So an easy win that covered the spread for the Sun Devils, however we looked a tad sloppy coming off a bye week. Huge game at Georgia next week - lets hope the penalites go away.
Winners:
The defense: For the second game this week the defense shined, dominating an inferior opponent. The D-Unit forced 3 turnovers and held ULM to under 200 total yards (199). The pass rush seemed to come and go (0 sacks), but the coaches were subbing players in and out liberally, not willing to risk injury in a warm-up game. Expect to see a lot more of the starters throughout the game next week.
Kyle Williams: 8 receptions for 129 yards, he was devastating in the open field and caught nearly everything that was thrown his way.
Special Teams: A huge kickoff return for a TD by Omar Bolden and another big return by Keelan Johnson. The coverage units also were excellent, despite inconsistent punting by Hankins.
Losers:
ASU Football's Fundamentals: ASU had 12 penalties for 122 yards against a weak team - that won't cut it against better competition.
The pass rush: 0 sacks? Really? the scheme was undeniably more passive than against Idaho State - the blitzes disappeared and the team seemed to try and rely on pressure from the front 4 - which did not work. The few blitzes that were called never seemed to work, but I am not too worried. This game was in the bag after the opening kickoff was returned 89 yards.
The O-Line: I did not want to talk about this, but the thing that has plagued ASU over the past few seasons creeped into this game. 3 sacks allowed and constant pressure on both quarterbacks makes even the most devout believer a little nervous about the game at Georgia next week. We ran the ball ok.
Game Ball - Omar bolden. Shut down skills combined with ball skills makes Adam a happy man. Omar is an NFL talent and is due for a big season. The kickoff return was just icing on the cake.
Other thoughts: Sullivan looked pretty bad at the beginning of the game, jittery in the pocket, not comfortable at all. He was not trusting in the system. By the end of the third sullivan looked like a different player -stepping up in the pocket, delivering passes with authority and finding the accuracy that had eluded him in the first half. He ended with a respectable line of 19/31 for 220 and 1 TD with a rushing TD as well. I liked finally seeing something from Sullivan, as he looked nervous his first game against Idaho State as well. Playing in Georgia will be an entirely different beast, however.
The run game also started of slow, but finished well. Running backs had 29 carries for 135 yards and 2 TDs (4.65 per carry). The effectiveness of this spread is predicated on how well we run the ball, so it is important for us to have that going. Bass further proved how he deserves more carries.
Get some rest Sun Devil fans, we all had a feeling this game would turn out this way, now comes the first real test of 2009.