Arizona State’s 34-17 loss to Oklahoma State on the road felt like a step in the wrong direction offensively.
After blending quick passes with a stout run game in the team’s season opener against NAU, ASU offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas shifted his approach for the Cowboys. The team bet on its retooled offensive line to hold up against a formidable pass rush to allow downfield routes time to open up. Oklahoma State created frequent pressure, constricting the pocket and closing scramble windows for quarterback Emory Jones. And although running back Xazavian Valladay produced a handful of spark plays to go over 100 rushing yards for the second straight game, the run-first attack eventually became predictable and easier to stop for Oklahoma State.
The team must get back on track in its last non-conference matchup against Eastern Michigan. A tough Pac-12 slate awaits the Sun Devils: a duel with No. 14 Utah, an away matchup versus No. 7 USC, and then Washington comes to Tempe before a merciful bye week. The passing game must display a better formula that amplifies the strengths of its weapons.
Here is a film breakdown of Eastern Michigan’s tendencies on both sides of the ball, their marquee playmakers, and what the path to an ASU victory looks like.
The Rundown
Eastern Michigan is 1-1 on the season heading into the matchup against ASU. The Eagles beat Eastern Kentucky 42-34 but lost on the road 49-21 against Louisiana. Head coach Chris Creighton is in his ninth season with the team and has a career record of 37-57.
The offense is championed by quarterback Taylor Powell, who won the starting job after emerging victorious in a three-way battle this fall. The Eagles averaged 30.2 points near 381 yards per game last season. Most of that production came through the air, and this season follows the same trend. Powell completed 53 of 88 passes for 588 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions through Eastern Michigan’s first two games.
The Eagles frequently spread their offense out in four or five-wide formations. They will force defenders to play on islands or work to pounce upon patches in expanded zone coverage. Most routes have a Hi-Lo concept attached to them, giving Powell two options at various lengths of the field on one read.
The offensive line is not particularly athletic, so most routes are quick and do not take long to develop. From third-and-4 against Wisconsin last season, Eastern Michigan attempted to carve up the middle of the defense by stretching the defenders out with an empty backfield. The Eagles banked on one of its playmakers winning their one-on-one matchup off their cut. The left slot receiver, Dylan Drummond, attacks the underneath space well and is available for the catch. The Wisconsin safety just did a better job providing solid contact on the hit and jarring the ball loose.
This offensive scheme also takes advantage of the defense’s discipline. If the opponent gets caught with eyes in the backfield or loses sight of a receiver in space, the Eagles are prompt to exploit those mistakes before recovery is possible.
The defensive back guarding wide receiver Hassan Beydoun on this corner route took a peek at the quarterback while in the contact phase. He lost Beydoun behind him in the process and couldn’t get back in the play. The defensive back ended up taking a wild stab at the catch point while Beydoun hauled in the touchdown.
On defense, Eastern Michigan operates consistently out of a base 4-3 front. The Eagles primarily roll out in a two-high look and will drop a safety down to cover slots. The cornerbacks play off coverage for the most part and are tasked with preventing the deep ball at all costs.
The secondary is also trusted to play off its instincts in zone coverage. The Eagles try to play off vision of the pocket’s development and use that information to put themselves in the right position. The opportunistic playstyle generated an interception for the defense in the red zone on Eastern Kentucky’s first drive of the game.
Against a strong running team in Wisconsin, the Eagles began putting a fourth linebacker to match the Badgers in 22 personnel. With ASU using fullback Case Hatch and a second tight end consistently in short-yardage situations, Eastern Michigan will likely keep its same setup. It worked against Wisconsin to produce no gain on this third-and-3 play.
Offense Spotlight: WR Hassan Beydoun
Beydoun led Eastern Michigan’s aerial attack with 97 receptions and 1,015 receiving yards last season. His four receiving touchdowns ranked second on the team. In his fourth season, the 5-8, 174-pound senior has established himself as one of the premier threats in the MAC.
Contact balance and agility dominate Beydoun’s production. Eastern Michigan loves to put him in motion and use his speed to get defenses out of position pre-snap. The danger meter spikes when Beydoun breaks a tackle, and he can create yards for himself in limited space.
Eastern Michigan will hunt for one-on-one matchups for Beydoun in the slot. He can run a variety of routes that exploit his ability to break quickly and change directions. But Beydoun executes the simple patterns, too. He took a slot fade to the house against Toledo last year.
Defense Spotlight: LB Chase Kline
Kline is a Michigan State transfer who was passed up on the depth chart and entered the transfer portal after four games in 2021. This season, Kline is the centerpiece of Eastern Michigan’s defense. He leads the Eagles with 14 tackles.
Kline is a prototypical middle linebacker. He has good size at 6-4 and 233 pounds, which lends itself to a punishing finish. Eastern Michigan deploys him in coverage often, and he showcases good vision and awareness of his zone to track the quarterback and incoming targets. He nearly had an interception in the first quarter on second-and-6 guarding the hook/curl zones against Eastern Kentucky.
Bottom Line
The Sun Devils are clearly the more talented team. The run game should enjoy the same level of success as the NAU game, which should open up opportunities to utilize RPO elements and drive the rock through the air. In that aspect, the usage of the team’s receiving threats will be tracked closely. Glenn Thomas should learn from the play-calling woes that plagued an inconsistent attack against Oklahoma State and return to the identity that showed promise during the first game of the season.
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