UCLA Football Preview: Will Weak ASU Defense Be Able to Stop the Bruins?
ASU's defense isn't very good, which should result in UCLA scoring often tonight.
Having looked at the ASU coaching staff, special teams, and offense, let’s turn our focus to the Sun Devil defense.
Arizona State employs the popular 4-2-5 defense. While, technically, it’s a Nickel defense with five defensive backs, the key player is the Star linebacker which is a hybrid between a linebacker and a safety. Despite playing the 4-2-5 as their base defense, the ASU depth chart lists a 13th player on defense and that’s a nickelback who likely would substitute for the Star linebacker in certain passing situations because, while the Star linebacker can be used for coverage, the strength of a Star linebacker is usually in defending against the run.
UCLA’s offense matches up well against the Arizona State defense.
Overall, the ASU defense is particularly horrific at stopping offenses on third down. Opponents have converted 48.3% of third downs against the Sun Devil defense. That ranks 129th out of 131 FBS teams. Considering that UCLA is converting on 51% of their third downs (9th in the nation), I’m not expecting to see Nicholas Barr-Mira punt much this evening.
Another pair of telling stats has to do with the Sun Devil rush defense. ASU is ranked 76th in rush defense and they are giving up an average of 152 yards per game on the ground. Meanwhile, the Bruins are ranked 13th in the country with an average of 222.4 rushing yards per game.
It’s not like UCLA will need to stick to the ground either. ASU is ranked 96th in passing yards allowed with an average of 249 yards per game. UCLA’s offense is ranked 30th in passing offense with an average of 278.2 passing yards per game.
So, it seems that, on paper at least, UCLA should be able to have its way against the Sun Devil defense.
Let’s look at the ASU defensive personnel.
Defensive Line
The Sun Devils will have graduate transfer Nesta Jade Silvera starting at the nose. Silvera, who joins ASU this year from Miami, was the number three defensive lineman transfer prospect in the country after last season. He’s fourth on the team in tackles with 42 including 2 TFLs and a sack. He also gets his hands up as evidenced by the fact he has three pass breakups despite being a defensive lineman.
Redshirt sophomore Omarr Norman-Lott will start next to Silvera at defensive tackle. Norman-Lott has just nine tackles this season with one TFL.
Redshirt sophomore Joe Moore and redshirt junior Anthonie Cooper will be the starting defensive ends. Moore has 19 tackles including 3 TFLs and a sack. Cooper has only made 13 tackles but he does lead the team in sacks with two. Considering ASU has only sacked opposing QBs nine times, Cooper’s responsible for almost a quarter of the team’s sacks.
Linebackers
Arizona State will have a pair of brothers starting at linebacker. Fifth-year senior Kyle Soelle will be the Mike linebacker while his younger brother Connor will start at the Will spot. In addition to being a team captain, Kyle leads the Sun Devils in tackles with 91 including 1.5 TFLs. He is tied for the team lead in interceptions with two and he has two QB Hurries and a pass breakup as well. Meanwhile, Connor has made 16 tackles including one TFL.
Merlin Robertson is ASU’s Star linebacker. Like the elder Soelle, Robertson is a defensive beast. He’s made 63 tackles including 3.5 TFLs and a sack. He’s hurried the opposing QB twice, broken up one pass and forced a fumble.
Basically, Robertson and Kyle Soelle are the guys causing havoc for the Sun Devils.
Secondary
The Sun Devils will start a pair of redshirt sophomores on the corners. Ro Torrence is a transfer from Auburn and Hutchinson Community College. Basically, Torrence is a ballhawk. He leads the team with eight pass breakups while also contributing 29 tackles. On t
e other side, Ed Woods has broken up four passes which ties him for second on the team. Woods has also added a forced fumble and 13 tackles including one TFL which was also a sack.
Senior safety Chris Edmonds transferred to ASU from Samford. He is fifth on the team in tackles with 36 and he is tied with Kyle Soelle and two others for the team lead in interceptions with two. He’s also broken up three passes.
The other starting safety, Khoury Bethley, is a grad transfer from Hawai’i who has made a big impact on the Sun Devil defense. He is third on the team in tackles with 56 including three TFLs and a sack. He also has a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
When ASU switches to a pure nickel, look for redshirt junior Jordan Clark to be on the field. Clark has made 31 tackles including two TFLs. Like Kyle Soelle and Edmonds, Clark has intercepted a pair of passes and broken up three more.
Analysis
Overall, I like the way UCLA’s offense matches up against the Sun Devil defense. I fully expect Chip Kelly to go after ASU and force them to stop the Bruin offense. I don’t see that happening, though.
Personally, the worst case scenario is that this game could become a shootout if the Bruin defense doesn’t show up tonight, but I think the Sun Devils are going to have a very tough time stopping the Bruin offense. And, it’s why the Bruins should win tonight’s game even if the defense comes out flat.
Go Bruins!!!
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I just got back from the CU OR game in Boulder, having a stadium on campus is freakin awesome! Also CO beat ASU, if ASU is within four tds of UCLA after the 3d quarter we're doing something wrong.