(Photo: Haley Spracale/WCSN)
The Friday night conference matchup is set: No. 22 Arizona State Football will host the Stanford Cardinal in what has the potential to be a very physical and tough game at Sun Devil Stadium.
Both teams are coming off exciting and unexpected wins. ASU is now the Pac-12 Conference South favorite after blowing past then No. 20-ranked UCLA in a 42-23 victory last weekend at the Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, the Cardinal likely ruined No. 3 Oregon’s College Football Playoff hopes after upsetting the Ducks 31-24 in overtime.
Stanford sophomore quarterback Tanner McKee has completed nearly 65 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,093 yards in 2021 while recording 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions.
“He’s got a nice delivery and can touch anywhere on the field with his ability to throw the ball,” ASU head coach Herm Edwards said of the Stanford signal-caller.
The Sun Devils offense is led by junior quarterback Jayden Daniels, who played arguably his best game of football last weekend. The junior completed 13 of 18 passes for 286 yards against the Bruins, with four of those passes going for at least 47 yards.
A possible offensive setback for Stanford is the leg injury of senior wide receiver Brycen Tremayne, which was sustained against Oregon last weekend. Tremayne has 20 receptions and five touchdowns on the year.
However, the Cardinal have other offensive weapons in junior wide receiver Elijah Higgins, who has 22 catches for 273 yards, and sophomore receiver John Humphreys who has recorded 13 catches for 205 yards in 2021.
ASU also has plenty of its own offensive weapons, but there was one stand out player in particular last weekend: junior Ricky Pearsall, who had 132 yards and two touchdowns on three catches. The Arizona native averaged 33 yards-per-catch and had more total yards last Saturday than he had in his first four games of the year combined.
“He’s the most consistent guy we have and he’s a big play guy,” Edwards said.
Pearsall’s first touchdown against UCLA tied the game at 17. During the 65-yard catch and run, the Bruins defensive backs were unable to keep up.
“When he’s running with the ball, you better be fast because he can run,” Edwards said.
The Sun Devil’s pose a threat not only in the air, but also on the ground to Stanford. The dynamic duo in senior running back Rachaad White and sophomore DeaMonte Trayanum made their comeback last weekend after Trayanum hadn’t played since ASU’s season-opener. Both running backs scored a combined three touchdowns against the Bruins.
Defending ASU’s run game will be a challenge for the Cardinal as Stanford has allowed 212.8 yards on the ground per game.
Both Stanford and the Sun Devils will be put to the test on Friday night, but now with even more pressure on them after last weekend’s triumphs, both programs have more to live up to then just a win.
