UCLA Football Preview: Bruin Defense Might Shutout a Depleted ASU Offense
UCLA may finally get the shutout that has eluded them all season, despite having an elite defense.
Arizona State has had one of the worst offenses in the country this season. They are ranked 124th in Scoring Offense, 115th in Rushing Offense, 67th in Passing Offense, and 103rd in Total Offense. Frankly, after the Bruin defense gets a hold of the Sun Devils tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them ranked 130th in the country — dead last — in Rushing Offense.
The only glimmer of hope they’ve been able to muster offensively has come from their passing attack, despite the fact that they’ve had an ever-revolving door at quarterback. The Sun Devils throw the ball 53.8% of the time. Whether that is the result of the team trying to come back from behind and needing to throw the ball more to move downfield quickly or not is beside the point. It’s what they’ve done. The fact that they’re ranked in the middle of FBS schools in passing in spite of playing six different guys at quarterback this season is rather amazing.
I just don’t see how this offense is going to be able to do much against the Bruin defense unless the team comes out as flat as they did last week against Arizona.
Let’s look at the ASU offensive personnel.
Quarterback
I could probably write an entire article just on the quarterback situation at ASU.
Freshman Jaden Rashada began the season as the Sun Devils starting quarterback, but he got hurt and couldn’t play against Fresno State. At the time, he was expected to miss 4-to-6 more weeks. Last Saturday was the sixth week. So, he may be able to play against UCLA, depending on if he’s healthy enough.
When Rashada couldn’t start against the Bulldogs, Dillingham went with Trenton Bourguet as the new starter. But, then, he went down too and was replaced by redshirt sophomore transfer Drew Pyne. Pyne also got hurt against Fresno State and was replaced by Jacob Conover.
Pyne was able to return the following week against Southern Cal and Bourguet was back to face UC Berkeley. In addition to the Bears, he was the starter against Colorado, Washington, Washington State, and Utah. But he was injured on the ASU’s third offensive play, forcing the Sun Devils to go back to Conover. Bourguet did return for one series in the second quarter, but he was done after that.
Wide receiver Shawn Charles was even at quarterback for at least one play last week.
So, who will start for ASU tonight? Their QB situation sounds like UCLA’s. The guy who is healthiest at 5:30 pm tonight will likely get the start. It could be anyone who has played the position this season for ASU or it could be someone who may have played it years ago. We won’t know until kickoff, but Rashada, Bourguet and Pyne would give the Sun Devils their best chance to win, assuming the Sun Devil line can provide enough protection to keep the starter healthy.
Running Game
Despite the fact that the ASU runs the ball only about 46% of the time, Sixteen different Sun Devils have run the ball over the course of the season. That number includes five wide receivers and a tight end. While it does include Shawn Charles who was sacked when he was playing quarterback last week, it doesn’t include the three offensive linemen who have lined up in the backfield but never carried the ball.
All that said, Jack-of-all-trades Cam Skattebo is the Sun Devils’ featured back. Skattebo has gained 570 yards on 127 carries for an average of 4.5 yards per carry and he has run for seven touchdowns. His longest run of the season went for 66 yards.
The only other Sun Devil with more than 100 yards rushing this season is redshirt junior DeCarlos Brooks, who has run for 220 yards on 42 carries. That’s an average of 5.2 yards per carry. Brooks has also scored three touchdowns.
True freshman Kyson Brown is the only other Sun Devil with more than 50 yards rushing. Brown has 66 yards on 16 carries. He hasn’t scored yet.
The receiver with the most rushing yards is redshirt junior Elijhah Badger. He has run for 46 net yards on nine carries, one of which went for a touchdown.
The fact that ASU has used so many non-running backs in the running game could be important today in the event that the starting quarterback goes down and that Dillingham is forced to play an emergency QB who can’t throw the ball effectively. Why? Because if they can’t throw the ball, they will have to rely on misdirection and surprise when running it.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see ASU use one or more of the offensive linemen who have been in the backfield this year to run the ball at some point tonight.
Passing Game
While I’m hopeful that the defense puts the ASU starting quarterback on his back enough to force an emergency QB into the game, the Bruins have to be prepared for the Arizona State passing attack.
Eight different Sun Devils have more than 100 receiving yards this season. Not surprisingly, Elijhah Badger is the team’s top receiver. He has caught 46 passes for 533 yards and two touchdowns.
Tight end Jalin Conyers is the guy with the second-most catches and second-most receiving yards on the team. He has caught 24 balls for 310 yards. Interestingly, he has yet to find the end zone this year.
Redshirt junior receiver Xavier Guillory has the third-most catches on Arizona State. He has made 21 receptions for 226 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Skattebo is the fourth Sun Devil with more than 200 receiving yards. He’s made 20 catches for 276 yards and a touchdown.
Melquan Stovall is the final guy with at least 200 yards. In fact, he has exactly 200 receiving yards on 14 receptions.
The only other Sun Devil with a receiving touchdown is redshirt junior Troy Omeire. Despite making only ten catches this season for 110 yards, he’s scored twice.
Analysis
Considering ASU’s propensity for throwing the ball and their quarterback woes, I expect the Bruins to bring a lot of pressure on whomever starts at QB. I think they will try to create havoc like they did against Colorado two weeks ago.
I also expect the Bruin defense to completely shut down the Sun Devil running game. In fact, I think there is a good possibility that if Conover gets the start at quarterback that UCLA could pitch a shutout tonight.
Go Bruins!!!!
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