To get a Arizona State point of view on Saturday's match-up against the Sun Devils at Folsom we sat down with Justin Emerson of House of Sparky for a quick Q&A. You can read our answers to his questions here.
D.J. Foster seems very improved and Marion Grice seems all but forgotten. Is ASU's offense as lethal as last year?
Arizona State's offense is just as good, if not better, than last year's. Grice was the only significant departure, and a lot of people (myself included) believe that Foster was better anyway. It's the Foster and Jaelen Strong show, and both will find themselves playing on Sundays in the near future.
More Buffaloes - Sun Devils
More Buffaloes - Sun Devils
Who's one player that doesn't get enough press? Unheralded, if you may?
As good as Foster and Strong are, the guys right behind them will make sure the Sun Devils don't miss a beat when they leave. Freshman running back Kalen Ballage is a tank, and has found the end zone three times already this season. He looks like the guy on goal line situations. Ellis Jefferson is a long receiver that can get up and haul in the ball over a defensive back's head.
Both of these defenses are very young, how do you think your defense will hold up?
The defense really hasn't done anything to instill a ton of confidence. Yeah it held Weber State to 14, but it's Weber State. New Mexico ran all over them in the first half last week, but if there's a bright side it's that the defense didn't allow a score in the second half. Which is the real defense? I guess we'll find out now that Pac-12 play is starting.
What's the gameplan against CU on the defensive side of the ball? What about the offensive?
Defensively: continue to grow. It's a young squad, and it's still trying to get its legs underneath them. Colorado is perfect in that it provides a Pac-12 test before UCLA comes to town. Offensively: more of the same of what we've seen. Personally, I think coach Todd Graham is running a bit of a vanilla offense (last week's awesome two-point conversion excluded) as to not show UCLA, Stanford or USC what they can do. Look for Foster and Strong to get the ball.
How do you see this game playing out?
If the outcome is still in any doubt by the third quarter, it's a bit of an issue. Colorado is a good opponent to get the team's feet wet in conference play, but as New Mexico showed, if the Sun Devils let their guard down for too long, bad things could happen. Arizona State 45, Colorado 20.