After three consecutive losses, Arizona State enters Saturday’s game with Oregon as a team desperate for a win.
The Sun Devils are looking to turn things around against the Ducks after averaging only 12 points per game over the past three weeks.
With the strong arm of junior quarterback Andrew Walter and the memories of last year’s 45-point performance at Autzen Stadium as incentives, the Arizona State offense is licking its chops.
Walter, who passed for 536 yards against the Ducks last fall, has thrown for 1,197 yards and nine touchdowns. His top targets have been senior Skyler Fulton and sophomore Derek Hagan.
Fulton set career highs with eight catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns against Utah State in week two. Hagan showed his worth last Saturday against USC. He finished with eight catches for 170 yards.
“Derek has been practicing well and it showed up in the (USC) game,” Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter said. “I thought Derek did a nice job with his routes, he was physical, he ran with the ball after he caught it. He’s been practicing just like that.”
The passing game isn’t the Sun Devils’ only offensive strength. A balanced running attack with sophomore Hakim Hill and freshman Loren Wade led to early success against USC. Hill leads the team with 263 yards, while Wade has 171.
“The running game helped us out,” Walter said. “We threw the ball 35-to-40 times per game last year, and this year we are not even close to that. With our running game (going) strong, it opens up the play book so that teams don’t know what you’re going to do every time.”
Arizona State’s three losses have come against Iowa, Oregon State and USC — all of which are ranked in the top 25. The Sun Devils have been accused of being too predictable on offense over the three-game stretch and will look to mix up their play calling.
“People are certainly telling me (our offense is predictable),” Koetter said. “We do a self-scout based on down and distance, based on personnel we have in the game and based on formation. I look at those numbers every week and try to gauge whether we are too predictable or not.”
Defensively, the Sun Devils are looking to improve as they are eighth in the Pacific-10 Conference in total defense and have allowed 103 points in the past three contests. Junior safety Riccardo Stewart has been a bright spot, leading the team in tackles and interceptions. The Sun Devils are also second in the conference with 20 sacks.
Despite recent struggles, Koetter said the defense won’t do anything special to deal with Oregon’s two-quarterback system.
“I think that’s way overblown,” Koetter said. “I’ve watched tape, Oregon runs the same offense. Our offenses are very similar, we know some of the things they are going to do.”
The Sun Devils are also solid on special teams. Senior punter Tim Parker is averaging 44.2 yards per punt, with a long of 66. Parker is one of 32 athletes on the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top punter. He was also picked as a third-team preseason All-American by Street & Smith’s.
If the Sun Devils are going to stay competitive for the remainder of the season, they have to start playing better in the second half. The team has been outscored 71-31 in the second half, including a 27-7 second half meltdown against USC on Saturday.
Arizona State has been catching plenty of heat for their recent losing streak, but Koetter said the Sun Devils are far from finished. In each of the last seven meetings with Oregon, the winner has gone on to finish in the upper half of the conference race.
“Our players are getting plenty of negative feedback outside our building,” Koetter said. “We’re sitting here at 2-3 and we’ve lost to three top 25 team, and we’ve got seven games to go. We could still finish up this season with a great record and do a lot of things that are on our goal list.”