- Slug: Sports-ASU Monday,620
By REBECCA WINN
Cronkite News
TEMPE – The Sun Devils are coming off of a 42-14 home loss to USC and the mood at the weekly news conference with Arizona State head coach Todd Graham and quarterback Mike Bercovici reflected that.
“We’re disappointed,” Graham said. “The fans are disappointed. Simply put, we need to get it done.”
Graham’s main message, which he shared with the team as well, was that the Sun Devils need to “respond like the teams before them have,” referring to previous years when ASU has been able to bounce back after a devastating loss. He specifically noted that last year’s victory over USC came after a scorching 62-27 loss to UCLA at home.
CAPTAIN’S STATEMENT: Bercovici opened up his portion of the news conference with a “captain’s statement.”
“As the captain of this football team, it is my responsibility to get this team ready along with the a lot of the other senior leaders and leadership position guys, every single week, “Bercovici said.” I think right now the mood is pretty simple and nothing much needs to be said but come Saturday at the Rose Bowl we need to take care of business. The greatest part of being a Sun Devil right now is that we know we have the hardest working coach in the entire country. We can count on Coach Graham to prepare us as football players. Nothing else needs to be said right now except Saturday is a must win.”
“SELF-DESTRUCTING”: “The key for us is 100 percent ball security,” Graham said.
“We can’t beat ourselves by turning the football over. We had four turnovers that resulted in 28 points,” Graham said. “If we take care of the football, it’s a different football game.”
ASU lost three fumbles Saturday night to go along with one interception thrown by Mike Bercovici and Graham said the team “is self-destructing turning the ball over.”
BERCOVICI’S GUARANTEE TO FANS: Bercovici ended the news conference with a message to Arizona State fans.
“The situation was obviously not favorable as a fan, when it looks like that at halftime,” Bercovici said. “At the end of the day, myself and a lot of other people on this team, we love the fans, we really do. Sun Devil Nation has been so good to this team over the last four or five years. Sun Devil Nation is one of a kind. Just being able to hang with us, I promise you this football team will rise to the occasion. Next time we will be in Sun Devil Stadium it will be different.”
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER RECOGNITION: Graham singled out some players who he felt performed well in the loss.
Salamo Fiso: Graham said the linebacker has played exceptionally. He said he is playing at a really high level and his maturity has been impressive and he continues to get better every week. Graham called this past game, in which Fiso had 8 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss and a sack, was his best game ever.
Kalen Ballage: Kalen Ballage carried the ball 9 times for 33 years in his first game back from mononucleosis. Graham said he did a really good job returning from his illness but fatigued quickly. Graham expects him to get even more touches this upcoming week. He also mentioned the fact that Ballage wasn’t able to do much in the week leading up to the game, so he did really well under the circumstances.
Gary Chambers: Wide receiver Gary Chambers had his first 100-yard receiving game, finishing with 5 catches for 103 yards. Graham praised Chambers’ work ethic and ability to work his way up to a starting spot the past two years. Graham said he has improved the past few weeks and it’s critical he continues to improve.