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USF @ Houston & Arizona St. @ Washington St. ~~* IN DEPTH GAME REVIEW *~~
USF @ Houston
Cougars are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game. Cougars are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games. Cougars are 8-0 ATS in their last 8 games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game. Cougars are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game. Cougars are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game. Cougars are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. Cougars are 12-2 ATS in their last 13 games following a SU win of more than 20 points. Cougars are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game. Cougars are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games in October. Cougars are 17-5 ATS in their last 22 games following a ATS win. Cougars are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games following a S.U. win. Cougars are 20-7 ATS vs. a team with a losing record. Cougars are 21-8 ATS in their last 28 games overall.
Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
Bulls are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games after allowing more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
Bulls are 4-17-1 ATS in their last 22 games on grass.
Bulls are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games after accumulating less than 275 total yards in their previous game.
Bulls are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.
Bulls are 1-12 ATS in their last 13 games after scoring less than 20 points in their previous game.
Bulls are 0-9 ATS in their last 9 Thursday games.
TE T. Turner
Ques Thurs
Neck
10/26/13 Turner missed the last six games with a neck injury and is questionable for Thursday against Houston.
WR A. Mut
Ques Thurs
Shoulder
10/26/13 Mut missed the last six games with a shoulder injury and is questionable for Thursday against Houston.
DB C. Bivins Jr.
Ques Thurs
Knee
10/26/13 Bivins Jr. missed the last six games with a knee injury and is questionable for Thursday against Houston.
The 2-5 South Florida Bulls meet the 6-1 Houston Cougars in Thursday night AAC action from Reliant Stadium.
South Florida lost their first conference game of the season and saw their surprise 2 game win streak come to an end this past weekend as an angry Louisville team came to town and dominated the Bulls 34-3. South Florida took multiple steps back in this contest allowing the Cardinals to dissect their secondary and shut out the Bulls offense after the first quarter in a romp of a game. South Florida finished with an abysmal 133 yards of total offense and were limited to only 18 minutes of possession for the entire game. Louisville racked up nearly 500 yards on a Bulls defense that had been solid last week. To make matters worse, the Bulls were only called for 2 penalties all game and Louisville racked up 100 penalty yards -- which had no effect on this contest. Sophomore quarterback Steven Bench replaced Eveld early in this one but struggled as well throwing the ball just 12 times for 68 yards and a pick. The Bulls need to put this one behind them quickly with the short week and a potent Houston offense looming.
Houston put together arguably the most impressive performance of AAC conference play this past Saturday, dominating Rutgers in New Jersey 49-14. The Cougars were firing on all cylinders in this one as quarterback John O’Korn threw for 5 touchdowns and 364 yards on a rock solid 24-30 attempts. Wideouts Greenberry and Spencer combined for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns and 6 other Cougar wideouts caught passes as well. Houston completely shellshocked a solid Rutgers defense who has given up quite a few points this season but had been very strong on their home turf. On the other side of the ball, the Cougar defense forced 6 turnovers (5 interceptions, 1 fumble) and held the Rutgers offense to a season low 216 total yards.
Some trends to consider -- USF is 7-20-1 against the spread in their last 28 games overall and Houston is 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 games at home.
Houston is one of the hottest teams in the country and despite their narrow loss to BYU, the Cougars bounced back with a statement win over Rutgers to let all onlookers know they are for real. South Florida should be completely overwhelmed in this one after getting destroyed at home and having to travel on a short week. I like the Cougars to blow the gates off this one early and roll to the cover in a 4+ touchdown victory at home.
Houston and USF meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at Reliant Stadium.
• Record: 2-5, 2-1 American Athletic Conference.
• Coach: Willie Taggart.
• Series history: USF leads 2-0.
• Last meeting: USF won 32-14 on Nov. 23, 2002, at Robertson Stadium.
• Last week: Lost to No. 18 Louisville 34-3 in Tampa, Fla.
