Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/181992
Game Preview: arizona state and Devil backer Carl Bradford (11.5 sacks), both of whom returned this season. Ah, but now here is the Newtonian principle of an equal and opposite reaction. The 2012 Sun Devils also finished 81st against the run by yielding a whopping 182.9 yards per contest. In consecutive losses to Oregon (43‑21), UCLA (45-43), Oregon State (36‑26) and USC (381-17), the Sun Devils surrendered an average of 40.5 points, 250.0 yards rushing and 5.3 yards per carry (never less than four yards per carry) in those four contests. The inability to stop the run was again manifested this September versus two classic power-running teams. In a controversial 32-30 victory over Wisconsin Sept. 14, in which miscommunication led to the clock running out before the Badgers could set up for the winning field goal, the Sun Devils saw Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon romp for 193 yards on just 15 carries, highlighted by an 80-yard touchdown. Subtract that long score and even then Gordon averaged 8.1 yards on his 14 other carries. The following week during Arizona State's 42-28 loss at No. 5 Stanford, the Cardinal threw only 17 passes but accumulated 240 rushing yards and 4.9 yards per carry. The running back tandem of Tyler Gaffney and Anthony Wilkerson combined for 155 yards on the ground for Stanford, while quarterback Kevin Hogan chipped in with six carries of his own for 45 yards. Notre Dame's ground attack failed to reach 100 yards rushing in consecu- tive games against Michigan (96), Purdue (91) and Michigan State (82) prior to hosting Oklahoma Sept. 28. Will the Irish have the patience and execution skills to run against the Sun Devils? If not, they might be playing into Arizona State's hands … and the Devils defense might be more effective against an idle running game. How Much Left In The Tank? Both Arizona State and Notre Dame will be coming off a stretch of mentally and physically draining games the previous weeks, including a home game versus a power team prior to their Oct. 5 showdown. The Sun Devils hosted Wisconsin (Sept. 14), traveled to No. 5 Stanford (Sept. 21) and then welcomed USC to Tempe, Ariz. (Sept. 28), one of the more challenging three-game gauntlets this September by a member of a BCS conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Notre Dame had to deal with its own treacherous stretch in September by first traveling to Michigan and Purdue before hosting Michigan State and then traditional power Oklahoma. No team is going to be up 12 straight games during the regular season (or even in a bowl game sometimes). And for every "up," a letdown usually ensues, i.e. Michigan nearly losing to Akron at home the week after defeating Notre Dame. It's one of the foibles of human nature. Which team will have the better mental reservoir with the middle of the season approaching?