ASU Football: Reestablishing the running game

(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)

The statistics from the Mike Bercovici-led aerial attack for the Arizona State football team are extremely impressive: Through two games, 998 passing yards and eight touchdowns have culminated in nearly 500 passing yards per game and 30-plus points per game.

Bercovici has performed better than anyone could have possibly asked for as he fills in for the injured Taylor Kelly, and gave the Sun Devils one of their most memorable win in school history last week against USC.

Naturally, it is tough to look deeper. The tantalizing nature of big-time quarterback arms has made the NFL more pass-happy than it has ever been. Though collegiate football is not at that point yet, Arizona State football is trending rapidly in that direction.

It may seem trivial to nit-pick in an attempt to find something wrong with the state of the ASU offense. But since Bercovici has taken over, the decline of the running game has been alarming.

Through its first three games, Arizona State’s rushing attacked averaged 42.67 carries (per game), 304.3 yards, 7.03 ypc and four touchdowns.

Against UCLA and USC, however, those numbers dipped to an average of 29 carries (per game), 84.5 yards, 2.6 ypc and 0 touchdowns.

Offensive coordinator Mike Norvell addressed the issue after Tuesday’s practice:

“Every week we want to be able to establish the run,” Norvell said. “That’s something we tried to do in the USC game and were not as successful. [We have] some things that definitely have to clean up offensively, but we’re going to go into every game taking what the defense gives us. If teams are going to take away the run then we have to do a great job winning the one-on-ones on the outside. I think our guys were able to do that—you saw that with some of the explosive plays we were able to hit. We have to be able to have a great balance there. We are going to establish the run.”

“Every defense is going to tell you the same thing,” Norvell continued. “They have to stop the run. That’s part of the chess match. We have to do a better job executing in the run game and get back on track there.”

Could this regression in rushing production be attributed to better competition?

Of course.

But, for the sake of pinpointing the deeper issue, it is more important to first address what is NOT the cause of the problem.

Debunking Myth No. 1: The running backs and offensive line have underperformed and failed to meet expectations in the past two games.

Logically, this may appear to be the case. Why else would the production drop?

According to head coach Todd Graham, however, it was opposing schemes that were at fault.

“They were scheming to stop that and therefore they gave up a lot of passing yards in return,” Graham said. “It didn’t have anything to do with our running backs or offensive line—it had to do with scheme. We have to be able to adjust a little bit better than that.”

Debunking Myth No. 2: With DJ Foster being used increasingly as a slot receiver to add another weapon for Bercovici, the other running backs have proven less talented and therefore are responsible for the decline in rushing production.

It may be shocking to some, but after DJ Foster’s torrid three-game start to the season, Deantre Lewis and Kalen Ballage have been more efficient with their carries.

In the past two games, Lewis has led the team with 4.45 yards per carry, Ballage has registered 3.95 ypc and Foster has sputtered to 2.3 ypc.

Sure, Foster leads the group with six more carries than Lewis and 11 more carries than Ballage. But when Lewis has gained 18 more yards than Foster has over those two games, it is clear that Foster’s increased playing time as a slot receiver is not leading to a shortage of quality running backs.

If the logos-based stats are not convincing enough, consider a more personal and pathos-based statement from Norvell:

“I’m probably as pleased with Deantre as I am with any player that we have right now. I think he’s really come along. (He’s) been very consistent the past two weeks (and) continuing to get better. He can do so many different things to help whenever DJ (Foster) moves out—same thing with Kalen Ballage. The group of running backs we have I think is pretty special. So seeing those guys come along and be able to help us is going to be big as we continuing on into the season.”

Lewis and Ballage also relish the opportunity for an expanded role:

“I think in the Pac-12 it’s rough to be one running back doing it on your own the whole season,” Ballage said. “So definitely, DJ is going to need some help by us and I think our carries and our productivity in the offense is going to go up a lot.”

Lewis believes he is an asset to the running back corps because of his ability to make quick decisions in the middle of a game.

“I have speed and my smartness (allows me to be) able to pick apart the defense and realize what they are blitzing with their schemes,” Lewis said.

Actual cause of the decline in rushing production: ASU’s offense is a read-option and hinges on the ability of the quarterback to scamper.

Essentially, when there is zero threat of the quarterback keeping the ball and running, the defense can cheat on the running backs, holes don’t get opened up and the running game looks collectively bad.

With rushing performances of 17 yards against UCLA and -5 yards against USC (compared to 84 and 70-yard performances for Kelly in his last two games), defenses are better off ignoring the possibility of a Bercovici run out of the read-option.

“Taylor obviously brings a different dimension to that position,” Graham said. “Mike does a lot of things that are really different from him, but Taylor brings an accountability to the run game for the defense.”

That statement is why Taylor Kelly is the starting quarterback for ASU, and also the reason that Todd Graham has unabashedly backed him this past week.

The offense might not be as sexy. But the running game is significantly better, and frankly, that is more important.

What is the point then?

So since Taylor Kelly is rumored to be returning against Stanford and the running game supposedly accompanying him, was this article essentially pointless?

I would like to think that is not the case so consider it a “rest-easy” message: Whether it be Foster returning to early-season form, or Ballage and Lewis gaining more opportunities with Foster in the slot, Arizona State’s running game should be just fine.

 

Follow Jacob Garcia on Twitter @Jake_M_Garcia or connect with him on LinkedIn.

 

 

 

 

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