ASU Football: Sun Devil defense prepares for USC’s Air Raid attack

(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)

Practice builds muscle memory. At least that is what Arizona State defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales believes. When sophomore safety Aashari Crosswell was penalized for kicking an incomplete UCLA pass during the Sun Devils’ 42-32 loss to the Bruins, it wasn’t an unfamiliar sight.

“We talk about stuff all the time, if you do it in practice, you’re going to do it in the game,” Gonzales said during his meeting with the media Wednesday. “Well guess what, he kicked the ball like that [in practice before].”

But after a bye week following a two-game road swing, Gonzales and Crosswell each said they are confident in the defense’s ability to recreate the success it had earlier this season.

“I don’t think you’ll ever see it from him again,” Gonzales said. “He’s practiced completely different this last week. Hopefully that’s a great wake-up call because he can be a great player.”

“Coach Herm always preaches to us less emotions, less penalties,” Crosswell said. “I feel like that’s what killed us last game. We had a lot of penalties so that’s what we focused on this game.”

Crosswell’s mistake is just one example of the defensive lapses that have hindered Arizona State in its past two losses. But in a lot of ways, Gonzales said the defensive struggles come down to third down.

“It’s not even the short [third downs] that are bothering us,” said Gonzales, whose defense has allowed opponents to convert on 43.9 percent of their third down attempts this year. “It’s the medium to long.”

In the first six games of 2019, the Sun Devils were the least penalized team in the Pac-12, with disciplined play helping them defeat two ranked opponents on the road. With the USC Trojans (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12) visiting Tempe Saturday at 1:30 p.m., ASU’s ability to matchup with the Trojans elite receiving corps will be key to the Pac-12 South matchup.

For the second time this year, Arizona State will get a look at an Air Raid system, with first-year USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell leading the Trojans offense. When the Sun Devils took on Washington State’s Air Raid attack Oct. 12, ASU allowed 498 yards and 34 points in a 38-34 come-from-behind win.

“I feel like USC’s receiving core is a little bit more talented, athletic-wise, and bigger,” junior defensive back Evan Fields said. “It is a lot of the same system, based off of timing and stuff.

“Their offense eats off of big plays, so if we limit those we’ll be in good shape.”

At this point last season, Gonzales said a young Sun Devil defense started to break down, a result of the five true freshmen which started for ASU. But with experience in the Devils’ 3-3-5 defensive scheme, along with three of the final four games coming at home, Gonzales expressed a belief that his defense will have success to finish out this year.

“We’re building something really special,” said Gonzales of his defense, which has allowed 21.1 points per game this season. “Now you should see toward the end of this year and we should be really good on defense next year.

“Now you’ve got a core and nucleus of young guys that have been playing together and kind of understand where the puzzle pieces fit. And now they should be getting better and better. They should not regress. Last year, I thought we wore out from this point on. It should be the other way this year. We should continue to get better every week.”

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