• Players to watch: USF took the redshirt off 6-foot-5 true freshman Mike White, the Bulls’ fourth quarterback this season, in Saturday’s loss to Louisville. White will make his first career start against the Cougars, coach Willie Taggart said. USF quarterbacks were 7-of-17 for 90 yards with one interception and four sacks Saturday. USF had only 133 yards total offense against Louisville. … Leading rusher Marcus Shaw, who has 552 of the Bulls’ 760 yards on the ground this season, missed a second consecutive game with a hamstring injury. Back ups, Darius Tice and Willie Davis, combined for 55 yards on 15 carries Saturday. … Linebacker DeDe Lattimore, the team’s leading tackler, had two sacks of Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. … Defensive ends Ryne Giddins and Aaron Lynch have combined for six sacks and 13 tackles for loss. … Kicker Marvin Kloss is 10-of-11 on field goals this season, including three from beyond 50 yards. … USF has gone a program-record 12 consecutive quarters without an offensive touchdown and has scored only six touchdowns all season.
Arizona St. @ Washington St.
Arizona State Over is 5-0 in Sun Devils last 5 games following a bye week.
Over is 5-0 in Sun Devils last 5 games following a SU win of more than 20 points.
Over is 8-1 in Sun Devils last 9 Thursday games.
Over is 6-1 in Sun Devils last 7 games on fieldturf.
Over is 5-1 in Sun Devils last 6 road games.
Over is 15-3 in Sun Devils last 18 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game.
Over is 17-4 in Sun Devils last 21 games following a ATS win.
Over is 8-2 in Sun Devils last 10 games in October.
Over is 4-1 in Sun Devils last 5 conference games.
Over is 7-2 in Sun Devils last 9 games after allowing less than 275 total yards in their previous game.
Over is 17-5 in Sun Devils last 22 games following a S.U. win.
Over is 21-7-2 in Sun Devils last 30 games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game.
Over is 25-9 in Sun Devils last 34 games overall.
Over is 8-3 in Sun Devils last 11 games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
Washington State
Over is 3-0-1 in Cougars last 4 games overall.
Over is 3-0-1 in Cougars last 4 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Over is 5-0 in Cougars last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Over is 4-0 in Cougars last 4 vs. a team with a winning record.
Over is 3-0-1 in Cougars last 4 conference games.
Over is 13-3 in Cougars last 16 home games.
Over is 12-3-1 in Cougars last 16 games after allowing more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
Over is 17-5-1 in Cougars last 23 games on fieldturf.
Over is 3-1-1 in Cougars last 5 games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game.
Over is 3-1-1 in Cougars last 5 games after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
Arizona State is in first place in the Pac-12 South and re-entered the AP poll this week.
But the 25th-ranked Sun Devils, who have yet to crack the Top 25 in the BCS Standings, still have a major question to answer: Can they play as well on the road as they do at home?
That will be one of the things to watch when ASU (5-2 overall, 3-1 Pac-12) travels to Pullman, Wash., for a Halloween matchup against Washington State.
Being a favorite on the road on a Thursday night is often scary (especially on Halloween), and going against a Mike Leach-coached offense can be an uncomfortable experience. The Cougars are 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-12, including a win at USC.
"You’re walking into an environment where they’ve had a week off, they’re playing on Thursday night on ESPN on Halloween night," coach Todd Graham said. "They’ve got everything lined up exactly like they want it. …
"Those guys are going to play hard. They’re going to play tough."
Beyond some of the other factors lining up against ASU, the temperatures will be plunging toward the freezing level during the night, which isn’t something the desert dwellers are accustomed to feeling. Not that Graham wants to hear a word about the weather report.
"If one of my coaches says something about weather on the road, I tell them to get a meteorologist job," he said at his weekly press conference.
OK, so focus should be a big deal for ASU, whose two losses this season have come away from Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona State lost at Stanford (understandable) and fell to Notre Dame, 37-34, in Arlington, Texas. That loss still gnaws at Graham as a game that got away.
Arizona State, which has a one-game lead in the South over UCLA, USC and Arizona, doesn’t have an easy game left on the schedule. Big prizes are available, but the Devils will have to go through WSU, Utah and UCLA on the road, as well as Oregon State and Arizona at home.
ASU has enough firepower to get past the Cougars this weekend, assuming it handles all the other stuff going on that night.
"If we go in there and just play it doesn’t matter," Graham said. "There’s no excuses. You’ve just got to go win, period."
