Saturday evening will, perhaps, benchmark a turning point for the Dawgs. For the first time in decades, we traverse the continent to do battle with a formidable out of conference foe. What the Coots brought in defense, the Sun Devils will bring in an experienced and explosive offense. This team, led by a veteran QB may be the best offense we see all season. Yet, like those island warriors we fought in the Sugar, these Devils are a one dimensional air show. While the Devils do possess a running game, their strength is in the pass. Senior QB Rudy Carpenter knows the Sun Devil system well and thrives on defenses that blitz. The Dawgs will need to get tons of pressure from the front four and not rely on too many blitz packages. The one, well known weakness of the Sun Devils is their OL, allowing 54 sacks last year. We didn't exactly tip our hand last week against the Coots; neither pressuring much from the front four or blitzing often, so the Devils don't have much to work with. Martinez will need to have a solid game plan! We shut down the Devil O, this will be over by half time.
Similarly, the Dawgs need a HUGE statement from our O. I suspect the Sun Devils will follow Darth Visors lead and stack the line. The Coots D was quick and powerful enough to pressure Matt and limit our air attack. Likewise, the Coots put 8 in the box and made life difficult for our RB's. This will be a TALL order for the Devils! They can certainly stack the box, perhaps pressure Matt, but I have serious doubts that their man coverage will compare to USC's! If we are in sync, Matt will torch them will a heavy dose of Green and MoMass....followed by Moreno. King and Samuel.
This game is set up perfectly as an opportunity to either make a huge statement to a nationwide audience, or continue to provide the bobbleheads of ESPN \"also ran\" soundbytes for the remainder of this season. Make no mistake about it, this is a pivitol point....one that I am confident we will make loud and clear.....
GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!! GATA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!