Arizona State slipped by New Mexico State in its season opener, and its next opponent, San Diego State University, will provide a much tougher challenge.

The Aztecs are coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons and dominated their first game against UC Davis, 38-17. It’s a squad that is very sound in their schemes and have proven to utilize their personnel in a very efficient manner.

Let’s analyze the Aztecs on both sides of the ball and consider what challenges and opportunities they can present to the Sun Devils on Saturday night in Tempe.

OFFENSE

Scheme: Pro-style

Head coach: Rocky Long

Offensive coordinator: Jeff Horton

The Aztecs are a run-heavy offense. Their success is predicated on the running game, a program staple since Long took over in 2011.

Last season, Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny rushed for over 3,100 combined yards. Pumphrey set the NCAA record for career rushing yards but is now with the Philadelphia Eagles. Penny, however, returns.

This seems like a good place to start.

Just a note: All of the Gif's in this film study will be from SDSU’s season opener because this is a vastly different team personnel wise than last year’s. A few may not be great quality, but that’s because the game was broadcast on Facebook live.

Now, let’s look at the offense.

SDSU often lines up in an I-formation. Penny is the starting running back, but it seems a lot of his success is due to Nick Bawden, his fullback. Keep in mind that SDSU is replacing four of five starting offensive linemen from last year, which could play a factor because the Sun Devils have two veteran defensive linemen in Tashon Smallwood and JoJo Wicker.

The above gif shows a long touchdown run by Penny. The Aztecs ran a toss to the left out of the I formation and Bawden makes a key block when he cuts down a UC Davis defender.

Penny is a larger back than Pumphrey, but he’s still very fast. He has five career return touchdowns. No active player in the FBS has more. In this touchdown run, he displays his breakaway speed. UC Davis didn’t have anyone who could catch him, but there are a few candidates on ASU.

Joey Bryant and Kobe Williams, the starting corners, have displayed good speed and athleticism. Additionally, we saw Koron Crump chase down plays many times last year. The effort really must be there for the Sun Devils once Penny gets into the open field.

Before moving out to the skill positions, let’s look at Bawden. In the video in this tweet, which is from last season, he clears space for his running back out of the I formation. If he misses the block, the play perhaps goes for two or three yards. It went for a bigger gain because he cleared a lane.

If ASU wants to win this game, it’ll need to stop the run. Plain and simple. That doesn’t end with containing the quick running backs, though. The defensive line will need to get a push and the linebackers will need to blow up plays to limit Bawden’s effectiveness.

SDSU also runs from the strong I, where the fullback is offset to the right. However, as can be seen in this video, Penny is good at cutting back and can hurt defenses that way too. ASU will need to remain balanced and not over-pursue.

SDSU’s running game isn’t as bland as it may seem, though. The Aztecs regularly send guys in motion. Sometimes they’ll flex Bawden out to a side. Sometimes, a receiver will go in motion and they’ll fake an end around. These little shifts make it difficult for defenses.

“They make your corners tackle,” ASU defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said. “They have a way — by their shifts and their motion — trying to isolate guys in your secondary.”

It may seem like SDSU being a run-heavy offense could be comforting for ASU’s inexperienced secondary. Instead, it gives the defensive backs a new job.

“We have a whole new job now,” cornerback Kobe Williams said. “Come from last game watching all these formations and everything, and now we got to be like a linebacker. We got gaps we got to control, defend the running game, watch play paths, a whole bunch of stuff. We’re ready for it. We just have to make tackles and play smart.”

If ASU doesn’t stop the running game from the first whistle, it could be a long night. The Aztecs have won 33 consecutive games when rushing for at least 200 yards. They are 41-2 overall in the Long era when rushing for 200+ yards.

Let’s look at why this may be the case.

SDSU had already established the run. It did so from the first whistle. It then started to impose its will, and this video is one example. The UC Davis linebackers blitz off the edges of the I formation and the Aztecs burn the defense.

Quarterback Christian Chapman fakes the inside run and throws the pass to tight end Parker Houston across the middle. This little underneath route is the bread and butter of the Aztecs’ passing game. They rely on it. But the play-action pass is much less effective if they haven’t established the run.

Chapman’s arm talent seems par for the course. He doesn’t do anything flashy. But here’s where he excels, according to ASU coach Todd Graham:

“I think he’s a really solid operator. He’s a guy that manages the system and what they’re doing, that understands what they’re doing. I think he does a solid job, a good quarterback. He does a great job with his play fakes, he does a great job when the ball’s not in his hand.”

SDSU’s runs a lot of these routes. They’re little drags that can often beat blitzes that leave linebackers or safeties in man coverage. Last week, New Mexico State ran a lot of “mesh” plays, a concept where two receivers run drag routes and cross one another’s paths.

