You play to win the game! Arizona Football prepares for ASU

Burn the tape from last week! Nothing else matters anymore, it’s rivalry week and all the focus for Arizona Football (5-6, 4-4) should be beating ASU.

Just when things were looking up, the performance by the Arizona Football team this past weekend has us and the team a bit humbled from the 41-point drubbing at the hands of then No. 8 ranked Washington State.

You win some you lose some in college football, but after a week off, you would hope for a more competitive performance than what Arizona gave. Alas, that’s the difference between a Top 10 team, and a below average program in a power five conference.

Arizona Wildcats

Having their best season since 2002, the Cougars were all business in Pullman, coming into this one. Wazzu came out in dominating fashion, pacing themselves to a 55-14 halftime lead. The Wildcats would do their best to rebound, but came up short in their attempt to keep this thing remotely close. Arizona lost 69-28.

Regardless, the show must go on as the Wildcats look to become bowl eligible in a highly anticipated match-up with rival, ASU this week.

The once, highly anticipated first of the Kevin Sumlin era at Arizona is quickly drawing to a close.

A season marred by ups and downs and huge inconsistencies, the Wildcats need to ‘Bear Down’ once more in 2018, especially if they have hopes of playing another game. The season is not officially over, as there is still plenty to play for at this point.

Beyond just the bowl game and a potential second-place finish in the Pac-12 South, state bragging rights are on the line. What better way to finish out 2018 with a rivalry win and a potential bowl berth.

Luckily for Arizona, the Sun Devils aren’t quite as talented as the Cougars. With that said, here’s our preview for the final, regular season game.

Know Thy Foe:

Team: Arizona State Sun Devils (6-5, 4-4); lost to Oregon last week in Eugene in a close battle, where the Sun Devils just came up short, losing 31-29.

Conference: Pac-12 Conference

2017 Record: 7-6 (6-3); lost to North Carolina State 52-31 in the Sun Bowl to end the season.

Head Coach: Herm Edwards, the former NFL head coach who once coined the infamous press conference phrase of ‘You play to win the game!” returns to the college game in his first season as a collegiate head coach.

In his eight years as an NFL head coach, Edwards went a combined 54-74, guiding the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs to four postseason appearances. With the Sun Devils, Edwards leads a pretty solid group who is outperforming expectations and has ASU bowl eligible already at 6-5 on the year.

Key Returners/ Starters: 

ASU is very much led by senior quarterback Manny Wilkins, sophomore running back Eno Benjamin (who is 3rd in all of the FBS in rushing currently) and junior receiver N’Keal Harry (easily ASU’s best offensive player). Together, these three lead a rather potent and impressive offensive group that averages nearly 30 points per game.

Beyond that, the Sun Devils use the talents of Kyle Williams, Frank Darby and Brandon Aiyuk on offense.

Defensively, ASU has been pretty solid this year, currently ranking 58th in the country in total defense. They are largely led by freshman linebacker, Merlin Robertson, but have play makers every where.

Jalen Harvey and Demonte King could be out again this weekend, which would be huge, since Harvey is the second-leading tackler for the Sun Devils, and King has been quite solid in the secondary.

Linebacker Darien Butler and defensive back Chase Lucas have had exceptional seasons so far, and have been terrific tacklers, each with eight and six tackles for loss respectively.

Defensive backs Aashari Crosswell and Kobe Williams stay very active in the secondary and will pose a challenge for Khalil Tate and Arizona’s receivers.

Lastly, the Devils have a very formidable pass rush, ranking 36th in the country, with 26 total sacks. Robertson leads the way with five, and they have eight other player with at least two or more sacks on the year.

Key Injuries/ Missing Players: 

Arizona: (According to SportsReference)

OL- Nathan Eldridge is out for season.
DL- Justin Belknap (foot) is done for the year.
OL- Alex Kosinski is still out and will unlikely play this season.
CB- Jace Whittaker (hamstring) has been sidelined and it’s unknown when he’ll return.
OL- Bryson Cain (unknown) sat out versus Colorado and his status is unclear versus WSU.
RB- Darrius Smith (foot) has missed a few games and is questionable against WSU.

Arizona State:

DL- D.J. Davidson (ankle) injured his ankle and is expected to miss the rest of the 2018 season.
DL/ LB- Koron Crump (knee) Crump is likely to sit out the rest of the season due to the injury.
DB- K.J. Jarrell (Undisclosed) Jarrell has yet to play this season and it is uncertain when he will .
TE- Ceejhay French-Love (Out) since he has elected to redshirt for 2018.
WR- John Humphrey (Achilles) will miss the entire 2018 season due the injury.
DB- Joey Bryant (Knee) Bryant has a knee injury and is expected to miss the entire 2018 season.
LB/ TE- Jay Jay Wilson (Ankle) is out with an ankle injury and it’s unknown when he’ll return.
DB/ LB- Tyler Whiley (Foot) has yet to play this season and it’s uncertain if he will play in 2018.
DB- Demonte King (Shoulder) missed the last game due to injury and is questionable vs Arizona.
S- Jalen Harvey (Shoulder) missed the last game due to injury and is questionable vs Arizona

Game Information:   

When: Saturday, November 24th, 2018

Time: 1:30 PM MST/ 12:30 PM PST – FS1

Where: Arizona Stadium (Tucson, AZ)

Spread: -2.5 Arizona State

Overall Series Record: 49-40-1 Arizona

Last Meeting vs. Arizona: ASU won the last match-up in Tempe by a 42-30.

Our Prediction: Arizona 38 Arizona 35. It’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen. While Arizona hasn’t been all that great this season, the good news is that neither has Arizona State.

Perhaps slightly better than us, the Wildcats I think can win this one. However, a lot will be contingent on how they show up and perform.

Against Wazzu, it was not a good night for Arizona. Was it the cold? Was it being so far from Tucson, or were we that over matched by a good football team? Who knows, but sometimes the ‘clear advantage’ can be thrown out in rivalry games.

The last time the Wildcats beat ASU, Arizona was winless in the Pac-12, entering the game at 2-9. We won that game by a 56-35 final, ending the year on a major, major high.

I feel Arizona has too much to play for. It’s the final game of the season, it’s a home game, things haven’t quite gone your way this year, it’s all setting up to be another epic showdown in the desert.

I think Arizona runs over ASU in this one, and the defense does just enough to win!

Here is Arizona’s press conference ahead of the game against the Sun Devils.

At Zona Zealots, we’re hoping for our best game yet as the Wildcats look to gain bowl eligibility against ASU. Bear Down, Arizona!