PULLMAN - When it comes to capitalizing on takeaways, Todd Graham's team at Arizona State may never outdo its performance last year against Washington State.
The Sun Devils induced five turnovers, leading to five touchdowns.
For a program that prides itself on aggression and opportunism, that game represents a lost paradigm as the Devils (4-4, 2-3) prepare for a rematch against the Cougars (5-3, 3-2) on Saturday (12:30 p.m., FS1) at Martin Stadium in Pullman.
The Sun Devils are undergoing some scrutiny these days for their presumed penchant for stealing offensive signals. But probably more relevant to their success-to-failure ratio is their penchant for stealing the football.
Over the span of Graham's first three seasons at Tempe, Ariz., his team ranked second in the country in turnover margin. This year the Devils are tied for 104th, a big reason they're virtually out of contention for a title in the Pac-12 South.
"We had seven games last year where we were 100 percent in taking care of the football," Graham said this week. "We've not had one game this year where we haven't turned over the football. That's probably the biggest factor. That's been the main focus in moving forward in what we're trying to do."
They'll be hard-pressed to exceed their 5-0 edge in takeaways last November in Tempe against WSU, let alone their uncanny efficiency in taking advantage of them.
The Cougars were in a psychologically fragile state: eliminated from bowl contention and hoping for a spark from young quarterback Luke Falk in his second start. He threw four interceptions and lost a fumble as the Cougs bowed 52-31 despite outgaining Arizona State 622-330.
Apparently on more solid ground now, Falk and the Cougars will try to shake off a gut-wrenching loss to Stanford last week and reach the six-win minimum for bowl eligibility.
The Sun Devils, meanwhile, need to adjust their once-ambitious goals after a wild 61-55 loss to Oregon in triple overtime last week, 12 days after a 30-24 disappointment at Utah.
"The reality is, we've lost two close games," Graham said. "Last year we beat Utah in overtime on a game-winning field goal and beat USC on a Hail Mary. The close games we won last year, and this year we've lost them. In the Pac-12, the difference between winning and losing is so very minute."
The Sun Devils have a new No. 1 quarterback this year, Mike Bercovici, who is averaging 280 passing yards a game and is trying to pose more of a running threat in his team's spread-option offense. His weapons include Demario Richard, rushing for 5.5 yards a carry, and receiver Tim White, who ranks fourth in the conference in all-purpose yards.
The Sun Devils' blitz-mad defense is paced by safety Jordan Simone, who transferred from WSU in 2012 and whose brother is former Cougar receiver Gino Simone. That unit is trying to amp up it tenacity, having tallied only 10 takeaways this year.
"From the day I walked in the door here, we've talked about winning championships," Graham said. "Now, we played for the (Pac-12) championship one year, and we've been in this thing every year. This is the only year we've had three losses (heading into November). We're hurt, we're disappointed. Obviously we had high expectations, and we're not going to back down from that."
But to get them back, they might need to steal somebody else's fire.
---
Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.