The ASU Sun Devils (5-1, 3-0 Pac-12) beat the Colorado Buffaloes (1-5, 1-2 Pac-12) yesterday in front of a Colorado home crowd of 45,161 and a national audience on ESPN.
The first half was not as one-sided as people initially suspected, although ASU demonstrated why they were the strong favorite in the game with 31 unanswered points in the second half. The team showed a strong corps of performers yet again, led by the man of the hour in Tempe: Taylor Kelly.
Showing an attention to detail that grabbed the notice of the game’s commentary team, Taylor Kelly threw five touchdown passes in last night’s game. Although he made a few mental gambles that could’ve been costly (specifically not throwing the ball away when pursued and sliding for a loss instead), his performance shows his progression towards quarterback legitimacy outside of the Pac-12 South. He connected with eight different receivers last night, and has racked up 210 of ASU’s 1127 total rush yards. The way in which he got over the problems of the first half bodes well for next week’s match-up versus Oregon.
Yes, Oregon, in case you aren’t living on the West Coast and haven’t been hearing about next week’s game since even before ASU got on a plane to Colorado. The first six games of the season have served as a test of ASU’s ability to win as an overlooked Pac-12 South team. The Oregon game is now an assessment on a different level: national prominence. Which makes the postgame conversation more about how the Devils will fare against the #2 team in the nation on Thursday.
And that means talking about defense. Will Sutton and the D-line was business as usual last night, but a tepid defensive showing in the first half doesn’t elicit hope for going against Oregon’s offense. ASU’s defense has shown they can pressure second-string and second-tier quarterbacks, but that’s not Oregon. My game preview for Oregon will go into more detail, but ASU has some work to do this week.
Although it was a definitive victory, the details of yesterday’s game (and how the Sun Devils play in general) are going to be the building blocks of a victory against Oregon. Stay tuned.
