Danny Sullivan, who has thrown only 87 passes in his college career, finally gets his first start at QB for ASU Saturday night vs. Idaho State. (Photo: Eric Myers/Fanster.com)
It’s finally here!
College football season is upon us, and unlike years in the past where there was only a handful of games for the first couple of weekends, there’s a full slate of games on tap from tonight through Monday.
The Arizona State Sun Devils open their 97th season of football on Saturday night in Tempe against the visiting Idaho State Bengals out of the Big Sky Conference. This is the first meeting ever between the two teams, but ASU head coach is no stranger to coaching against the Bengals. D.E. is 3-2 lifetime against Idaho State dating back to his two stints as head coach of the University of Idaho.
Here’s Fanster.com’s look at Saturday’s game at Sun Devil Stadium…
A little about the Bengals: Idaho State returns 12 starters from their 2008 squad, that’s the good news. The bad news is, that 2008 squad went 1-11. The Bengals lost their first 11 games before beating Sacramento State in their finale, 26-33. Defense was the problem in ‘08, as the Bengals yielded an average of 41.2 points (117th out of 118 FCS teams) and 480 yards per game (dead last). They were only able to hold two opponents (Northern Colorado and Montana) to under 30 points. Most around the conference don’t see many signs of improvement in 2009, as the Big Sky preseason media and coaches polls each have Idaho State finishing last once again.
The Bengals are coached by John Zamberlin, who has a record of 4-19 in two seasons with the Bengals. Also on the ISU coaching staff is defensive line coach Joe Cullen, a member of the Detroit Lions’ staff for the last three seasons, including last year’s 0-16 team. Cullen, without going into details, is also the person responsible for Jon Kitna’s controversial Halloween costume a couple of years ago. Like I said, we won’t give you details, but you can read about the ordeal here.
ISU is led offensively by junior QB Russel Hill, who threw for 2626 yards and 14 touchdowns a season ago. Receivers Jaron Taylor and Isaiah Burel, who each had over 50 catches a year ago are both back. Their 2008 leading rusher, Clint Knickrehm, who ran for 456 yards and 8 touchdowns, is also back for his senior season. They return 4 starters from their offensive line, including right tackle Brad Shedd, a graduate of Flagstaff High School, who started 10 games last season.
On defense, the Bengals return four starters…but then again, maybe that kind of turnover is a good thing when you’re last in the nation in defense, right?
ASU Update : We still have no word from the NCAA Clearinghouse on the eligibility of freshman linebacker Vontaze Burfict, and barring any miraculous turnaround, he will not play on Saturday. Dennis Erickson has also suspended five or six players for violations of team rules for Saturday’s opener, although the identities of those players is still not clear. Wide receiver Kerry Taylor is believed to be one of them, and defensive end James Brooks also won’t play. In fact, Brooks will miss the Sun Devils’ first three games stemming from an earlier suspension.
ASU on offense: Danny Sullivan makes his first collegiate start on Saturday night after serving as an understudy for Rudy Carpenter for the last three seasons. Sullivan is the first ASU quarterback to be making his first start in the season opener since Chad Christensen started against Nebraska in 2002.
We should see a parade of running backs in the game for the Sun Devils. Senior Dimitri Nance is currently running with the first team, but we’ll see sophomore Ryan Bass, senior Shaun DeWitty, senior Jarrell Woods and freshman Cameron Marshall and James Morrison at some time during the game. Erickson said earlier this week that he’d like to whittle that group down to three players who will get the majority of the workload in 2009. The Devils are banged up on the offensive line as well…right guard Zach Schlink will not play. Tom Njunge and Garth Gerhart are also questionable for the game with injuries.
ASU on defense: The Devils’ defense will be their strength this season, and they should have no problems flexing their muscles against an inferior opponent on Saturday night. JC transfer Dean DeLeone will get the start at left defensive end, in place of Brooks. Sophomore defensive tackle Lawrence Guy is banged up, and is a question mark for Saturday, but we should see a lot of true freshman Corey Adams and Will Sutton in the defensive tackle rotation. Even without Burfict and the injured Shelly Lyons, linebacker is the deepest spot on the team. The secondary has been questioned, especially at the strong safety position, where redshirt freshman Keelan Johnson will start. Erickson said earlier in the week that physically Johnson might be the most talented player he’s coached at that position.
Overall: It’s not a sexy matchup, considering ASU opens against an FCS opponent, but this is exactly the kind of opening game the Sun Devils need. It’s a chance to ease in a couple of new quarterbacks and get them acclimated to the bright lights of big time college football. The anticipation of the season is dampened a bit by the absence of Burfict and the ‘5 or 6′ suspended Sun Devils, but it should be an easy win for ASU.
