ASU football follow-up: Defense offers silver lining

GRADING OUT

There were some positives for Arizona State at California on Saturday, particularly how it settled down and controlled the game defensively after falling behind 17-0 in the first half.

However, coach Dennis Erickson said, too many miscues early were the Sun Devils' undoing.

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"A loss is a loss, that's the bottom line," Erickson said. "We talked about it all week, about not coming out and making mistakes early in the game. It's difficult to come back, but from that point on, we played pretty good, especially on defense. We made some mistakes, but it was probably the most physical we have played on defense and the hardest that we've hit."

Keegan Herring returned from a hamstring injury and scored a touchdown on Saturday, but Erickson said that Dimitri Nance could remain the starting running back.

"I couldn't make that call right now," Erickson said. "Keegan needs to practice. He was rusty."

Slot receiver Kyle Williams could become more of an option for ASU if opposing defenses continue to utilize a Cover 2 system. Williams has the speed to catch passes in front of underneath coverage and make defenders miss, which was the case on his 30-yard touchdown catch on Saturday.

"We have to be able to do that, move him around a bit," Erickson said. "The touchdown he caught was with some motion involved. Kyle played very well, but he has to keep being consistent. He's a guy who can break it open for us. He has already this year."

Erickson said that right tackle Tom Njunge "played well" and strong safety Clint Floyd "did OK" in their first starts. He cited center Thomas Altieri on offense and the linebacking corps, cornerback Terell Carr and free safety Troy Nolan on defense as players who stood out.

NOTES

This week is the last of this year that the Sun Devils will practice in the evening.

"We'll change the schedule for the bye week, where we go to the afternoon," Erickson said. "It worked out that way, where the bye week falls. The players will have a week to get used to it."

Thomas Weber missed his only field-goal attempt on Saturday, ending a run of 15 games with at least one make and leaving him tied with Luis Zendejas (1981-82) for the longest streak in ASU history.

Earlier in the game, Weber had a field goal blocked, but it was negated by a California penalty.

INJURY REPORT

An MRI exam revealed that backup safety Max Tabach tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee on Saturday and will likely require season-ending surgery.

Jarrell Holman will assume Tabach's role, which includes being the fifth defensive back on the field in nickel situations.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Sun Devils play at six-time defending Pac-10 champion Southern California at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Trojans might not provide relief for ASU's limping ground game, as they held an Oregon offense that was averaging 308 yards rushing a contest to just 60.