The Sun Devils will have had nine days between their rout of NAU and welcoming the Fighting Illini to Tempe on Saturday. That’s nine days of post-game analysis, practices, speculation, and planning (and a bunch of tweets to lady friends if you’re a certain underutilized member of the team). A lot has been said about how the Sun Devils performed last Thursday and, while most of it was positive, Tempe seems to be holding its breath for Saturday’s game.
A member of the Big 10 conference, the Fighting Illini are coming off last week’s 24-7 win against Western Michigan. It was in this win that starting quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase injured his ankle, causing some ruckus about his readiness for play on Saturday. Todd Graham is preparing as though he’ll be in action, and although it’s still being hailed as a game-time decision, odds are that he’ll be the guy on the field.
It’s a big day for Big 10 teams traveling to the West coast to face Pac-12 opponents: #13 Wisconsin is taking on Oregon State, #16 Nebraska is facing UCLA, and the Fighting Illini are coming to Tempe for the final evening game. Much to the chagrin of the Big 10 teams, the numbers paint a bleak picture: since 1993 they’ve held a collective record of 5-25-1 on the road against Pac-12 teams. Undoubtedly the Fighting Illini have spent a significant amount of the past nine days preparing to avoid adding to this streak.
In Tempe, Todd Graham is focusing on one thing after a game notably devoid of huge gaping mistakes: tempo. His goal is to increase the rate of play to one every 15 seconds (in Thursday’s game, ASU was running one play about every 22 seconds). The benefit to this is obvious, as a higher play frequency keeps the defense unsettled and allows for more gains, but implementation within a 2-quarterback system can prove challenging due to differences in playing style and rhythm. Graham and offensive coordinator Mike Novell are calling the dual QB system an ‘exercise in fluidity’ that works with the respective skill sets of both Taylor Kelly and Michael Eubank, and are looking to perfect this against the Illini defense.
These nine days have also seen questions in Brandon Magee’s status for Saturday, as he recovers from a mysterious (and thus undisclosed) injury. Personnel shuffles have also been made to allow for Anthony Jones to start as a strongside linebacker, and to accommodate for the return of the three players who were suspended from play in last week’s game. Preparations aside, nine days are also plenty of time for confidence to turn to arrogance, and arrogance to carelessness. However, Todd Graham’s philosophy seems to allow no room for unjustifiable swagger, so the Sun Devil squad that hits the field on Saturday should (in theory) be ready for battle.
