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September 13 Sheet

Arizona State at San Diego State (+6) - Saturday - 7:00pm Pacific
The Aztecs are still not getting much respect despite playing well at Fresno State and at Colorado. In the season opener at Fresno State it took them almost three quarters to find a comfort zone on offense. Once they did they came all the way back from a double digit deficit and were in position to win the game outright as a 17 point underdog but had a short game winning field goal blocked. Making the performance look even better was Fresno's narrow four point loss at #12 Oregon in their following game.

Last week at Colorado, SDSU was going toe to toe with the Buffaloes. The score was tied 14-14 and they had just forced CU to punt. The returner fumbled and it was returned for a TD. SDSU had more first downs and more total yards at half-time, and more first downs and even total yardage for the game. They ended up missing two field goals. Colorado tacked on a TD in the final minute for a somewhat misleading 34-14 final score.

SDSU QB Adam Hall went 39-of-59 for 359 yards and no interceptions vs CU. For the season he is now 64-of-96 (66.7%) for 599 yards and a QB rating of 120.4. He seemed much more confident in his second start of the season and will continue to get better with every game played in this new offense. The SDSU receivers are flat out top notch. J.R. Tolver (18 catches, 237 yards) & Kassim Osgood (23 catches, 236 yards) form a formidable one-two punch. I have to say these two are as good if not better than any duo in the Pac-10. Defenses do not know which one to key on. Third receiver Cal transfer Ronnie Davenport (12 catches, 72 yards) would be the #1 receiver at a lot of schools. After ranking 89th in pass offense last season, the Aztecs are ranked 13th in the country after two games. The running game still has room for improvement. Senior RB Truvillion suffered a sprained ankle vs CU and is listed as day to day. Freshman Michael Franklin had a beautiful 31 yard TD run but only had 41 total rushing yards for the day. Head coach Craft says they could mix up the offensive line a bit this week to ensure his five best linemen are on the field. This offense is ready for a 25-35 point outburst.

I am still not very impressed with Arizona State. They were limited to just 55 yards on 33 plays in the first half vs UCF. They trailed 13-3 but were given a gift TD after a fumbled punt just before half-time to get within 3. In the second half UCF completely self destructed giving up a safety and throwing three interceptions (two were returned for TD's) in four consecutive possessions. UCF starting QB went down with injury, ASU converted on two big 4th down plays and the rest was history. UCF QB Ryan Schneider had one of the worst games of his career finishing 7-of-24 with two interceptions. He was plagued in the first half by a surprising rainfall that made passing and catching difficult. Several passes were underthrown (heavy ball) or went through receivers hands. Sun Devils benefited from 5 UCF turnovers in all and an unheard of 17 penalties!

ASU did get a spark from backup QB Andrew Walter (4 of 5, 54 yards, 2 TD's) who took over in the 2nd half and led two key TD drives. He was named the starting QB this week but now will not play due to a knee injury suffered in practice (Walter will be #3 QB available for emergency duty only). Starter Christensen went just 5-of-12 for 66 yards and was sacked 4 times. In addition to the injury to QB Walter, ASU will be without starting right tackle Adrian Ayala who suffered an a high ankle sprain in the first half vs UCF. This furthers their offensive line woes. ASU's secondary should finally get exposed here. They are very young starting 3 sophomore's and a redshirt freshman Josh Golden in place of starter Lamar Baker at cornerback. Baker started 7 games last year and was projected to start but has not played a down and was ruled out for the season earlier this week.

The San Diego State defense has been solid despite facing two of the best offensive lines in college football vs Fresno State & Colorado in their first two games. They will find the inexperienced ASU offensive line much more to their liking. Senior defensive tackle Jared Ritter will return to the lineup this week and provide an added boost. Sophomore LB Kirk Morrison is as sure of a tackler as there is on the west coast.

SDSU fans have to be excited about this team and the direction the program is headed under new head coach Tom "Air" Craft. There is a definitely a renewed sense of optimism here. Team and fans should be fired up for their home opener. ASU is 0-5 straight up and just 1-4 ATS on the road under Dirk Koetter with the only cover coming by a 1/2 point in a 10 point loss as a +10.5 dog at UCLA last year. Aztecs will continue to show improvement and this time make it stand up. Look for an outright win. Take the points.

San Diego State 2 UNITS

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