Graduate tight end Chris Coyle is tackled into the end zone by a member of Washington's team. The Sun Devils play Oregon State at home on Nov. 16. (Photo by Diana Lustig)Three games remain in the regular season for No. 19 ASU football.
The Sun Devils (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) control their own destiny for the Pac-12 South title with a one-game advantage in the standings, but the schedule isn't exactly easy as ASU closes out the year.
Sun Devil Stadium will host a game for the first time in almost a month on Saturday, Nov. 16 when ASU welcomes Oregon State, the Sun Devils’ final Pac-12 North opponent of the regular season.
“Big challenge and a big, big game for us,” ASU coach Todd Graham said. “It’s the next step, and we’re three steps away from where we want to be, and that’s playing for the (Pac-12) championship.”
The Beavers started the season No. 25 in the AP Top 25 but suffered a 49-46 upset to FCS foe Eastern Washington in their first game. They rebounded by winning six straight games and re-entered the rankings only to fall back out after losing their last two games to Stanford and USC at home.
Graham is dismissing Oregon State’s lapse against Eastern Washington and praised how the Beavers regained control of their season.
After all, this is a similar Oregon State team that handed ASU a 36-26 loss in Corvallis, Ore., last season.
“They’re not even the same (team that lost to Eastern Washington),” Graham said. "Very, very well coached team. I have tremendous respect for Coach (Mike) Riley. ... I thought they outcoached us last year. We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen. We need to make sure that coaching deal is even and give our players an opportunity to win the game.”
The primary focus for the Sun Devils this week is stopping the Oregon State (6-3, 4-2 Pac-12) offense, which ranks just under ASU’s offense at fourth in the Pac-12, averaging 490.4 yards per game. The Beavers also rank one spot below the Sun Devils in scoring at third and put up 37.2 points per game.
Oregon State junior quarterback Sean Mannion is the Pac-12’s most prolific passer (averaging 393.3 yards per game) and has thrown the most touchdowns (31) in the conference this season.
Just as much attention will be put on Beavers junior wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who leads the Pac-12 in receptions (91), receiving yards per game (149.3) and receiving touchdowns (14).
“Man, he is really special,” Graham said. “In my opinion, he’s the best receiver that I’ve seen on film in this conference. That’s saying a lot when you have guys like Marqise Lee and Jaelen Strong. He’s been unbelievably productive.”
Still, Oregon State’s two-headed passing attack doesn’t faze the ASU secondary. The Sun Devils prefer to defend against teams that like to throw over opponents that keep the ball on the ground.
“We’re excited for the challenge,” redshirt senior defensive back Osahon Irabor said. “We got the No. 1 pass defense in the conference right now, and we have a lot of pride in that. We’re going to make sure we keep that this week. We got a lot of respect for that combo and that team over there and the way they do things. We got to come out, come hard and execute our game plan.”
It’s difficult to imagine Saturday’s game in Tempe will be anything short of a shootout, but the deciding factor will most likely come down to whichever team can create the most turnovers. The Beavers' defense leads the Pac-12 in interceptions with 15, while the Sun Devils trail closely at second in the conference with 13 interceptions.
Senior tight end Chris Coyle said the offense is prepared to match the Beavers’ intensity. Coyle promised a more fluid offense than the Sun Devils had in their close win against Utah last week.
“We got to start fast. We got to continue through the entire game, stay consistent and stay on the rise,” he said. “They create turnovers on defense, and they score touchdowns on offense. We got to match that. We know our defense is going to do a great job.”
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