NOTES, QUOTES
Players To Watch
• RB Marion Grice continues to be the nation’s leading scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game. He seems automatic when Arizona State gets into the red zone, as he has 11 touchdowns on 31 rushes inside the 20. He is averaging 5.0 yards on 111 rushes.
• WR Jaelen Strong has 45 catches for 685 yards and four touchdowns, giving the receiving corps the big-play threat it lacked last season. The junior college transfer might not be at full speed, however, as he recovers from an ankle injury suffered in the Washington State on Oct. 19. He missed practices during the team’s off week.
• S Alden Darby will get a workout in pass coverage against Washington State this week. Darby has two interceptions this season, as well as a team-high five pass break-ups and 31 tackles.
• LB Carl Bradford will face ample opportunities to pad his team-high 4.5 sacks against Washington State this Saturday. Bradford plays the "Devilbacker" position—a hybrid linebacker/defensive end—and is able to move around and make plays off the edge. He also leads ASU with 9.5 tackles for loss, one of the X-factors in coach Todd Graham’s aggressive defense.
Series History: Arizona State leads Washington State 24-13-2. The Sun Devils had an easy time in last year’s meeting, winning 46-7 in Tempe.
Quote To Note: "Rain, sleet, snow, Alaska, Maine, it doesn’t matter. You’ve got to go win. That’s the mindset."—Coach Todd Graham, on playing on the road.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
Scouting the running game: The common theme in ASU’s road losses was that it couldn’t run the ball. A lot of that had to do with the defensive fronts of Stanford and Notre Dame (the excellence of which Washington State doesn’t remotely match), but the run game is certainly an area of emphasis for the Devils. The offense tilted toward the pass earlier in the season, but a fine stable of backs—led by Marion Grice, and including D.J. Foster and Deantre Lewis—gives the Devils every reason to be successful on the ground.
Scouting the passing game: QB Taylor Kelly, who threw for four touchdowns against Washington State in 2012, is quietly one of the most productive passers in the nation. He is in the national top 16 in passing touchdowns (18), total offense (355 yards per game), completions (24.7 per game) and passing (2,236 yards). He has a big target in WR Jaelen Strong, a safety valve in TE Chris Coyle (18 catches, 302 yards), active running backs. Marion Grice and D.J. Foster have combined for 69 receptions. ASU is 14th nationally at 332.0 passing yards per game.
Scouting the run defense: This has been a problem area for the Sun Devils for much of the season, but ASU is coming off a shut-down effort against Washington, limiting the Huskies to minus-5 yards rushing. The Devils are 41st nationally against the run at 144.0 yards per game and should improve in that area after Thursday’s game because pass-happy Washington State is last in the country in rushing at 58.4 yards per game.
Scouting the pass defense: ASU, which has had nearly two weeks to prepare for Mike Leach’s Air Raid attack, is 30th nationally in pass-efficiency defense (118.19 rating). The Devils will be facing a Washington State attack that averages a national-high 58.8 passes per game. In the Cougars last game, QB Connor Halliday attempted 89 passes, tying an NCAA Division I single-game record in a loss at Oregon. Free safety has been something of a problem spot, but junior Damarious Randall has emerged to help solidify that spot.
Scouting the special teams: True freshman PK Zane Gonzalez has made 11 consecutive field goal attempts and is 15 of 18 for the season. The next step for him is to add some distance; his long make is just 41 yards. The Sun Devils have had a revolving door at punter, and could go with Dom Vizzare, Matt Haack or Alex Garoutte.
Roster Report:
• LB D.J. Calhoun, a four-star recruit from El Cerrito (Calif.) High, committed to Arizona State over the weekend. He previously was committed to USC.
• RB D.J. Foster missed practice during the off week and also sat out Monday because of a knee injury, but he is still is expected to play this week at Washington State.
• S Marcus Ball, a true freshman, suffered a shoulder injury in camp after running with the first-string defense. He has yet to fully recover and doesn’t appear ready to play at Washington State. Coach Todd Graham says Ball could help this season, but he’ll have to weigh that against the benefit of a redshirt season if Ball becomes available soon.
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