Two-minute drill: Keys to victory for WSU

1 Pick up the blitz

Arizona State’s defensive strategy is predicated on putting pressure on the opposing quarterback, and to that end they blitz on over half their plays, nearly twice as much as the average defense. Because they blitz the backfield, the Sun Devils are fourth nationally in total sacks and third in total tackles for a loss. Washington State’s offensive line and running backs have to quickly sort out who is going to block whom, or it could be a long day for Luke Falk.

2 Pass into the blitz

All that said, by rushing extra players, the Sun Devils do leave themselves exposed to big plays. Only Colorado and Oregon have given up more passing plays of 20 yards or more than ASU’s 34. If Falk can quickly discern which receivers are being left open, the Air Raid can have a lot of success against this blitz-happy defense.

3 Keep an eye on Bercovici

ASU quarterback Mike Bercovici is not quite the runner that Seth Collins, Jerrard Randall or even Kevin Hogan are. But he does have the ability to pick up yards with his feet and quarterback runs should always been a concern for a defense that has given up an average of 114 yards to quarterback runs over its last three games.

4 The crowd needs to bring it

The Cougars can hang with anybody when spurred on by a vocal home crowd, as we saw last week when an energized student section helped the WSU defense hold No. 8 Stanford to three first half points. Martin Stadium is sold out for Dad’s Weekend, and those dads better bring their A-games.