ASU Football: Rushing battle highlights Sun Devils’ test with Oregon State

(Photo: Dom Contini/WCSN)

Last year, Arizona State Football (7-3, 5-2 Pac-12 Conference) was able to salvage its COVID-19-plagued season with two straight wins to end the year, with the last one coming against Oregon State. The Beavers were 2-5 that season.

This week, however, the Sun Devils will be facing a completely different Oregon State (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) squad. The Beavers, who beat Stanford last week 35-14, are closing in on their first winning record and bowl game since 2013.

The offensive leap Oregon State has made in just one year has been arguably ridiculous. In 2020, the Beavers were eighth in total offense in the Pac-12. They rank first in that department now. Amidst this surge, ASU redshirt junior defensive end Michael Matus singled out one area pivotal to stopping the opponent’s dynamic offense, even repeating himself for emphasis.

“Stop the run,” Matus said. “Stop the run, 100%. That’s going to be the key for this whole week. They have an extremely high-powered offense with three very good running backs and a fast offensive line.

“Whoever is going to win this game is the person who has the most rushing yards. I 100% believe that.”

While it will be a battle between two top rushing offenses in the Pac-12 – with Oregon State at first and ASU at fourth in the conference – the true heavyweight bout will be between Oregon State redshirt junior back B.J Baylor and ASU redshirt senior back Rachaad White.

Baylor, ranking first in the conference and 14th nationally in rushing yards, eclipsed 1,000 yards for the season last week for the first time in his career. White is close behind at third in the Pac-12 in rushing yards and is coming off back-to-back Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for his heroics against Washington and USC. White has been the better pass-catcher though, as he sits at the top of the conference leaderboard with 1,269 all-purpose yards.

“I want to be a running back that can do it all,” White said. “So I just make sure I got that (pass-catching ability) in my game. I don’t want no knock on my game, so it’s pretty cool that the coaches trust me and J-5 (junior quarterback Jayden Daniels) trusts me to throw the ball in situations like that.”

ASU ran roughshod for 286 yards last week in its 35-30 win over Washington, which is ranked second-to-last in the Pac-12 in rush defense. It will be slightly more difficult this Saturday, as the Beavers allow a modest 142.9 rush yards per game (6th in Pac-12). With the Sun Devils only allowing 126.5 yards (3rd), it will truly be a test of which defense breaks first.

Another matchup to look out for could be at the linebacker spot. Oregon State’s Avery Roberts has been tearing it up with a Pac-12-leading 111 tackles, good for third in the nation. The person behind the redshirt junior in the conference – Utah’s Devin Lloyd – is 27 tackles behind Roberts.

On the other end, senior linebacker Darien Butler has been the do-it-all leader of the Sun Devils’ defense. Butler is eighth in the conference in tackles and second in interceptions, and is one of 16 semifinalists for the 2021 Dick Butkus Award given to the nation’s best linebacker.

“[Butler] brings that juice, brings that energy that gets me going,” senior defensive tackle DJ Davidson said. “Whenever I just look at him, he just gives me this nod, and it’s like, ‘It’s go time. I got to match that intensity.’”

Butler faces a test not only in the running game but through the air as well. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Chance Nolan has been impressive this season with a Pac-12-leading 152.4 passing efficiency rating and 16 touchdowns (2nd in Pac-12). Nolan also has had a knack for throwing downfield, as he leads the conference in passing yards per completion with 13.81.

This cannot be said for Daniels, who has struggled at times this season throwing it deep. Regardless of whether it has been caused by a possible regression or the rotating ensemble of wide receivers, head coach Herm Edwards has continued to harp on the need for improvement.

Even with the passing deficiencies, the Sun Devils have matched the Beavers in rebounding nicely from 2020 with successful seasons to the date. Still, even with both squads being bowl eligible, they have something to play for within their respective Pac-12 divisions. The chances for both to find themselves in the Pac-12 Championship Game might be slim, but strange things can happen in the Pac-12, as Edwards alluded to following his team’s comeback win last week.

“The Pac-12 is something,” Edwards said. “Every time you turn around. You think you’ve watched the games and you think you’ve figured it out, and [then] games are close and somebody upsets somebody.”