by Doug Haller - Sept. 16, 2012 08:08 PM
azcentral sports
Todd Graham didn't hesitate. The thing that irritated him most in Saturday's 24-20 loss at Missouri:
"Special teams," the Arizona State coach said Sunday. "Absolutely."
Since his hire, Graham has made special teams a top priority. The Sun Devils (2-1) spend most of the first hour of each practice on special teams. Experienced starters such as senior running back Cameron Marshall are involved. And yet, Saturday's effort was a disaster, an area that will need to be cleaned up heading into Saturday's Pac-12 opener against Utah.
Graham rattled off the mistakes:
-On the game's opening kickoff, sophomore Alex Garoutte kicked to the wrong area, an error that led to a 42-yard Missouri return.
-Senior Jamal Miles lost a fumble on a punt return, giving the Tigers possession on their 18-yard line. They scored four plays later for a 10-0 lead.
-The punt-return unit gave up 72 yards on three punts.
-In the third quarter, senior Josh Hubner mishandled a high snap, resulting in an 11-yard punt, which Graham pretty much counted as a turnover. Missouri, taking over at its 33, scored six plays later for a 24-7 lead.
-And in the fourth quarter, just after Marion Grice scored to pull the Sun Devils to within 24-20, junior holder Ryan Woods mishandled the extra-point snap and was tackled. This one proved costly near the end of the game. On two final drives, both of which failed, ASU could have kicked a field goal and hoped for overtime. Because of the botched extra point, the Sun Devils didn't have that option.
"That's the one thing every week we got to win," Graham said of special teams. "We got to do a better job coaching than what we're doing there. ... We can't have games like that."
Another area that requires evaluation: The quarterback rotation. Through two games, offensive coordinator Mike Norvell handled the situation almost flawlessly. Sophomore Taylor Kelly started and set the tone. Then redshirt freshman Mike Eubank came in situationally.
But late in Saturday's game, with Kelly rallying the Sun Devils to within 24-20, Norvell sent in Eubank during his normal package near the goal line. On second and goal from the 1, Eubank was stopped for no gain. On third down, Graham said the play was supposed to go to Grice, but the play never got communicated properly and Eubank was stopped for a 2-yard loss. A play later, with Kelly back at quarterback, ASU turned the ball over on downs.
"We should've called a time out and we didn't," Graham said of the third-down play.
Eubank rushed six times against Missouri. Only one attempt produced positive yardage. Graham said the quarterback rotation would be evaluated.
"There are certain groupings that we've been (bringing in Eubank) that have been very successful," Graham said. "How much of the (quarterback switch) had to do with the (third-down) miscommunication, I don't know. But it's a concern. You also got to look at the rhythm of things. This is a new adventure for us. We haven't done it as much. With all the crowd noise, the procedure penalties, it's something we got to re-evaluate."
Still, despite the sloppiness, Graham left Missouri proud. He watched junior safety Alden Darby and junior defensive tackle Will Sutton repeatedly tell the offense that they would get the ball back for them. He watched the Sun Devils continue to fight.
"It's a great learning experience for us," Graham said. "You put it behind you. We start conference play now. We got a heck of a defense coming in here in Utah. But I came out of this proud of our guys. We have heart, and when you have heart, you have a chance."
17 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/2012/09/16/20120916asu-football-coach-todd-graham-disappointed-special-teams-performance-against-missouri.html
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