On Saturday at 1:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and KNBR 1050 AM radio, Stanford football will welcome Arizona State to The Farm for homecoming. Stanford comes in at 2-4 overall and 0-4 in the Pac-12 while Arizona State comes in at 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: Last week, Stanford defeated Notre Dame 16-14 on the road in South Bend. Jonathan McGill had a key fumble recovery and game-winning pass break up for Stanford.
RECAP: Stanford gets redemption at Notre Dame
On Arizona State: The Sun Devils have had a rough year, starting 1-2 before firing head coach Herm Edwards following a home loss to Eastern Michigan. They would lose two more games in a row to Utah and USC before finally picking up their first Pac-12/FBS win over Washington before their bye week, which was last week. Coming off that bye, the Sun Devils do seem to have some confidence and are looking to keep that going when they arrive on The Farm this weekend.
Their starting quarterback Emory Jones has a 130.65 rating to go along with 4 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and an average of 186.67 passing yards per game. Jones’ top target is redshirt sophomore wide receiver Elijhah Badger, who leads the team in receptions (31), receiving yards (372), and receiving touchdowns (3). On the ground, graduate student running back Xazavian Valladay leads the team with 566 yards and 6 touchdowns on 96 carries.
On defense, redshirt fifth-year linebacker Kyle Soelle leads the team by a mile in tackles with 33 solo tackles and 40 assists, making it 73 total tackles on the year. He’s done a great job of anchoring this Sun Devils defense that has struggled for much of the season.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is run the ball effectively. Run defense is supposed to be a major weakness of this Sun Devils team and Stanford needs to take advantage of that. If Casey Filkins is doing his thing in the Stanford backfield, I like Stanford’s chances to win.
Secondly, Stanford needs to take care of the ball. Turnovers were a major issue for Stanford earlier this year. They improved and actually won the turnover battle last week at Notre Dame. If Stanford wins the turnover battle again in this game and takes care of the ball, they should win with little trouble.
Finally, Stanford just needs to hang loose and have fun. If they play relaxed and make plays for each other, they’re going to be tough to stop. If instead, they get tense, give up big plays, and allow Arizona State to hang around, this game could get interesting.
Prediction: Stanford is at home and it’s homecoming. They’re also coming off an emotional win at Notre Dame. I like Stanford in this one by a touchdown. 31-24. They just seem to be the team that should have the edge.
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