Understandably, most of the coverage coming out of Tempe this week was about the Sun Devils big win over UCLA last week, but as always we’ve dug into the content from the ASU side of thing to give you an idea of what the Devils are saying about the Buffs.
From House of Sparky – ASU Football: Graham praises special teams, preaches a ‘single elimination build’
“I got a lot of respect for Colorado, I got a lot of respect for coach [Mike] MacIntyre. He’s one of the best football coaches I’ve been around and he does a tremendous job the way his kids play, the character that they show, and the toughness that they show. I mean they were right there with Oregon if not for the turnovers could’ve been ahead and possibly won the game.” – ASU head coach, Todd Graham
From Devils Digest – Analysis: Colorado offense
“I think they have solid depth at running back. If they can continue to establish the run and spread the ball around the field it makes them tough because they can throw the ball short and then they can hit you over the top vertically. ” – ASU Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson
“He’s a talented guy, a polished route runner, he’s got pretty good speed. He’s got all the intangibles a great wide receiver has. The main thing is for our defensive back group to continue to work on our fundamentals and technique. Spruce is fairly quick with a really good jab step to shake the defensive back. Colorado likes to utilize him the rest of the wide receiving corps in underneath screens to the wide receivers. This will make it crucial for ASU to get off their blocks in a timely manner. The Sun Devils also need to improve their pursuit angles on underneath routes where they struggled against USC. -Senior defensive back Lloyd Carrington on Nelson Spruce and the Buffs
“I think they think they have two wide receivers, with Spruce. I think they’re very balanced in what they’re trying to do. ” -Keith Patterson
You’ve seen our preview, but how about a look from the other side? AZ Central’s Doug Haller and Sarah Kezele give a look at the matchup:
