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J.R. Redmond hopes to play Saturday against UCLA. |
Football squads look very much alike entering Saturday's clash.
Sept. 30, 1999
By Tim Healey
Sun Devil Sports Network
TEMPE, Ariz. - In doing my "homework" for this weekend's ASU-UCLA football game, I've been struck by the many similarities that seem to exist between the Sun Devils and the Bruins, heading into their pivotal Pac-10 matchup at Sun Devil Stadium.
For starters, both teams have been labeled as "underachievers" in the early stages of the 1999 season (UCLA is 2-2 so far this year, after going 20-4 the last two seasons combined). Both teams are coming off disappointing losses last week in their respective conference openers (both of which, coincidentally, were played in the Bay Area). While the Devils were basically handing Cal a 24-23 win, the Bruins fell to the suddenly potent Stanford Cardinal, 42-32, in Palo Alto, a game in which the Uclans nearly overcame a 28-3 deficit.
Heading into Saturday's game in Tempe, key injuries are a concern for both ASU and UCLA. Neither team's starting quarterback is completely healthy. The Sun Devils' Ryan Kealy is nursing bruised ribs suffered against Cal, and has practiced very little this week. UCLA's Cory Paus, a redshirt freshman, sat out the Stanford game last week, suffering from .guess what ..bruised ribs! Unlike Kealy, Paus has been able to practice this week and likely will start. The Bruins hope he can, because backup Drew Bennett hurt his elbow on UCLA's last offensive play at Stanford. If Bennett plays here Saturday, it likely will be at wide receiver, because word is seldom-used third stringer Scott McEwan has taken about 20% of the practice snaps in Westwood this week.
Arizona State and UCLA feature two of the premier running backs in the Pac-10, and there's a chance neither will play on Saturday. J.R. Redmond has been a spectator most of the week at practice, bothered by shoulder and ankle ailments. His UCLA counterpart, sophomore DeShaun Foster, suffered a high right ankle sprain in the first quarter of the Stanford game. Foster still managed to rush for 100 yards against the Cardinal, but won't start at ASU.
As good as Redmond and Foster are, both the Devils and Bruins are deep and talented at the tailback spot. Delvon Flowers, Davaren Hightower and Gerald Green combined to rush for 141 yards last Saturday against a good Cal defense. UCLA, meanwhile, can call on senior Keith Brown (a product of Phoenix's Mountain Pointe High School), who rushed for 423 yards and six TDs last year, as well as junior Jermaine Lewis, who gained 553 yards and scored 13 TDs in '98.
Defensively, ASU and UCLA have both had trouble defending the run so far in '99. The Sun Devils are eighth in the Pac-10, giving up over 173 yards per game on the ground, while the Bruins are ninth, surrendering almost 180 rushing yards per contest. In fairness to Bruce Snyder's troops, Arizona State's run defense numbers were dramatically (and adversely) skewed by New Mexico State's stunning 363-yard "grounding" of the Devils Sept. 18. Against Texas Tech and Cal, ASU's defense was solid, giving up a combined total of just 157 rushing yards in the two games.
Finally, both Arizona State and UCLA are attempting to overcome early adversity in their season. The Devils' collective team psyche took a major hit with the humiliating 35-7 home loss to unheralded New Mexico State (Oh, by the way, did you see where the Aggies themselves were humbled, by UTEP no less, the week after clobbering ASU?).
As for UCLA, the first few weeks of the Bruins' season were thrown out of whack by the now-well-documented handicapped parking permit scam, which resulted in two-game suspension for 10 players (including 7 starters, 5 of them on defense), and a season-long suspension for defensive back Marques Anderson. It's only been in the last two weeks that coach Bob Toledo got his entire team back. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that the Bruins last week were torched for 672 yards (including a UCLA-opponent-record 465 passing yards) at Stanford. This note best sums up the Bruins' early-season difficulties: one-time walk-on holder Joey Strycula is now UCLA's starting free safety and leads the Bruins in tackles and interceptions!
However, Devil fans should beware: UCLA is still a dangerous team, with plenty of firepower on offense, and talent galore on both sides of the ball. Looking at the UCLA two-deep, it seems like EVERY player listed is a one-time Parade, USA Today, PrepStar or SuperPrep high school All-American. All this means that a victory for the Sun Devils on Saturday would figure to be one of those "turning point" type of wins ASU sorely needs right about now.
One last similarity: both ASU and UCLA can cite history as their ally in this rivalry. The Bruins are 6-1 at Sun Devil Stadium, and lead the overall series 10-5-1. However, Arizona State has won four of the last five meetings between the two. So, get ready for a highly interesting afternoon of football .and bring plenty of sunblock!!
Tim Healey is the radio play-by-play voice of ASU football, and is Director of Broadcasting for the Sun Devil Sports Network. Tim can be reached by E-mail at tjheal@imap3.asu.edu.