ASU football taking on New Mexico and the triple option

(Photo: Allyson Cummings/WCSN)

On Saturday, ASU football (1-0) is facing off against New Mexico (0-1). Here’s everything you need to know about the match-up:

Snapshot of New Mexico

The news has gone from bad to worse for the New Mexico Lobos.

A week removed from an exhausting and heart-breaking loss to UTEP in its season opener—a game in which New Mexico erased a 24-7 halftime deficit and then proceeded to cough the ball away in its final three possessions—a much more devastating tragedy struck the Lobos squad on Thursday.

“Our Lobo Football Family suffered a tragic loss yesterday, as Donnie White, Sr. (the father of sophomore linebacker Donnie White Jr.) was the victim of a senseless murder in St. Louis, Missouri,” said Lobos’ Head Coach Bob Davie in a statement released Friday afternoon. “Donnie White, Sr., 52, was a retired U.S. Army sergeant.”

In the school’s first meeting with Arizona State since 1977, the Lobos will undoubtedly be playing with heavy hearts.

Matchup to Watch

ASU Spur linebackers vs. Lobos’ quarterback Clayton Mitchem

The deception and complexities of New Mexico’s triple option offense have been well documented this week, as the Lobos flexed their muscles for 410 rushing yards against UTEP.

The triple option is a run-heavy offensive attack that has the potential to rack up yards in bunches if individual defensive assignments are not executed to perfection. The most crucial of those assignments is the task of the Spur linebacker. Though the Spur linebacker only comes into play on what is considered the second option of the triple option, his role is the most difficult and precise. The player’s assignment is to shed a block from the slot wide receiver and either make an open-field tackle on the quarterback or push the quarterback towards the middle of the field. This prevents the pitch to the trailing running back and herds the quarterback towards the teeth of the defense. For a glimpse at the triple option deciphered visually, check out the Cronkite Sports Live segment I did with ASUDevils.com writer Kerry Crowley (starts at the 14^th minute).

The Sun Devils have been extremely pleased with the performance from first-team Spur linebacker Laui Moeakiola. Thus, it may come to the surprise of many that head coach Todd Graham opted to give redshirt freshman Marcus Ball (a safety by trade) significant reps with the second team throughout the week’s practices. The rationale behind this decision: due to the toil and extreme importance of the Spur linebacker in defending the triple option, the large stature and fresh legs of Marcus Ball (6’2”, 215 pounds) would pay huge dividends in the later stages of the game. Moeakiola may be the safer bet to retain the stranglehold on the starting Spur linebacker in the long run, expect Ball to spell him frequently in Saturday’s contest. 

On the other side of this matchup, after gashing UTEP for 184 yards and two touchdowns, Lobos quarterback Cole Gautsche will be sidelined this week with a hamstring injury. In his place, senior Clayton Mitchem will get the start at quarterback.

Even though many consider Mitchem to be the superior pocket passer of the two, his ability to escape tacklers and command the triple option pales in comparison to Gautsche. 

The loss of Gautsche is monumental and definitely detracts from the allure of the “Matchup to Watch.” But given the fact that the Sun Devils have spent an entire week perfecting their containment of the triple option and went as far as having a player switch positions for the occasion, this matchup is a must-see.

ASU wins if…

The stars shine bright like diamonds.

UTEP running back Aaron Jones hit the jugular against New Mexico last week, amassing 237 yards and collecting three touchdowns. 

If one were to Google “Aaron Jones,” the following search results would appear:

1. The Wikipedia page for Aaron Jones that was the 18^th overall pick of the 1988 NFL draft. He has not played since 1996.

2. The personal website of Aaron Jones, the “Artist, photographer, inventor, master of the Hosemaster Light Painting System and Motion Control Cinematographer and Director.”

3. The Baylor Bears profile page of Aaron Jones, “the most prolific placekicker in Baylor history.”

…

8. Finally, the UTEP running back, Aaron Jones

The point is, if Aaron Jones, the eighth search result on Google, can light up the stat sheet against New Mexico, then imagine what D.J. Foster, the person who IS the first eight search results on Google, can accomplish.

ASU loses if…

New Mexico plays its best game in program history. 

Well, maybe it would take even more than that for ASU to lose this game—say, for example, a federal mandate that forced the two teams to go back in time to 1942 (the last time that ASU lost to New Mexico) and replay the game.

In said era, Albuquerque (the city in which New Mexico plays its home games) opened numerous nuclear laboratories which caused an influx of highly-educated scientists and engineers to move to the city. (It was at this point in time that New Mexico was the state that had the highest percentage of people with Ph.D.’s.) New Mexico head coach Bob Davie would surely proceed to capitalize on this opportunity and assemble a team of football-oriented, Ph.D.-holding scientists to devise a never-before-seen version of the triple option. The offense would be so advanced that ASU’s defense would falter in the face of such an advanced scheme.

But according to New Mexico head coach Bob Davie, the best game in the history of the program would suffice:

“I think we have to play the best game in the history of this program in order to win the game. Agree? Fair?” Davie stated to Richard Stevens, a senior writer for GoLobos.com, “Would it be the biggest win in the history of this program, beating Arizona State at home?”

Prediction

Arizona State 56

New Mexico 17

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

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