From what I've seen ASU has some real speed all over on offense and seems to be getting real traction lately. They'll be a problem.
Arizona State Matchup
- Thread starter werdnamanhill
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From what I've seen ASU has some real speed all over on offense and seems to be getting real traction lately. They'll be a problem.
Yep. Speed is what scares me the most. And is also why ASU losing Tyson is such a big deal.
We will start out (as always) in base defense and find out what our weaknesses are. I suspect Porter will be able to be on an island most of the night. It's amazing how well he's played all year. People don't notice because no one ever throws at the guy who he's covering.
If Tyson were in the game I'd expect a lot more trouble covering 1v1.
Levit seems to be the type of QB who can give us trouble. His strength is decision making. We excel in making QBs make bad decisions. That will be probably the biggest question mark of the game. Can we make him uncomfortable?
Skateboo is a problem without a doubt. But we'll do what our defense is designed to do. Limit damage. Our DBs are going to need to get off blocks all game. Linebackers need to run fit. I'm actually not super concerned. Even if Skateboo is the best back we've seen all season, we've already seen 4 of the top 10 in cfb. He'll get his, but I suspect we can limit the damage.
My biggest question mark is what is ASU like on defense? No one's talking about their defense. What do they do well? Who are their best players? Do they have a good pass rush?
We've got speed, but the speed is regrettably not always reliable. USC WR transfer Jake Smith came to ASU and we were thrilled about the promise of his speed. Sure enough, he's gotten behind defenses, but despite some well thrown balls he just couldn't come up with a few catches that would have been sure touchdowns. Since then, he's gotten way fewer opportunities.
I think Guillory and Stovall are just good enough to stop you guys from loading the box all game, but not good enough that you guys won't blitz from time to time and trust your DBs in man. Just my hunch.
Their D line is very mediocore, and their secondary is tied with ISU for interceptions this year.
Rocco will have time, and needs to not rush his throws
Welcome, please bring more of your ASU friends over. Really we welcome anyone but Iowa fans and Ute fans.
The ISU DC is notorious for taking away offensive options, and has done so on many occasions, almost every game in fact. Tyson being out makes his job that much easier IMO. I dont believe Skattebo can be stopped, but he will be contained. This defense is the same thing that Cinci runs, however ISU just does it better, as they have been doing it for longer
I think it will be a good matchup, and i like Dillingham a lot. I think he has the ASU program in a great spot. I could see either team winning this game, however i think ISU has a better chance with Tyson being out.
Good luck, and as always, F**k OuT and horns down
Nice try Coach Dilingham….do your own scouting!
Does well:
- Opportunistic and very good at taking advantage of offensive mistakes. These guys have been very high-motor and they make up for lack of raw talent sometimes with pure effort. Swarms to the ball.
- Run defense has been excellent. We've played a lot of the same backs as you guys but have maintained a top-25 rush defense.
- Well coached. The safeties are the strongest position group and they are excellent. Offenses rarely go over the top of this defense. Instead, they have to move through it.
- Pass rush. Plain and simple, we just don't get to the QB very well unless we bring pressure. A 4 man rush won't do it with this group against good o-lines.
- Some of our zone looks get picked apart and we end up giving up chunks of intermediate yards. See the KSU and BYU comebacks after we went up by 21 points on each.
- 3rd down pass defense is insanely frustrating. I'm at point where if I see a team at 3rd and 15 I don't just assume we're fine.
- Rowser and Alford (safeties) are leading tacklers who fly around the field and often make plays behind the line of scrimmage.
- Linebacker has been very reliable - McCullough and Elliot are both playmakers. McCullough has got two INTs on the season at LB.
Another thing that i find interesting is how the past few games have played out for ASU. Both against KState and BYU, ASU has built up pretty sizable leads only to have to hold on at the end. Iowa state conversely has spent a lot of the year playing from behind. Clearly we've been comfortable doing that and successful at completing the comebacks.
Personally I hope that's not how this game goes.
Personally I hope that's not how this game goes.
Just thought it was the perfect time to share this video. Here's a VERY YOUNG Matt Campbell giving an interview to a Toledo media affiliate about why he's leaving for ISU. Same guy every day.
Until I see a pic of him on the sidelines, I don’t believe it.
To many gotcha’s lately.
That would be a dirty shock. Dilly confirmed it in his press conference. And Tyson seemed to confirm it on X.
Their #2 WR has 17 receptions on the year. Gotta believe are safeties will be walked up to stop the run.
Confirmed by media sources as well - done for the season.
Well I saw a guy come off the bench from a wheelchair once in the Pineapple Bowl.
Not sure where to go to get this data, but where do the other receivers for ASU stand in receptions vs. targets?
Are the other WR not targeted as much because of chemistry with Tyson or is their reception:target percentage lower so doesn’t throw to them?
If the former then I could see where the next man up mentality could surprise us. If the latter then we may be able to exploit this and debit more attention to stopping scat.
Are the other WR not targeted as much because of chemistry with Tyson or is their reception:target percentage lower so doesn’t throw to them?
If the former then I could see where the next man up mentality could surprise us. If the latter then we may be able to exploit this and debit more attention to stopping scat.
I'm still trying to figure out why ASU was picked last. How is it possible everyone missed that this would be the best team?
Dillingham is a lot like CMC and like 10 years younger. We showed promise last year and returned almost everyone. So you have to think the law of averages alone would be that we should be the better team. I guess it's just the injury bug, which ASU had a major one hit last week. Hopefully Verdon is healthy but I really liked what we saw from James this past week. Would love to see Brehmer back, but Burkle is looking like we hoped we'd see from him.
The narrative of this game from the talking heads will be so predictable. If it's a good, close game, they will say neither deserves a shot. If either wins easily it will be, see how easy the XII is to win. I can't figure a scenario where people come away impressed with our league and that's a shame.
Anyway I'll be in the stadium and I can't wait.
Dillingham is a lot like CMC and like 10 years younger. We showed promise last year and returned almost everyone. So you have to think the law of averages alone would be that we should be the better team. I guess it's just the injury bug, which ASU had a major one hit last week. Hopefully Verdon is healthy but I really liked what we saw from James this past week. Would love to see Brehmer back, but Burkle is looking like we hoped we'd see from him.
The narrative of this game from the talking heads will be so predictable. If it's a good, close game, they will say neither deserves a shot. If either wins easily it will be, see how easy the XII is to win. I can't figure a scenario where people come away impressed with our league and that's a shame.
Anyway I'll be in the stadium and I can't wait.
PFF has good data on it. It's a little bit of both. Tyson was sharing targets with Guillory until about the Texas Tech game when he began really bonding with Leavitt. That cut down on Guillory's targets. Then you've got Metayer and Skat taking a ton of the other snaps, and obviously we're going to run the ball a lot. Stovall and Smith just haven't gotten a lot of targets, just not enough to go around. Not saying they are elite, but they don't necessarily suck. (Stovall's PFF grade is similar to your #3 WR Brown.)
There's also the completely legit argument that if a WR was really that good they'd earn snaps. But obviously what we had going was good for 10 wins. So *shrug*.
With that said though, you should definitely expect ASU to heavily include both Skat and Kyson Brown (#2 RB) in this game plan, including passes. Both are among our best receivers.
Fun fact: Skat actually pops out in to the slot or wide about 15% of his passing targets. I'm curious to see if they do that more to get creative with the play calling while Tyson is out.
