Arizona State Sun Devils

ASU Football: A Crucial Bye Week Begins

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Sun Devils have a bye this week, and it could prove to be the most critical week of ASU football’s season.

With three weeks remaining, the Sun Devils look drained. Not only have injuries plagued the team, but poor tackling and lack of a run game have contributed to the Sun Devils three game losing streak. As they have a bye week to get recuperated and ready to host Utah, the Sun Devils could look back at the end of the season and realize that the week that they didn’t have a game proved to be the most important week of the season.

First on the to-do list for head coach Todd Graham and Co. is to make sure that everyone who is injured has the proper time to rest. Not forcing players to try to play through an injury or take reps in the hopes of starting them for the ensuing game will be key. Give players the time they need to meet with the medical staff and figure out the best course of action available for the nine days between now and their game against Utah on the 10th.

The coaching staff needs to make sure that everyone is on the same page. With a nice long break the coaches have a chance to meet with one another and take some time to formulate a game plan for Utah. Graham also needs to meet with all the coaches to set up a game plan for each unit of the team for the coming weeks.

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Finally Graham needs to personally take time with each unit of the team and make sure that they are understanding what is asked of them. If the secondary isn’t sure what they should do in certain situations, then now is the time to get everything squared away so that the same mistakes don’t continue to happen.

Lastly, the Sun Devils need to make sure that Dillon Sterling-Cole continues to gain confidence with the playbook. Fans of ASU saw Sterling-Cole take a lot of positive steps between the Washington State game and the Oregon game. With a full week and a half to get ready for Utah, it isn’t unrealistic for fans to expect Sterling-Cole to look even more comfortable with the playbook come game time.

In order to ensure that Sterling-Cole is set up for success Graham needs to make sure he understands the playbook and find the plays that suit his skill set well and the plays that don’t. If Graham can make Sterling-Cole feel like he is set up for success then he might show everyone just how successful he can be.

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