In a pretty impressive victory over San Jose State, the ASU Sun Devils showed that we can be balanced in all areas of the team and that we can limit the number of penalties made. The team looked pretty good all around. In fairness, Carpenter did look kind of out of sync for good portion of first half but he also made some great throws. And it was nice to see the hand offs to Torain coming at a much frequent pace. In the end it was practically 50-50 in yards from passing vs rushing (270 to 250 respectively).
As an alumni of ASU and season ticket holder (thanks to Scott) it was great to start the season off with a bang and to tell the nation that we are here and ready to play. But I also have some reservations. It is only one game. One game in which we did what we should have done- blow away the competition. While I am happy to see the enthusiasm from our team that was sorely lacking all of last season, I think I need to see at least one more game to see if we can maintain the intensity.
I think one thing we all can say for sure after last nights game is that Erickson has the leadership and charisma needed to bring the football team to the next level. He knows how important the fans are which was obvious when he came on the field right before the game and pumped up the student section by giving the thumbs up and gesturing for the fans to get loud. We definitely did not see that with Koetter. Erickson has the intensity that we need to actually beat teams like USC and Cal.
Last night was a lot of fun and I look forward to the seven other home games in what looks to be a breakthrough season for Devils football. Welcome back to the PAC-10, Erickson. Welcome to Sun Devil football.
GO DEVILS!!!!