ASU Football: Despite preseason-hype, Sun Devils focused on A&M

(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)

Three days before the Sun Devils kick off the 2015 season, practice inside the Dickey Dome was as intense as any other practice this fall. That is if the two-minute drill is any indication.

As the media was only limited to seeing this situational session as they are every practice, it is hard to get an impression on who will be better late in the game between the offense or the defense.

Regardless of what happens during practice, head coach Todd Graham is ready to get this season rolling already.

“I’m excited for our players,” Graham said. “I love these kids I’ve got a great belief in them. Obviously it’s a major challenge but I’m excited for our guys.”

Two-Minute

No real changes personnel-wise on either side of the ball, other than seeing redshirt Senior wide receiver Devin Lucien instead of redshirt sophomore Ellis Jefferson. Lucien made a sideline catch during the drive.

The only other completion made by redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici was to redshirt junior De’Chavon Hayes on a drag route towards the left side of the field. Bercovici’s four incompletions came from a throw-away eluding pressure, missing Hayes twice (one being a seam route), and the final incompletion came in the form of an interception.

Redshirt junior defensive lineman Edmond Boateng came off the edge to hit Bercovici from his blind side, and Bercovici’s attempt to get rid of the ball did quite the opposite. The pass ended up falling right into the hands of Boateng’s partner in crime, redshirt senior defensive lineman Demetrius Cherry.

 

 

Opening in the National Spotlight

This Arizona State football team is 15th in the nation according to the AP poll, and ESPN’s Kirk Herbsreit has ASU in his final four for the College Football Playoff. Bercovici also made it into ESPN’s top 10 breakout players of the 2015 season, as the number one player to watch. In other words, it’s no secret this team is expected to do great things.

But according to senior captain Jordan Simone, it doesn’t affect anything.

“At the end of the day none of that stuff matters,” Simone said. “What matters is what happens in this bubble every day and what happens at practice and in the film room and really in the classroom. All that stuff has a direct correlation to how we play on Saturday.”

With all of this hype in mind (or out of mind), opening the season away from Sun Devil Stadium in Houston against a potentially written off Texas A&M team could be an ideal start, but at the same time a fatal one. Especially considering this “neutral site” game is only 95 miles away from College Station.

“It’s going to be a hostile crowd we know that,” Simone said. “We know it’s an away game for them too but we’re excited.

The magnitude of this game is as big as any game on the rest of the schedule for ASU this season, but getting lost in the hype and anticipation is something the Sun Devils need to avoid when Saturday comes around.

“It’s a really good test game one,” Simone said. “You can’t get too caught up in it and we’ve just got to worry about us and go 1-0.”

With all that being said, Simone doesn’t think playing away from Sun a Devil Stadium week one in such a highly anticipated game makes a difference.

“There’s a lot of anticipation towards a home opener no matter who it is,” Simone said. “I’m really excited just to get down there. It could be in Europe, I don’t care where we play, we’re going to play Sun Devil football.”

Notes

-Graham said wide receiver Tim White is a possibility to play. Graham also said, based on the footage he’s seen, that White hasn’t drop a pass even with a cast on .

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post