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Running Back and OL
Lots of hype here. Skataboo feasted on bad run defenses this season. The best was #29 KSU, who gave up 78 yds at 2.9 per carry to Skataboo. After that #31 UCF faced the backup only; #37 Utah: 159 total, 7.2 YPC; #46 BYU: 148, 5.3 YPC; #65 Texas St: 70 total, 2.6 YPC. The rest of their slate was terrible defending the run: #74, 76, 87, 98, 102, 111, 128, 129. It’s hard to know how much is due to ASU strength and how much to opponents weakness.
The OL has good size and the scheme is mostly gap blocking: Lead, power and counter. They like to run GT Counter. It’s slow developing yet most opposing defenses have not been able to make them pay. Texas has a much better run defense than anything ASU has faced.
QB: Leavitt is a very talented dual-threat. I see him as very similar in talent to Klubnick though with less experience. He has a lot fewer weapons in the passing game. Their TE is solid but the WRs are JAG-ish. Like Klubnick, we will have to account for Leavitt in the running game.
The truly outstanding thing about ASU’s offense is ball security. They have turned the ball over only 8 times all season: 5 INTs and 3 of 5 fumbles lost. They don’t create a lot of TOs but they give away so few that their margin is still +14.