(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
With 16 days separating now and the 81st Sun Bowl, in which No. 15 Arizona State will square off against Duke in El Paso, Texas, churning out written content becomes a challenge.
Ever since ASU lost to Arizona in the Territorial Cup on November 28, news surrounding the team has been mummed and dulled. It’s not that the interest, excitement or loyalty has withered down. Rather, it’s just tough for fans to sustain enthusiasm and media to sustain coverage for a team that was formerly entrenched in the College Football Playoff race and now has the kiss-your-sister task of watching four other teams (Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State) reap all the hype and media attention.
It’s presumably too early to start delving into the X’s and O’s and the offensive and defensive game plans for each team—both ASU coach Todd Graham and Duke coach David Cutcliffe probably don’t even know themselves how they plan on attacking the other team.
Plus, discussing monotonous schemes surely isn’t the best way to get the Sun Devil blood flowing again.
Instead, 16 days presents an opportunity to unearth the storylines that perhaps have gone forgotten since ASU’s loss to Arizona. It’s nice to be able to forget about the woes that resulted in the Sun Devils losing two out of their last three games, but the truth of the matter is that the issues can’t remain shoved under the rug forever.
So, consider this article a jolt of reality, a re-emphasis on ASU football in the face of much more meaningful teams, and a storyline guide for what to monitor up until kickoff on December 27.
Fan base vs. Coaching staff
To the disgust of many Sun Devil fans, following the loss to Arizona Todd Graham asserted that senior quarterback Taylor Kelly would receive the starting nod under center for ASU’s bowl game.
Kelly has started ASU’s past six games (and gone 4-2 in those games), but has not escaped any of them without a chorus of chirps advocating for Mike Bercovici to take the reins.
Graham remained unwavering in his support for Kelly throughout the year—even giving him his starting job back without hesitation after Bercovici lit up UCLA, USC and Stanford. Yet in the most pivotal moment of the season for ASU—a Pac-12 Championship appearance and Territorial Cup bragging rights at stake—Graham reasoned that his offense needed a jumpstart and thrust Bercovici under center midway through the third quarter.
The decision proved insignificant in the grand scheme of the game, largely because the Sun Devil defense was overmatched. Nevertheless, fans departed Tucson with a tiny glimpse of Bercovici’s dynamic playmaking ability and Bercovici departed Tucson with the backing of an entire fan base.
Graham has not said anything since that has deviated from his original declaration that Kelly would start against Duke, but do not think the loud support for a Bercovici-led offense will be held in check for ASU’s final game of the 2014 season.
All Quiet on the Defensive Front
The parting image that was featured on the front page of cronkitesports.com after ASU’s regular season-ending loss was that of SPUR linebacker Laiu Moeakiola hobbling into the locker room with the assistance of two medical assistants.
Twelve days later, nothing has indicated that that picture doesn’t remain the representation of the current state of the ASU defense.
Injuries ravaged the defensive unit against Arizona, as Jordan Simone didn’t suit up for the contest and Moeakiola was absent for the entire second half. What resulted was quite literally the same predicament that Graham found himself in at the start of the year: inexperience galore at several defensive positions.
If Simone and Moeakiola are unable to go, the Sun Devil defense will feature redshirt freshman James Johnson at safety alongside Damarious Randall, and either true freshman DJ Calhoun at WILL linebacker or true freshman Armand Perry at nickelback.
No update has been given on the health status of Simone or Moeakiola, given the fact that bowl practices don’t start until Friday, but it will definitely be worth monitoring leading up to the Sun Bowl.
Kissing your sister isn’t so bad… Right?
Just because the Sun Devils failed to reach their season-long and ultimate goal of representing the Pac-12 in the College Football Playoff at the Rose Bowl does not mean the season has to be considered a failure.
After all, this team finished the regular season meeting or exceeding nearly every expectation from every pundit. The fact that it managed a 9-3 record is impressive when considering the amount of rebuilding that took place on defense. It turns into a downright remarkable feat when accounting for the loss of its starting quarterback for three games against three ranked opponents.
Of course, everyone got a bit greedy when the “No. 6” label was placed on the Sun Devils.
Still, as dreary as a Sun Bowl selection sounds, the game itself still has value for ASU.
Bowl games always provide programs a prime opportunity to enhance scouting resumes. Given Graham’s already-exemplary ties to Texas recruits, a trip to El Paso will only bolster his influence in that region.
Adding to the intrigue, Duke is no slouch ACC team. The Blue Devils took down No. 12 Georgia Tech and its complex triple-option attack, showcase a stout defense, and are a year removed from duking (pun intended) it out with Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M in 2013’s most electric bowl game.
The opportunity is clearly there for the Sun Devils to continue to build on an impressive season and to continue to demonstrate that they are a program on the upswing. The point of emphasis is simply not to come out flat, dispassionate and unmotivated like they did a year ago, in a similar kiss-your-sister matchup against Texas Tech, when they wheezed to a disappointing 37-23 loss.
Follow Jacob Garcia on Twitter @Jake_M_Garcia or connect with him on LinkedIn.
