(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
No. 23 ranked Arizona State Football hopes to carry out a refined attack against UNLV on both ends of the football Saturday night in Tempe.
“They’ve got some talented players, both on offense and defense,” head coach Herm Edwards said of ASU’s opponent.
The Rebels come to Tempe after a close 35-33 loss against Eastern Washington last week. UNLV struggled to score, with just six points in the first half, however, a quarterback switch spurred an explosive second frame for the Rebels. Junior quarterback Justin Rogers passed for just 21 yards and led two drives that ended in field goals in the first half.
Freshman Doug Brumfield will be the starting quarterback for UNLV against the Sun Devils on Saturday. Brumfield, despite his limited experience, connected on five of 12 passes for 117 yards in the second half against Eastern Washington in Week 1. The young reliever didn’t throw a touchdown, but rather scored a 43-yard rushing touchdown instead.
Similar to ASU offense’s against Southern Utah, UNLV relied heavily on the run against the Eagles. Standout senior running back Charles Williams rushed for 172 of the Rebels’ 199 yards.
Though the Rebels struggled on the defensive side, junior linebacker Jacoby Windmon earned 10 tackles and one sack last week. Windmon’s success was arguably the only highlight for UNLV’s defensive unit against Eastern Washington, as it allowed 374 passing yards and watched the Eagles covert 50% of their third downs.
For ASU, stopping UNLV’s rushing attack could key on Saturday night. Defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce mentioned during the week that the Sun Devils are focused on cleaning up and sharpening their secondary in order to stop the Rebels’ run game.
Pierce praised senior linebacker Darien Butler’s outstanding first-game performance against Southern Utah but urged the rest of the defense to also step up.
As one of the team captains, ASU looks for Butler to set an example through his performance, which could very well be needed against UNLV on Saturday night.
“He’s a pitbull on a leash that doesn’t bark, he just attacks,” Pierce said.
Edwards believes ASU’s defensive unit is practically seamless, highlighting its pass-coverage and quality tackles.
“Not a lot of leaks in the defense,” Edwards said.
Against UNLV, Edwards and the Sun Devils hope to improve on a number of particulars, including the penalty nightmare from last week. ASU racked up 13 penalties versus Southern Utah, including 11 in the first half.
“We put ourselves into some bad situations,” Edwards said.
Offensively, Edwards made it clear that although ASU isn’t a “running team,” the Sun Devils usually find success with their running backs.
“When we run the ball fairly decent, we’ve got a chance,” Edwards said.
Once again, ASU is heavily favored to win Saturday night, but Pierce believes earning a victory is more than just about being the better team.
“Obviously we were the superior team athletically [last week], but it’s about execution [this week],” Pierce said.
Thus the pressing concern for Saturday night’s game is whether the Sun Devils will be able to execute on both ends of the ball against UNLV, and do the little things right.
“I’m hoping, obviously, we’re not as sloppy,” Edwards said.
