Sun Devils Have One-Sided Concerns
By Marc Carig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 8, 2006; Page E06

Arizona State Coach Dirk Koetter spends a few moments happily explaining the pieces of his team's high-powered offense, one that features his two capable quarterbacks, an explosive tight end and one of the most versatile players in the Pacific-10 Conference -- all mish-mashed into "a gazillion" formations.

It's an easy subject to chat about, especially after the Sun Devils racked up 519.1 yards per game last season, ranking second to only Southern California in the country.

of the ball," Koetter said.

Once again, No. 23 Arizona State boasts an offense that automatically makes it a candidate to unseat USC as Pac-10 champion. But the defense will have to upgrade from porous to mediocre, at least, for the Sun Devils to make a serious run.

Koetter knows that, especially after watching his defense's confidence get shattered during last season's 38-28 loss to USC. The loss started a three-game midseason tailspin that included a defeat to lowly Stanford.

"We played a great [first] half against USC," Koetter said. "But in the second half of the USC game, we got exposed a little bit by guys running the ball right at us. We went through a three-game stretch where we didn't play very well. The defense lost confidence and just never got it back."

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