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Oregon Ducks @ Arizona State Sun Devils Football Preview

Arizona State has once again lost a game it easily could have won. For a team that’s struggled in September in each of the last two seasons – missing a bowl game in the process – a narrow loss against a credentialed opponent has created the kind of climate in which this team folds the tent. As Oregon comes to town for the Pac-10 opener, the Devils will be asked to regroup in a hurry.

Arizona State was the better team for most of last Saturday's visit to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, but all the Devils got in return for outplaying the Badgers was a lousy T-shirt and a 20-19 stomach-churning loss. The Devils drove downfield late in the fourth quarter to pull within a point, but a blocked PAT ruined their afternoon in America's Dairyland. ASU has seen past seasons spiral downward in September. An excruciating loss to Georgia last year - despite another brave and ballsy performance - wound up sabotaging this team's self confidence. In 2008, an ambush loss to UNLV followed by a face-plant against Georgia took ASU off the rails as well.

Now that ASU has endured the kind of loss that's been far too common in recent years, the Devils must take on a very talented opponent from the Pacific Northwest

The Oregon Ducks have played one bad half of football this season, scoring only 13 points in a sluggish first-half effort at Tennessee. In the other five halves they’ve played, the Ducks have flourished. They posted 35 points in the second half of that Tennessee game and used two cupcake games to score a grand total of 141 points. Oregon is first in the nation in both scoring offense and scoring defense, while ranking second in rushing offense. True, the Ducks fattened up against bad teams, but their offense has still exceeded expectations, given the absence of 2009 star Jeremiah Masoli. Quarterback Darron Thomas has been solid in running coach Chip Kelly’s spread option offense, but then again, he struggled out of the gate at Tennessee, the one credible defense UO has faced thus far. If Thomas can play well on the road against a physical but not supremely fast ASU defense, Oregon should win this game, period.

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If the Sun Devils are to shrug off the Wisconsin loss, they must first bring a winning attitude to the ballpark. Arizona State is known for spilling the tank in early-season games but then folding after a particularly difficult loss. The Wisconsin heartbreaker will challenge this team’s mental resources more than anything else. If ASU and quarterback Steve Threet aren’t ready to perform at their best, the Xs and Os won’t really matter. ASU can’t expect to shut down Oregon’s offense. The Ducks will land their share of blows in this game. Arizona State must answer Oregon’s big plays with even more big plays of its own. Without any mental resilience, this game cannot be won. ASU needs to be supremely resourceful on Saturday, recalling the memory of the 2007 team that won 10 games and went to the Holiday Bowl.

Everything about this game points to an Arizona State letdown. The Sun Devils will find it hard to blot out the Wisconsin stomach-punch, while Oregon is feeling full of itself and is executing with noticeable crispness on the offensive side of the ball. Perhaps this game will be tight for one and a half quarters; most college football experts think the Devils won't be able to hang around for 60 minutes.

The boys from Arizona State need to find a new level of inner strength, and prove the doubters wrong late at night in the Desert.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer