(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Coming off two consecutive losses on the road, Arizona State will play host to Oregon State on Saturday in another Pac-12 matchup.
The matchup is one that analysts and news organizations alike are already calling a win for ASU, but just one day at the practice facility, the Sun Devils will tell you otherwise.
“If they think this is going to be a cakewalk, I’ll be the first to tell them it’s not,” senior quarterback Manny Wilkins said of his young players’ mentality heading into the game. “I recall us being undefeated, No. 6 in the country going to Oregon State and them ruining our opportunity at the first ever playoff game.”
Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales noted Oregon State’s play against powerhouse program No. 5 Ohio State in week one, which saw the Beavers put up 31 points on a perennial College Football Playoff contender.
“Statistically, they’ve put up a lot of points and yards,” Gonzales said.
The Beavers currently rank 44thin total offense in the nation with an average of 455 yards per game. They are led by freshman running back Jermar Jefferson, who has 473 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the year.
“They have an offense that creates a lot of explosive plays,” coach Herm Edwards said. “This team does some things offensively that can give you some problems.”
For ASU, it is about rebounding at home, offensively and defensively. The Sun Devil defense let up a seemingly insurmountable 311 rushing yards in their loss to San Diego State.
The following game, ASU’s defense showed up, but the passing offense wasn’t quite there as Wilkins threw for just 104 yards against the then No. 10 Washington Huskies.
The rushing offense, however, had a breakout game with a 164 rushing yards. The team hopes to add those two together going forward.
“That’s the goal,” Wilkins said. “Make everything mesh well together…hopefully we get that rolling this week and get some momentum and let it carry us through the rest of the season.”
This could be the game for the Sun Devils to work on adding those together on offense, as they face an Oregon State defense that ranks 127 out of 129 college teams, surrendering and average of 540 yards per game.
Arizona State will look to pick up its first Pac-12 win of the season against the Beavers on Saturday.
