A-S-Who?

Question-riddled Devils look to rebound with a rock-solid D

Comments (0) By Steve Jansen Thursday, Sep 3 2009

September is here, which means it’s time for ASU Football to commence another season.

More About

Who cares about those bums, right?

Well, we can see why you might feel that way. The Sun Devils, picked to finish anywhere from fifth to eighth in Pac-10 preseason polls, are coming off a total-crap season in ’08 that featured a 5-7 overall record, a six-game losing streak, and a pathetic performance in a defeat against the UofA. In 2009, there are serious concerns about the Swiss-cheese offensive line; an early-season tussle against the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens; a three-game conference gauntlet versus Cal, versus USC, and at Oregon; and questions at the quarterback spot (whoever opens the first game – most likely senior Danny Sullivan – will be dude’s first career start).

So why should you care about this potential circus? Well, the defense – led by 25-year-old linebacker Mike Nixon, star defensive end Dexter Davis, and redemption-seeking cornerback Omar Bolden – could approach USC’s in terms of stratospheric goodness. Then there’s head coach Dennis Erickson, who takes over play-calling duties in a more dynamic spread offense that was installed during the offseason.

ASU’s ’09 season kicks off with a game against the Idaho State Bengals of the Big Sky Conference at Sun Devil Stadium.

Sat., Sept. 5, 7 p.m., 2009