TEMPE, Ariz. -- As much as Arizona State coach Todd Graham might have liked to put off conference play for another week, it may turn out to be a blessing playing Stanford immediately after taking on Wisconsin, as the two teams offer a comparable challenge.
"Wisconsin is very similar to Stanford, similar philosophies and styles," Graham said. "I think Stanford is a better football team."
No. 5 Stanford should indeed be a stiffer challenge for the Sun Devils, but playing Wisconsin last weekend should have them better prepared for the power run and play-action passing challenge the Cardinal present this Saturday.
Like Wisconsin, Stanford is a run-first team. The Cardinal have run the ball 75 times this season and passed it 49 times. They are averaging 200.0 rushing yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry. Senior Tyler Gaffney is averaging 118 rushing yards per game.
"They have a definite identity," Graham said. "They're going to line up, they're going to run the power, and they're going to run it right at you. They're going to pound it, and they're patient. They have no problem letting their defense win games."
Indeed, Stanford is willing to stick with the run even when it's not producing points. In part, that's because of the stoutness of its defense. Last season, Stanford ran for 200 yards against Oregon, scoring just 17 points, but held the Ducks to 14 points.
Having spent much of the preseason bolstering its run defense, particularly against the power run, ASU should be in a good place to defend it a second straight week.
Good timing for ASU is bad timing for Stanford. "We usually like playing someone the week after they play a spread offense team," Stanford coach David Shaw saidm, "but this is back-to-back weeks (for ASU) against teams that play with multiple tight ends on the field, multiple backs and have a power running game they accent with play-action pass and different things.
"So I think it does at least help them stay in the same mode, although I know it's not going to be the exact same game plan."
ASU still has strides to make in run defense. It allowed Wisconsin to rush for 231 yards, much of that coming on the outside.
Graham believes the Cardinal offense offers a greater challenge than the Badgers because it is more dynamic.
"One of the things that has happened is that we have spent so much time focusing on stopping the run, stopping the power run, we have to make sure we don't underestimate the fact that Stanford can throw the football," Graham said. "They are a run, play-action-pass football team, and I like what they do, but the difference is that Stanford is much more advanced in their passing game."
Graham said Stanford redshirt sophomore quarterback Kevin Hogan is "a whole lot better" than Wisconsin's Joel Stave.
"The general identity doesn't change, but as you can see in the first two games this year we're using our receivers a lot more," Shaw said. "We're getting more explosive passes than we have the past few years, but that doesn't take anything away from our identity as a power, physical, downhill running team."
On defense, Stanford has become the class of the Pac-12. They are the team that has best figured out how to stop the spread and no-huddle offense that have come to define the conference. Stanford is what ASU aspires to become from a defensive standpoint, particularly in run defense. Last year, Stanford was the Pac-12's best in stopping the run, giving up 97.0 yards per game.
"I pretty much see the same or almost the same as Wisconsin," ASU running back Marion Grice said. "They've got big guys, they almost run the same defense just with different players."
In their separate media briefings Tuesday, Graham and Shaw displayed a mutual admiration for what the other is doing.
"You've got to give a lot of credit to Todd Graham and his staff," Shaw said. "They've had talent, but they're playing so hard, they're playing so aggressive. They've got great schemes in all three phases. To take that program from where it was two years ago to now where it's a top 25 and I'd wager to say maybe even a top 15 team just as far as having the players and the scheme and the way the guys play.
"Then you put our success with that and you say this should be an exciting game."
Coming from the coach of the defending Pac-12 champion, that's high praise, but Graham notes that his program has yet to accomplish what Stanford has.
"There's not anybody in this league I've got more respect for (than Stanford)," Graham said. "What I respect is people who win championships, so obviously Oregon and Stanford are the teams that have done that as of late.
"They are the team that we respect the most because they are the defending champion."
EXTRA POINTS
-- Freshman wide receiver Cameron Smith practiced with the second-team offense Tuesday, a sign that he is close to playing after battling a hamstring injury. Graham said he expects Smith to play as soon as he's fully healthy. Graham also said he doesn't expect to redshirt freshman wide receiver Ellis Jefferson, who has yet to play in a game due to a groin injury.
-- Graham said that last year after a game as physical as Saturday's, some players would not have practiced the following Tuesday. But this year, every player practiced. "I was pretty impressed today," he said. "They all practiced, never said anything. I know how sore they are."
