Running game eludes Devils

PALO ALTO, Calif. - The back-to-back failures were not the reason that Arizona State lost against Southern California three weeks ago, but they succinctly sum up the current state of the Sun Devils’ running game.

Leading the Trojans 21-17 and facing a third-and-1 at its 45-yard line in the third quarter, ASU handed off to tailback Keegan Herring, who was stuffed for no gain.

Coach Dirk Koetter opted to go for it on fourth down, and Herring went off left tackle and was immediately engulfed by unblocked USC linebacker Oscar Lua. Again, no gain, and the drive’s potential is wiped out by the inability to gain a single yard — twice.

"We haven’t done a good enough job in our running game," Koetter said. "There are too many execution and communication errors. We need to run the ball better, no doubt about it."

It is not the first time that Koetter could say something along those lines about the Sun Devils, who visit Stanford today.

ASU’s running game has rarely been consistently effective under Koetter, whose reputation is as a passing coach. While the Sun Devils have ranked among the nation’s best throwing teams in the last four years, the ground game has resided at the other end of the national spectrum.

"We have to develop a running mentality," said H-back Lee Burghgraef, a fifth-year senior. "We do pass the ball quite a bit, and maybe we fall back on that. But when we need to run the ball, we have to have the confidence that we can do it."

After placing 111th, 96th and 94th in Division I-A rushing offense the last three years, ASU is currently 55th in the nation in that category. Koetter’s team is averaging 150.8 rushing yards a game.

Take away big totals against sieve-like defenses Temple and Northwestern, and that average looks less respectable. Against USC and Oregon, the Sun Devils had a combined 121 yards on 57 rushes for an average of 2.1 yards an attempt.

"We’re averaging 150 yards," Koetter said. "If you tell me we’ll get that every game, we’ll take it. Sure, we’ve had two 300-yard games and a couple lesser games, but we’re not going to be . . . heck, I don’t even know what that team is that runs the ball great.

"California does a good job, but guess what? They’ve lost two games in a row in the conference. Cal is probably the best running team in the Pac-10, if you take away USC, who is in another stratosphere. Give me USC’s backs (Reggie Bush and LenDale White), and we’ll run the ball better."

Why has running the ball been traditionally tough for the Sun Devils? There are a variety of reasons:

• ASU is primarily a passing offense, and Koetter — an unabashed mad bomber — is the first to admit that he has no patience for the run if it is not working.

The Sun Devils passed on 28 of 43 second-half plays against USC, a game they led by 18 points at halftime. Against Oregon, they threw on 36 of 45 snaps after intermission, when the Ducks led by a field goal.

"I’m not going to stick with something that doesn’t work," Koetter said. "I shouldn’t apologize for the fact that we are probably one of the five best passing teams in the country. That’s what we do.

"I wish we can run the ball better, but I’m not going to sit there while we are making mistakes in the game and try to work it out. You can’t do that.

"I’m going to put it on the quarterback and receivers and say ‘Let’s go.’ "

• Opposing teams, even with ASU’s passing prowess, have not shied from stacking the scrimmage line on defense in an attempt to make the Sun Devils’ offense one-dimensional.

"We’ve seen the defense drop a extra safety down in the box and put eight guys there," Burghgraef said. "That makes it a lot harder."

• Injuries and dismissals have not helped. Last season, ASU was so thin at tailback that Rudy Burgess — who then weighed about 170 pounds — had to move to the position from wide receiver.

In 2005, the entire right side of the offensive line is sidelined, as guard Zach Krula is gone for the season with a broken ankle, and tackle Andrew Carnahan will miss his second game today with a dislocated thumb.

"We’re missing two of the best blockers in our league," said Brent Myers, offensive line coach and running-game coordinator. "When that happens, it changes chemistry and made things more difficult."

In recent practices, ASU has simplified its running game by reducing the number of plays and focusing on better execution.

The fact that Stanford is today’s opponent is a boost, as the Sun Devils had a season-high 168 team rushing yards against the Cardinal in 2004.

"In practice, we’ve looked good," Myers said. "But you don’t get evaluated for real until you play on Saturday."

Herring, a true freshman who leads ASU with 509 rushing yards, said that the offense has not lost confidence in the ground game.

"You can’t lose confidence," Herring said. "If we do, that signals to the defense that we are going to pass and pass, and they can just tee off on us.

"Against Stanford, we’ve just got to keep pounding it and pounding it until we get the running game going."