Washington Huskies opponent preview: Week 6 – Arizona State
Herb Nightengale
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The Washington Huskies will look to rebound after losing to UCLA last Friday night at the Rose Bowl 40-32. This week they face Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium.
This week the Washington Huskies face Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium. ASU lost last week to the undefeated USC Trojans 42-25, dropping their record to 1-4.
Herm Edwards was fired after the third game of the season when Eastern Michigan upset them 30-21. The Interim Head Coach is Shaun Aguano. Let’s take an in-depth look at ASU.
Arizona State Defense
Quarterback
Emory Jones leads the ASU offensive attack. The junior transferred in from Florida, where he was the starter last season. Jones has a reputation for throwing interceptions. He had 13 last year compared to 19 touchdowns.
The Sun Devils are struggling, but Jones has 4 passing and 4 rushing touchdowns. Along with the scores, he has also thrown three interceptions.
If the Stanford game was any indication, the Washington Huskies will come after Jones, the same way they did when UW sacked Tanner McKee 8 times. Even if they don’t put up the same sack numbers, they should at least force him into some bad throws.
Running back
ASU doesn’t run very much, but when they do, senior Xazavian Valladay is their primary running back. Last week at USC, he had 13 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Valladay averages 6.2 yards per carry, with 5 touchdowns this season. Depending on how hard the Huskies go after Jones, ASU may try to keep them off balance by running the ball a bit more often.
Receivers
Like many college teams, ASU lines up with at least three receivers. “Z” receiver Elijhah Badger leads the team with 24 receptions and 319 yards. Giovanni Sanders, the “H” receiver, is next in both categories, totaling 13 catches and 181 yards. Andre Johnson and Bryan Thompson split time as the “X” receiver spot. The unit has combined for two touchdowns.
Last week sophomore tight end Jalin Conyers had a season-high with 3 catches for 25 yards against USC.
Arizona State Defense
Arizona State’s base defense consists of two defensive ends, a nose tackle, a defensive tackle, three linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties. They go with a nickel back on passing downs.
Defensive Line
ASU starts sophomore Joe Moore and junior Anthonie Cooper at the defensive ends. Moore has 12 tackles and no sacks on the season. Cooper has 10 tackles and one sack.
Nesta Jade Silvera and Tautala Pesefea are the interior linemen. Silvera is ASU’s fourth-leading tackler with 29.
Linebackers
The Soelle brothers start at two of the three linebacker spots. Connor Soelle is on the weak side, while his older brother Kyle Soelle starts as the middle linebacker. Holding down the strong linebacker position is senior Merlin Robertson.
Kyle is the Sun Devils’ leading tackler with 61, and he also has two picks. Robertson has 35 tackles (second highest), along with 1 sack and 1 forced fumble.
Cornerback
Arizona State starts a pair of transfers starting at cornerback. Junior Ro Torrence (Auburn) and Timarcus Davis (Baylor) have combined for 36 tackles and 2 interceptions. Redshirt sophomore D.J. Taylor is the nickleback. Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix will have his choice of receiving targets to throw to during the game.
Safeties
Chris Edmonds starts at one safety spot. The senior transferred from Samford, where he was an All-Southern Conference selection last year. Edmonds has 19 tackles and one interception on the season. Junior Jordan Clark is the other starting safety. He has 15 tackles and no interceptions in 2022.
Last year Arizona State beat the Washington Huskies 35-30 in Seattle. This time around, Washington is favored by 13.5 points. Washington is by far the better team, while ASU is still trying to pick up the pieces of early season failures. Saturday, the Huskies should break their 8-game losing streak at Sun Devil Stadium.
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Check back with us on Sunday for our takeaways from the Washington Huskies – Arizona State game.