ASU Sun Devils not worried about letdown at Oregon State
Nov 14, 2014, 4:05 AM | Updated: 3:30 pm
TEMPE, Ariz. — Mere moments after the final seconds had ticked down on Arizona State’s 55-31 statement win against then-10th ranked Notre Dame, head coach Todd Graham delivered a statement of his own: They hadn’t accomplished anything yet.
Stay humbled and hungry.
Of course that’s easier said than done, especially given the opponent this week.
Not only is Oregon State (4-5) a sub.-500 team, but the Beavers have but one Pac-12 victory, and they’ve lost each of their last four games.
“I’ve been asked that every week all year long,” Graham said, responding to the question of whether he is worried about a letdown. “You’re dealing with 18- to 22-year-old young men. You reap what you sow. I think we’ve sown really strong relationships with them. I think they understand, are very humble and they also respect the opponents that they’re playing.
“They know that they’ve got to win the next game in front of them. They also know as you win and you become successful, you get everybody’s best game because people are looking to knock you off.”
With the win over Notre Dame, ASU (8-1) jumped three spots to No. 6 in the College Football Playoff Poll. The top four teams as chosen by the 12-person selection committee on Dec. 7 make the playoffs.
Stay humbled and hungry.
“Anybody that’s played up in Corvallis, I mean we know how hard it is to play,” junior running back D.J. Foster said. “It’s a very tough place to play. As sweet as a victory that was (against Notre Dame), we’ve got to kind of let that go behind us. We’re not really close to where we want to be. I mean, it’s great being No. 6; it’s great having all this kind of recognition and stuff, but we’ve got a long way to go, and it starts with this week.”
The Sun Devils have not won at Reser Stadium since 2005, losing their last four visits.
Stay humbled and hungry.
“The biggest thing is just us focusing on the next game. We know what our goals are, and we know that we haven’t accomplished them yet,” team captain and starting left tackle Jamil Douglas said. “I was talking to (senior safety) Damarious Randall, captain on the defensive side, just telling him we’ve got to keep practicing hard. Just because we won that game, that’s just another step to where we want to go for our goals.”
ASU has won a season-high five straight, including four victories over ranked teams.
Taking Oregon State lightly is not even an option, according to senior quarterback Taylor Kelly, who added there’s been a good focus in practice this week.
“Once we come inside these (practice) gates, it’s strictly football,” he said.
Stay humbled and hungry.
The message has been delivered daily by Graham.
“It doesn’t matter what you did last time you went there. It doesn’t matter who (or) what they did 20 years ago. None of that stuff matters,” he said. “If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to go play every week. And that is a challenge, but we are playing our best football.”
