Quarterback
EDGE: ASU
Junior quarterback Brock Osweiler admitted that moving on from the ASU football team’s heartbreaking loss to UCLA was tough. But he also noted that it’s his job to help teammates refocus on Washington State this Saturday.
Osweiler’s leadership has been instrumental in the Sun Devils’ success so far, and he will be heavily counted on this week against the Cougars.
He managed to throw for 264 yards and two touchdowns in Pasadena, and has now collected 3,585 throwing yards and 26 touchdowns in his career.
Redshirt senior quarterback Marshall Lobbestael took over for the injured Jeff Tuel and never looked bad. He threw for 300 yards in three consecutive games including a 376 passing performance against Colorado.
Running Back
EDGE: ASU
Cameron Marshall’s stellar performance seemed to get lost in ASU’s disappointing loss to the Bruins. The junior running back carved the UCLA defense for a career-high 168 yards and a touchdown.
With yet another touchdown run, Marshall established a new career-high with 13 this season. Saturday was also his third 100-yard rushing game of the 2011 campaign. Marshall has amassed a team leading 800 rushing yards on the year and averages 88.9 yards per game.
Redshirt freshman Rickey Galvin and junior Carl Winston anchor the running game for WSU.
Galvin leads the squad with 479 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 79 carries in just his first collegiate season. Meanwhile, Winston isn’t far behind with 368 yards and three scores of his own. Winston recently bolted for a career-high 69 yards against Oregon.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
EDGE: ASU
Senior wide receiver Gerell Robinson got off to a quiet start this season. Since then, he’s been a go-to target for Osweiler.
Robinson set a new career-high with six catches for 131 yards and he’s now notched three 100-yard games this year. He is tops among all ASU receivers with 42 catches for 743 yards.
Like Robinson, junior wide receiver Jamal Miles is a dangerous weapon for the Sun Devils. He ranks No. 2 among ASU receivers with 41 receptions.
Both redshirt senior Aaron Pflugrad and senior Mike Willie have enjoyed strong seasons to date. Pflugrad is second among all receivers with 457 yards in 2011 while Willie averages 13.6 yards per catch and has collected 366 receiving yards this season.
The WSU offense has seen sophomore wide receiver Marquess Wilson break out this season. He’s just 26 yards away from becoming the second receiver in program history with multiple 1,000-yard seasons. Wilson notched 1,006 receiving yards last year as a freshman.
The talented wide out is also just 42 yards away from breaking into the top ten on WSU’s career receiving yards list. Wilson is third in the Pac-12 with 108.2 receiving yards per game.
Senior wide receiver Jared Karstetter is another solid option downfield for Lobbestael. Karstetter hauled in his 17th career touchdown catch against Oregon. He is now tied for sixth place on the school’s career receiving touchdowns list.
Karstetter has been reliable and then some for the Cougars as he has started 33 straight games while reeling in a pass in 36 consecutive contests.
Offensive Line
EDGE: ASU
The Sun Devil offensive line was at full strength last Saturday for the first time since the season opener against UC Davis. Sophomore tackle Evan Finkenberg was back in the starting lineup versus the Bruins following an ankle injury that cost him three games.
When the line is healthy, it is undoubtedly a huge strength for the Sun Devils as six different lineman own starting experience.
The o-line provided Osweiler with ample time and protection versus the UCLA defense, and he praised them for their efforts.
For WSU, guard B.J. Guerra is the lone senior on the offensive line. The Washington native started all 12 games at right guard a season ago en route to earning All Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors.
WSU quarterbacks have been sacked 28 times this season, and the Cougars will face a bevy of skilled ASU defenders come Saturday.
Defensive Line
EDGE: ASU
Sophomore defensive end Davon Coleman and senior defensive end Jamaar Jarrett have combined for 4.5 sacks for 37 yards. Sophomore defensive tackle Will Sutton owns 1.5 sacks this season as well.
The return of sophomore defensive end Junior Onyeali will only help ASU’s d-line down the stretch.
WSU junior defensive end Travis Long collected the 9.5 sack of his career last week. Redshirt senior Brandon Rankin tallied 19 tackles and three sacks a season ago. The defensive end has made 14 tackles and one tackle for loss so far this season.
Linebackers
EDGE: ASU
Junior linebacker Vontaze Burfict has received no shortage of hype throughout his third season in Tempe.
Yet Burfict has been unusually quiet in recent weeks. He did manage to tally five solo tackles including a sack in Pasadena.
Redshirt senior linebacker Colin Parker continues to serve as ASU’s leader on defense. Parker grabbed six solo tackles versus the Bruins with two of them being for loss. He also forced a fumble and recorded a sack.
Senior linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis is the Cougar’s top defender with 48 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss and an interception. He turned in a stellar game against Colorado in which he made 14 tackles, a WSU season-high.
Secondary
EDGE: Even
ASU’s secondary struggled at times in the UCLA game. It yielded a 33-yard pass completion in a third-and-29 situation that eventually helped the Bruins take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
Senior safety Clint Floyd made a career-high nine tackles while junior safety Keelan Johnson notched his first career sack.
The Sun Devils still lead the conference with 13 picks this season. Both sophomore safety Alden Darby and Floyd have three interceptions.
WSU ranks low in the Pac-12 in pass defense with a 151.6 efficiency rating. Sophomore cornerback Damante Horton recorded an interception in four straight games. He returned his interception against Oregon 76-yards for a touchdown. Horton leads the entire conference with his four picks this season.
Redshirt junior safety Tyree Toomer set a new career-high with his 10 tackles against California.
Special Teams
EDGE: Even
The kicking game proved to make the difference in ASU’s narrow 29-28 loss to the Bruins. Redshirt freshman placekicker Alex Garoutte missed a 46-yard attempt as time expired. It was the third missed field attempt of the game for Garoutte who is now nine-of-15 on the season.
Junior punter Josh Hubner is averaging 41.1 yards per punt this season with his 1,848 yards on 45 kicks.
The strength of ASU’s special teams is Miles on the return game. He’s not only returned a kickoff for a touchdown this season, but he’s also returned a punt 78 yards to the end zone as well. In 12 punt returns, Miles averages 14.6 yards per return.
WSU ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in kickoff returns, right behind ASU, with a 24.3 average.
Sophomore kicker Andrew Furney has nailed 11 of his 13 field goal attempts this year while his longest connection came from 51 yards.
Overall
ASU
The Sun Devils missed a golden opportunity to control their own destiny against UCLA. But that loss is now long over with and ASU faces a WSU team that’s shown some fight in 2011. Osweiler realized his mistakes from last week and is fully capable of an impressive offensive showing on Saturday. ASU’s multi-faceted, quick tempo offense and strong linebacker core make it the favorite in this week’s matchup in Pullman.
Reach the reporter at greg.dillard@asu.edu
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