So how does ASU stop the underneath routes? According to Bennett, it starts with stopping the over-the-top routes.

“The biggest thing is you got to protect the top,” he said. “If you remember last week, a couple of times on third down, they’re running the meshes, we protected the top well and made the play on the meshes. So it’s very simple.”

SDSU can also utilize crossing routes from the shotgun formation. This is a simple play where Chapman finds his receiver on one of those underneath routes. It was a good play call, but one thing that allowed it to be successful was Penny’s block. He picked up a rusher, which was critical.

SDSU likes to ground and pound but isn’t afraid to mix up its looks in the red zone. As you can see in the play above, the Aztecs started this sequence with an inside run out of the I formation. Predictable, right?

Given that, one may expect the Aztecs to return to that formation. Instead, they switch it up. Chapman, who is in the shotgun, throws a touchdown pass to tight end Kahale Warring on a short out.

The touchdown in the video above is the result of the outside receivers clearing out defenders. If you observe Warring and the slot receiver on the opposite side, both run out routes. This is a nifty little play designed to get a few yards and sneak into the corner of the end zone.

So how do the Sun Devils stop this?

Well, it’s going to take astute play recognition. Also, ASU’s corners can’t get sucked into the back of the end zone. Chapman will naturally be looking to hit the slot outs, meaning there’s an opportunity for the corners to jump that route.

ASU’s defense will need to step up on Saturday.

“I know we’re going to dominate on defense,” senior Spur J’Marcus Rhodes said.

DEFENSE:

Scheme: 3-3-5 (three linemen, three linebackers, five defensive backs)

Defensive coordinator: Danny Gonzales (head coach Rocky Long is the defensive mastermind here. Think Todd Graham before Phil Bennett arrived.)

The 3-3-5 defense is unique for the Sun Devils because SDSU will be their only opponent who’ll use it this season. And if just looking at the numbers, it’s worked for Long and his Aztecs.

Since the start of the 2015 season, SDSU has intercepted 51 passes. That’s 10 more than any other team.

What makes the defense so deadly? Let’s take a quick look.

In this part of the film study, we’re going to look at two separate interceptions from SDSU’s season-opening win over UC Davis. I asked ASU wide receiver, Ryan Newsome, how SDSU can force so many interceptions at the Division I level.

Here’s what he said:

“They’ll just like send guys and some of the time, they’ll camouflage who they’re sending. On the right side, they might have a corner disguising like he’s going to blitz, then he drops back into coverage. They have linebackers that can do that, so it can be difficult for the quarterback to decipher what kind of defense they’re in. We just have to be able to do a good job of play recognition.”

The play above is a perfect example of what Newsome illustrated. Let’s go through this. As you can see, SDSU gives the look of sending the house at the UC Davis quarterback.

It sends a few on the blitz, but watch as the lone linebacker drops back. He gets a hand on the ball, which leads to the interception.

It may seem cliché when offensive coordinator Billy Napier talks about quarterback Manny Wilkins’ preparation, but he’ll need it this week. The look that SDSU showed in that play is more complex than most of what New Mexico State did.

There were times when the Aztecs didn’t put much pressure on UC Davis because they were in control of the game, but when they pressure quarterbacks, they get results.

Now, let’s discuss how ASU can prevent something like that interception from happening. As Newsome said, it’s all about play recognition and making the correct read. In a sense, the UC Davis quarterback did that. He recognized the blitz and tried to whip a short pass to a receiver.

However, SDSU’s linebacker makes a fantastic heads-up play to get a hand on the ball. Tariq Thompson, a freshman safety, made the interception for the Aztecs.

Following the win, Long told reporters that this year’s SDSU defense is the youngest he’s had by far since taking over in 2011. The group picked up where it left off, but it’ll face a much tougher test in the ASU offense.

In the above play, the Aztecs rush four. The UC Davis quarterback makes a poor decision trying to sneak a pass over cornerback Ron Smith, who intercepts it.

The Aztecs played zone in this play, which should be the case for much of Saturday. ASU is equipped to combat this with its versatility at receiver.

Remember the mesh plays? Many of those will often work against zone coverage because a receiver can find a soft spot in a zone. But for ASU, establishing the run will be critical. The Sun Devils will want to win the physicality battle not only on defense but on offense too.

If ASU establishes the run, its run-pass option plays will be dangerous. The Sun Devils have options, but the key is for Wilkins to make smart decisions.

ASU prides itself on winning the turnover battle. Guess what? So does SDSU. The Aztecs love to force turnovers and they do it often.

ASU will face a much more difficult test in SDSU than it did with New Mexico State. The keys to winning, however, seem to be the same that Graham and the coaching staff have been preaching since the start of the fall.

Run the ball. Stop the run. Win the turnover battle.