Redshirt junior wide receiver Jaelen Strong attempts to avoid an oncoming defender in home game against UCLA on Sept. 25, 2014. The Sun Devils lost to the Bruins, 62-27. (Photo by Alexis Macklin)After a shocking 35-point loss to UCLA Thursday, the ASU football team has started preparing for its next test this Saturday. While the loss would demoralize many teams, coach Todd Graham said that his players are in fine spirits heading into this week.
"We don't just wholesale and scrap everything and change everything overnight," Graham said. "The sky's not falling. We're just continuing to get better. I'm proud of the young men we're working with and love the attitude and the character that they have."
Graham said that this isn't a completely unfamiliar situation for his team.
"I don't know if you guys remember last year, but it was the same deal, same type of situation," Graham said. "That was a very miserable experience."
Last season, ASU lost 42-28 against Stanford in week three. The game did not feel as close as the final score indicated, however, as ASU trailed 29-0 at halftime. While the team struggled on the field Thursday, Graham is impressed with how the players handled the defeat and is confident that the loss will not weigh them down.
"I love where we are as a program and the character our players have," Graham said. "The other night, how they respond. It's an honor and a pleasure to coach these guys because of the young men they are. And that's what matters. Anybody can have a great attitude when things are going good, it's when you get hit in the mouth and kicked in the teeth, and I can tell you these guys will get back up and give you everything they have. They've got character, they've got discipline, they're smart."
Despite allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown last week, Graham has seem improvement across the board in special teams.
"We've been much improved," Graham said. "(Senior kicker) Alex (Garoutte) has located the ball. When he locates the ball where he's supposed to, we don't have any issues. It's been mostly tackling, and it was one of our best players. We've just got to get better tackling. I think we're breaking down too far from them, some technique things that we can try to get better at, but it just boils down to making tackles."
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Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
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