By James Romo

Coming off of an impressive win against NAU, the Sun Devils will face Big-10 foe Illinois at home on Saturday in Tempe with revenge on their minds.  Turnovers were key a year ago, as a dominant Illini defense intercepted two Brock Osweiler passes, recovered a fumble, and had 6 sacks in a narrow 17-14 win over ASU in Champaign.  Less than a year later, each program has a new head coach on the sidelines with a renewed sense of optimism running through their respective programs.  Tim Beckman takes over in 2012 from Ron Zook’s team that started 6-0 and finished at 7-6 (2-6 in conference) in 2011.   Illinois will be looking to make a statement with a signature win against its first BCS conference opponent after a 24-7 handling of Western Michigan University in week one.

Coach Beckman inherited a stout defense that includes LB Jonathan Brown, DE Michael Buchanan, and DT Akeem Spence who are all listed on National pre-season honors and watch lists.  Combine these standouts with other very formidable defensive front seven play-makers, and you have the makings of an extremely difficult team to run on.  Beckman’s defensive coordinator of choice, Tim Banks (formerly of Cincinnati), installed a hybrid 4-3/4-2-5 defense, with the third linebacker (Ashante Williams), the “STAR” linebacker (much like ASU’s “Spur” LB) serving partially as a LB, partially as a safety.  The Illini secondary is by far the most experienced unit for Illinois, led by three senior starters, including ball-hawk cornerback Terry Hawthorne.  So, even if the ASU QB tandem of Taylor Kelly and Michael Eubank get the time needed to look downfield, they will still have plenty of a challenge on their hands throwing against this defensive back unit.  Look for Illinois to really prioritize stopping the run and forcing the ASU’s inexperienced quarterbacks to avoid a relentless pass rush and throw under duress.

The deep stable of running backs and a much improved offensive line for ASU matched up against the Illini defensive front will be fun to watch, as the one-on-one battles in the trenches are going to go a long way in determining the outcome of this one.  On paper, it looks like the strength of the ASU offense, the running game, plays right into the strength of the Illinois defense.  Cameron Marshall and Marion Grice will be tagged with the responsibility of running into the teeth of the Illini defense between the tackles while true freshmen DJ Foster and Richard Smith will be relied upon to help loosen the Illini offense with their elusiveness, forcing the second level of the defense to make plays in space.  It is uncertain how much of a factor Jamal Miles will be, as he is coming off of suspension for the NAU game, but his explosiveness in the open field would go a long way in keeping a very talented defense off balance.

On offense, the Illini were dealt a huge blow in week one against Western Michigan University when dual-threat QB Nathan Scheelhaase was taken out of the game with an undisclosed ankle injury.  Illinois was unable to score after Scheelhaase was taken out of the game.  His status for this weekend is still unknown, although he was able to practice earlier in the week.  Coach Beckman has stated that if Scheelhaase is able to practice on Wednesday, he is likely to play.  The Junior QB put a ton of stress on the ASU defense last year with his athleticism, as he rushed for 80 yards in the contest.  In the event that Scheelhaase is on the shelf this Saturday, Coach Beckman will look to sophomore Reilly O’Toole to lead the offense.  O’Toole is not nearly as dynamic on the ground, but Coach Beckman has stated that the offensive game plan will not change regardless of who is behind center, but the athleticism, experience, and stability Scheelhaase brings would surely be missed.  As is going to be the theme throughout the schedule, a very inexperienced Sun Devil defense will have to be assignment sound, aggressive, and sure in their tackling to have a chance in this ball game.

Bad luck continued this week as ASU learned that depth at cornerback was further depleted as Rashad Wadood, a second-teamer, will be lost for the season with a torn labrum in his shoulder.  In an attempt to create depth in an area where they are thin, the ASU coaching staff is moving guys into new positions to fill out the depth chart with as much talent as possible.   That’s a risky proposition as it also creates a ton of inexperience with guys that have never played in certain spots who are now backing up the starting eleven.  Sun Devil Nation will be holding their collective breath throughout this game, as it promises to be extremely physical.  There really are no positions on the ASU defense that can afford to successfully replace any of the current starters.

ASU will be one of, if not the, fastest and most athletic teams Illinois will face this season.  But as we’ve see in seasons past, speed means nothing without discipline, fundamentals, being assignment sound, and avoiding mental mistakes.  Watching the contest between these teams from last season, it was very apparent that what happened only a year ago is highly irrelevant now as both schools introduced new coaching staffs, schemes, philosophies, and impact players that were not involved in the 2011 game.  What hasn’t changed is Illinois’ desire to repeat its manhandling of ASU in the trenches.  Conversely, ASU will rely on its speed and up-tempo offense to wear down a much bigger opponent.  Either way, any matchup between the Pac-12 and Big-10 is always one to circle on the calendar.  Like most of these matchups, this will be a battle of contrasting styles with both teams looking to stay undefeated and claim bragging rights for their respective conference. We know that there will be huge contingency of Illinois fans in the house supporting their team.  But temperatures in the triple digits on Saturday and a late start time give ASU a slight advantage.  Combine those intangibles with what should be a raucous home crowd in the first ever maroon “monsoon” out, and the table is set for Coach Graham to get his first big win at ASU and for the Sun Devils to continue their undefeated streak against Big-10 opponents at Sun Devil Stadium.

DHD – Are You? Prove it. See you Saturday Night in the House of Heat.

WEAR MAROON – BEAT ILLINOIS.