ASUnited (Arizona State University WeBlog)

The time is fast approaching. The Devils are gearing up for their first game this Saturday against Portland. The quarterback situation is taken care of (for now). The team has had a good camp and everybody is waiting to see whether the hard work is going to pay off for the Devils. I for one am intrigued as to the way the Devils will fare this year against some decent opponents in the Pac 10 as well as out of conference powerhouse Wisconsin. That said, here is Sparky’s Insights on the team and his thoughts on the season. This is from the Devil’s Insider newsletter.

Sparky’s Insights

There is nothing like the excitement of the first football game of the season. Everyone is undefeated and excited to perform. Optimism and hope reign supreme. There is celebration too that the preseason practice period has ended. Remember though, there was excitement when that began too, but five weeks of practicing, without games, can wear on players and coaches alike.

The Sun Devils are ready to play!! The practice period that just ended was one of the most impressive that I have witnessed in many years. Our players took coaching well. They practiced with purpose. They gave great effort without having to be scolded. They approached this preseason segment in a mature manner. They act like a team that has dedicated itself to being successful. There is an old saying… you play like you practice. We shall say my prediction is that we will play well, and barring too many injuries, we will improve as the year goes along.

We begin this season with Portland State. It is not the team we expected to play. We had Division I San Jose State scheduled but they bought their way out of our contract and chose to play the University of Wisconsin for significantly more money than our contract would pay. Such is life, but this event, enacted within the year of the contract, caused Arizona State University significant problems. Our staff worked extremely hard, but a Division I opponent could not be contracted.

It is interesting to note that several scenario’s were suggested where we could have played a Division I team, but the other schools did not what to strengthen their schedules to the point where they would agree to play the Sun Devils.The coaches at other institutions… professionals “in the know” understand the fact that the 2010 Sun Devils will not be a pushover. Much of that thought is based on the reputation that our defense earned last season. We expect that defense to be even better this year. That fact truly excites me.

On the subject of scheduling one needs to know that few programs are willing to take on all comers. We play nine games in a highly competitive conference. Adding a team like Wisconsin a preseason top 25 pick, makes our schedule very competitive.

I am always reminded of the Kansas State University Football story. They suffered through more losing seasons prior to 1990 than any program in Division I. To remedy that situation, their leadership decided that the players needed to experience winning to begin to climb to establishing a successful program. To do so, they adjusted their schedule.Instead of opening on the road at LSU, Washington, and Auburn they added home games against teams that they had a chance to beat. The end results were victories against ranked opponents, appearances in the Big Twelve Conference Championship Games and even a Fiesta Bowl invite.  These things were unheard of prior to the actions taken by their leadership.

So that we are better educated as fans, consider the following: Ohio State plays Marshall, Ohio University and Eastern Michigan, Clemson plays North Texas and Presbyterian. Nebraska…mighty Nebraska plays Western Kentucky, Idaho and South Dakota State. Texas A&M plays Stephan F. Austin, Louisiana Tech and Florida International. Pitt plays New Hampshire and Florida International. Penn State plays Youngstown State, Kent State and Temple. Wisconsin plays San Jose St, UNLV Austin Peay. Tennessee plays Tenn-Martin and University of Alabama Birmingham. Arkansas plays Tennessee Tech, Louisiana Monroe and UTEP. LSU plays McNeese State and Monroe. Michigan plays UMass and Bowling Green. These are facts and I do not wish to demean the players or programs that I have mentioned, but I would have our Sun Devils play any of them. I think we would win those games against those teams. My point? That is collegiate scheduling. Our schedules in the future with feature at least one strong out of conference opponent just like this year. Some teams, as shown above never play any. Boise State has a two game schedule…Virginia Tech and Oregon State. They will be favored in every other game, just as the Sun Devils would if we were playing that schedule. Fact is, we play in the Pacific 10… soon to be 12 conference, and what a treat that it is to do so.

The Pac-10 conference this season will be wide open.  Parity abounds. USC is moving back to the pack. Oregon will be the preseason favorite, but they will be relying on a new quarterback.  Washington and Stanford have great quarterbacks, but will their defenses stand up to the rigors of nine conference games? The team in southern Arizona has many questions on defense. Cal has defensive shortcomings. WSU has a good quarterback but is still trying to stockpile talent. Oregon State should be solid but are untested at quarterback. UCLA? Who knows, but they always field good talent. Your Sun Devils will be solid in this league and will be a surprise to all who picked us to finish ninth.

Three keys to a very successful Sun Devil season;

#1 Solid play at the quarterback position… not spectacular, just solid execution.Get the ball into the hands of our playmakers. We have more guys on offense that can “make plays” than we have had in some time.

#2 Improved play at the corner position. We have to be able to play good man coverage at the corners to allow us to utilize blitz packages.We are strong and fast at the linebacker position… if the corners hold up we will get a lot of quarterback sacks.

#3 Health in the offensive line. We are much improved at the position and will get even better if we stay healthy at the position.

There has not been a tremendous amount of excitement about our team. That is very understandable considering last season’s record. My prediction as the year goes on? This team will earn your respect and be fun to watch, so come on out to Sun Devil Stadium and enjoy some hard fought college football.

See you at the game this Saturday!

As always, Be well, Be Safe, and GO DEVILS!

Share this: