The UNLV Effect: Shell Shock or First in a Series of Tough Games?
How did the Sun Devils’ loss to UNLV impact the rest of the season? Dennis Erickson and Rudy Carpenter have different points of view on the subject.
With the longest losing streak in program history behind us, we finally feel comfortable revisiting the moment that sent our season spiraling out of control.
After leading by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter, Arizona State watched as UNLV tied the score with under a minute to play then blocked a field goal in overtime to seal what we referred to as one of the five most stunning losses in Sun Devil history. That 23-20 loss was the first of six consecutive for ASU.
There are two points of view on the significance of the loss.
- It was bad, but the losing streak was a result of a difficult schedule that included consecutive games against Georgia, Cal, USC, Oregon and Oregon State.
- It was an emotional jolt to the system that left the Sun Devils shell-shocked and with little margin for error considering the difficult schedule.
Asked about the impact of the loss on Monday, Dennis Erickson seemed to lean toward the former. Quoth Erickson: “I don’t know if it was (the loss) as much as how our schedule was set up … It had an affect, but I don’t know if it had as much of an affect as you might think.”
Of course, Erickson has a vested interest in deferring to the schedule. He wouldn’t be much of a coach if he couldn’t shake a team out of the doldrums after such a devastating loss.
Posed the same question, Rudy Carpenter offered the company line but then left open the possibility that shell shock impacted the Sun Devils throughout the losing streak. Quoth Carpenter: “I think it makes a big difference in our record though if we win that UNLV game. Maybe it makes a difference in a couple of those other games. It’s hard to tell.”
We don’t know the answer, but there’s one thing we know for sure. The UNLV loss left the Sun Devils with zero margin for error in their quest for a postseason berth. We need four wins in a row to counter the losing streak.
One down. Three to go.
What’s Your Take, Sun Devils?
Was the losing streak a function of a tough schedule or did the UNLV loss send the season spinning out of control? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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I think that loss hurt against CAL and the oregons. those were all teams we should have competed with and lost all three. I think the team looked a little timid sometimes, maybe nance didnt feel confident with leads to fumbling which leads to feeling less confident. The oregon loss was just terrible and cant be blame on the unlv loss alone but when a normally sharp group of receivers drop every ball coming there way and the defense all of a sudden cant tackle…….
It definitely was a mental thing, I dont know how much of that was unlv and how much of that was just disappointment in losing so many.
Very chicken-egg
After watching the Washington game, I think the losing streak is an effect of our lack of an offensive line. Don’t get me wrong, losing to UNLV was definitely demoralizing, but the reason we lost that game is the same reason we lost all the others- lack of protection for Rudy. There is no question that when he feels comfortable enough to throw the ball, we win games. Well after UNLV we played five teams that plowed through our offensive line and went right for Rudy.
We should have beat UNLV, but I don’t think it matters where those other teams were in our schedule.
I think the loss was less of an emotional damper on the year than just that it provided a blueprint for how to beat the Devils to all the teams that followed. I think that overall, we are still a team that would struggle to run the ball and protect the QB. But UNLV really showed that you could totally clamp down on ASU’s offense by limiting the downfield passing game. We still could have lost to all of those teams — the schedule was MUCH harder than in 2007. But for the most part, we weren’t even competetive and that’s a direct result of our offensive deficiencies being exposed so dramatically against the Rebels.
[...] We assessed the legacy of the UNLV loss. [...]
[...] The future seemed so bright just 12 weeks ago. The Arizona State football team was ranked 15th in the country and coming off a 41-17 thrashing of Stanford. Then came the unthinkable. [...]
[...] We assessed the legacy of the UNLV loss. [...]