Renewed Cougars ‘D’ hopes to throttle ASU

Associated Press

TEMPE, Ariz. – Washington State’s surprising march through the Pacific-10 Conference makes a return trip to the desert Southwest this weekend.

The last time the Cougars were in this part of the country, on Sept. 29, they rolled over Arizona in Tucson 48-21. Two weeks later, Washington State beat Stanford to stay unbeaten and finally move into the top 25.

The Cougars, picked by the media covering the Pac-10 to finish last in the conference, have climbed to No. 11 this week in the Associated Press top 25 football poll. They are 8-1 overall and tied with Oregon and Wasington for first in the Pac-10 at 5-1.

“They got some big wins early and that gave them confidence,” Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter said of the Cougars.

The high-scoring, wide-open offense of Washington State gets most of the attention, but Koetter said the Cougars are playing a much more attacking style of defense.

“Last year they were more of a bend but don’t break defense,” Koetter said. “This year through eight games they have 30 takeaways and 74 tackles for loss. That’s huge, and it really shows up in the way they play.”

Two weeks ago, Washington State allowed an incredible 446 yards rushing in its 24-17 loss at home to Oregon. But last week, coach Mike Price altered his scheme to a five-man defensive front and came away with a 20-14 victory over UCLA.

That win kept the Cougars tied for first.

Since the Ducks beat Washington State, though, the Cougars will be rooting for an Oregon loss at UCLA today so they can face Washington for the league title in the Apple Cup Nov. 17. Today’s Oregon game starts three hours before the Washington State-Arizona State contest kicks off at Sun Devil Stadium.

A big question entering today’s game is the health of Washington State running back David Minnich.

Minnich practiced this week after having fluid removed from his right knee but is listed as questionable. He has played in just one of the last four games.

Arizona State (4-4 overall, 1-4 Pac-10) is nursing hopes for a bowl invitation, and a victory over a nationally ranked opponent certainly would help.

The Sun Devils gave Washington a tough fight in Seattle before losing 33-31 but were blown out last week at Oregon 42-24.

Quarterback Jeff Krohn was knocked out of the Oregon game early after his slamming his head to the turf. However, he practiced all week and will start against the Cougars.

Price said all the right things about this week’s opponent.

“They’re dangerous,” he said. “Good running back, quarterback and two awesome receivers. An offensive line that has, I think, four or five seniors. Real playmakers on defense.”

But the Sun Devils have allowed only one of their five Pac-10 opponents fewer than 33 points, while Washington State is averaging 39 points per game.

For the second week in a row, Arizona State will face one of the Pac-10’s top quarterbacks in Jason Gesser. Last week, Oregon’s Joey Harrington threw six touchdown passes against the Sun Devils.

“A totally different quarterback,” Koetter said of Gesser. “Very successful in his own right but very different from Joey Harrington. Joey is more of a classic drop-back guy. What makes Jason so tough is that he’s hard to sack. Nobody has been able to get him down, even if they have a clean shot at him.”

Gesser is coming off of one of his poorest performances of the season.

He completed just 16 of 36 passes for 187 yards and was intercepted three times against UCLA. The Cougars won anyway, though, thanks largely to their defense, which forced six turnovers, including four interceptions by safety Lamont Thompson.

Arizona State has won the last four games between the two schools. The streak began in Tempe in 1997, when the Sun Devils handed the Pac-10 champion Cougars their only regular season loss, 44-31. Last year, Arizona State won in overtime at Pullman 23-20.

“Over the years, we’ve taken some real close games down to the wire,” Price said. “It’s going to be a real competitive game for us.”