The Great, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Let's take a quick look at the great, the good, the bad, and the ugly from last nights game:

The Great: There were several things that were great about last night. The atmosphere inside Sun Devil stadium was one that hadn't been seen in a long time. The student body and ASU fans clearly believe that this year is special. In the past, there were big games that were sparsely attended. The "Black Out" helped create a unity between the fans that carried ASU through trying times throughout the game

Brock Osweiler showed just how much of a leader he is. He has a certain poise that we haven't seen in a long time. He wants the ball with the game on the line and he's not afraid to take charge. On a national spotlight, he got the nation talking about ASU football, and that is exactly what this program needed.

Pflugrad showed up in a big way. On just about every big play, the offense was run through Pflu. He ended up with 180 yds and 2 TDs. Thank you Oregon.

The Good: Cameron Marshall provided some efficient running picking up some decent chunks of yards throughout the game. Pass protection was good, and he caught a few passes out of the backfield, picking up a total of 82 yards on the ground and in the air.

Jamal Miles was good. He threw for a TD and caught 2 TDs. His elusiveness helped create an early lead for the Sun Devils.

The Bad: The Defense. I'm not sure what they were doing yesterday, but you aren't going to arm tackle someone around their shoulders. James Franklin ran and threw all over us a week after looking like a high school QB against Miami (OH). Our Cornerbacks looked soft and made very few plays throughout the game. They came up with a big stop in OT when we needed it most, which keeps them from being "ugly," but for ASU to make a national impact this year, they've gotta play better.

Jamal Miles. Muffed punt. Enough said.

The Ugly: The special teams unit was once again an achilles heel. A blocked XP, a muffed punt, some questionable decisions on punt returns. For about the 9th straight year, ASU's special teams still aren't where they need to be. For once, I'd like to tune out on extra points, since they should be a given. That won't happen and Erickson has got to figure out how to address this problem.

Penalties played a major factor in this game. Several times ASU kept Missouri drives alive with careless penalties. It seems that when the momentum in a game shifts to the opposing team, ASU adds to it with a slew of penalties piled on top of each other. This team MUST play smarter.