with just 2,245 yards allowing for a 204.1 game average.
Sophomore Steve Williams recorded his second interception of the season last week and the third of his career. Senior defensive backs D.J. Campbell and Sean Cattouse have also garnered two interceptions this season.
Special Teams
EDGE: Even
Freshman kicker Alex Garoutte was perfect in his first Territorial Cup action. He split the uprights on a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter and once again on a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth. Garoutte is now 13-of-20 overall and 44-for-45 in PAT’s.
Senior kicker Giorgio Tavecchio provides the Golden Bears with consistency in the kicking game. He nailed two attempts on Saturday, thus pushing his season total to 15-for-18. With those kicks, he became the first Cal kicker to net 15 field goals since 2006.
For ASU, junior punter Josh Hubner kicked well in the rivalry game. He booted three punts for a total of 145 yards including two inside the 20-yard line.
Miles continues to be dangerous in the Sun Devil return game. He bolted for a 44-yard punt return versus the Wildcats. He sealed his third career kickoff return for a touchdown to start the WSU game in Pullman.
Cal’s senior punter Bryan Anger is a two-time First-Team All-Pac-10 selection. He’s picked up where he left off in 2010 by averaging 44.4 yards per punt in 2011.
Overall
EDGE: ASU
Just four weeks ago, ASU appeared to be destined for a special season. It was fresh off a 48-14 thumping of Colorado and faced a favorable schedule to close out the regular season. Things changed rapidly for the Sun Devils, who are riding a devastating three-game losing streak into the season finale. Dropped passes, failed tackling, and petty mistakes plagued them against UA. On paper, ASU is very slightly favored in this week’s bout with the Golden Bears. However, the Sun Devils proved that talent and experience don’t always translate to the gridiron on game day. Osweiler’s offense and the defense demonstrated that they’re capable of winning marquee games by defeating Missouri and Southern California.
So what Sun Devil team will show up on Friday? If it’s the ASU squad that’s allowed a combined 1,077 yards of total offense in its last two games and the offense that’s mishandled red zone opportunities, then a fourth straight loss becomes a distinct possibility. The Sun Devils possess enough talent to win this week. It’s all a matter of if they decide to use it.
Reach the reporter at greg.dillard@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
