They may have a new head coach, but the Sun Devils will still have their old one on the sidelines on Christmas Eve against Hawai'I in the Hawai'I Bowl. Dirk Koetter will still be roaming the sidelines, after being fired earlier this year after six seasons in Tempe, and Dennis Erickson's debut will wait nine months.
The Sun Devils don't have the same offense that they had a year ago, and if they did, we could expect scores of this game to be in the 60's. ASU has a very young receiving corps, and the top target is tight end Zach Miller. Miller leads the team in receptions (49), receiving yards (481) and touchdowns (four).
It will be tough for the players to go out and defeat a tough Hawai'I team on its home turf, especially because of a lame duck coaching staff on the sidelines. But because the coaching staff is on its way out, it will likely open up a lot of plays for the offense, after all, what do they have to lose?
Defensively, the Sun Devils are going to have a tough time against Hawai'I QB Colt Brennan. But in the last regular season game of the year, Brennan and his team lost to Oregon State in a thriller, leaving ASU with a nice scouting tape to figure out what they can do to slow one of the best quarterbacks in the nation this season. After all, the Sun Devils did have the second best defense in the Pac-10 this season, after having one of the worst in the nation the year before. Arizona State will be looking to win its third straight bowl game, after a win last year against Rutgers.
The Warriors will be looking to win their 11 th game of the season, a feat that they have accomplished only one time in their history back in 1992. It would also be a special night if Brennan can toss two touchdowns, which would break the single-season record of 53 set back in 1991.
Hawai'i led all Division I-A programs this season in total offense (549.9 yards per game), passing yards (432.2 per) and points per game (47.3). Many believe Hawaii's Colt Brennan is the best pure passer in the country, and he's also a threat to run.
It will be fun to see if Hawaii's secondary can stop the Arizona State aerial attack. If they can, it could be a very long day for the Sun Devils. If the Warriors are able to jump out on top of ASU, expect Hawai'I to cruise. With a lame-duck coach onboard, things could get ugly if they are caught in an early hole.
Emerald Bowl
UCLA vs. Florida State
In what was its worst season in about three decades, Florida State is still going bowling. The Seminoles will travel to the West Coast to take on UCLA in the Emerald Bowl on December 27.
After winning the ACC a year ago and facing Penn Sate in a thriller of an Orange Bowl, things are quite different this time around. They are only 6-6 and will be going into the bowl game with a lame-duck offensive coordinator. Bobby Bowden's son Jeff will run the offense, in his final duties at FSU. They will also have to face a UCLA team that was able to down their cross-town rival USC in its last game.
It will be the first ever meeting between the two storied programs, and perhaps the best player on the field, FSU LB Buster Davis, will be playing in his final collegiate game. While there is so much anger over FSU's offensive coaching staff and the problems with offense, it has overshadowed the grit of FSU's defense. Despite losing half the available players, this defense still ranks 12th nationally in total defense, 10th in rushing defense, and 36th in scoring defense. When playing so many freshmen, this has been an incredible performance.
Despite being 10-2 a year ago, UCLA never was really mentioned in anyone's breath when talking about great teams (especially because they were destroyed by USC). After a thrilling win this year against the Trojans, they are certainly on the map, despite a tougher year record-wise. Karl Dorrell was able to get the biggest win of his four year stay with UCLA, and sets up an intriguing matchup with Florida State.
After a win against Northwestern in the Sun Bowl last year, UCLA's defense will try and put in another stellar performance after holding USC to only nine points in its last game. It was the first time in 63 games that the Trojans didn't post 20 or more points on the scoreboard. The UCLA defense has the 11 th best rushing defense in the nation, which could put a lot of pressure on FSU QB Xavier Lee, or Drew Weatherford.
Offensively, we could see a lot of different options at quarterback, but Patrick Cowan looks like he will get the start for the gold and powder blue. But Ben Olson looks like he may be better, after not starting against USC .
Douglas Kroll can be reached at dckroll@hotmail.com
