The original version of this article contained an error and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for more information.
In advance of No. 11 UCLA football’s showdown with No. 15 Arizona State Thursday night, the Sun Devils’ student newspaper, The State Press, emailed one of the Daily Bruin’s football beat writers Chris Kalra a few questions on the upcoming game. In goodwill, one of the football reporters of The State Press Evan Webeck returned the favor.
Daily Bruin: With quarterback Taylor Kelly out against UCLA, backup Mike Bercovici, a redshirt junior, will take the reigns. Outside of Tempe, Bercovici is a complete unknown. What kind of a scouting report on Bercovici can you give UCLA fans?
The State Press: The team continues to preach that its offense won’t change without Kelly at quarterback. To an extent, I’m sure that’s the case, but Bercovici does bring a certain set of different skills. He actually was a pocket passer when he arrived at ASU, preparing to back up Brock Osweiler, but once Todd Graham and Mike Norvell arrived and wanted a duel-threat at QB, Bercovici adjusted again and now has respectable speed. As far as a straight comparison to Kelly, I’ll take Kelly’s accuracy, decision making and speed, but Bercovici’s arm strength is actually a little bit better.
DB: Keeping the thread on Bercovici, how much do you think ASU will open the playbook with him, if at all, or should UCLA expect a heavy dose of running back D.J. Foster Thursday night?
SP: If not D.J. Foster, then likely Kalen Ballage or Demario Richard. ASU’s dynamic duo of freshman running backs stole the show in fall practice, and both have seen a decent amount of in-game snaps already. Ballage is a physical monster, and Richard is incredibly polished for a true freshman. Unfortunately for them, they play behind arguably one of the top five running backs in the nation. So yeah, to answer your question, expect a heavy dose of the running game. I don’t think Bercovici passes it more than 25 times.
DB: D.J. Foster has emerged as an outside Heisman candidate, after ranking third in the NCAA in rushing yards through the first three weeks. Critics point to ASU’s competition over its first three games – Weber State, New Mexico and Colorado – as an explanation for Foster’s high stats. What do you think is the verdict: his stats are legitimate, inflated, or somewhere in between?
SP: Foster’s numbers are obviously inflated, based on who he’s played. But they’re likely not as inflated as much of the country thinks. Foster has proven he’s one of the most dynamic players in the nation over the last two years, but he’s never had the opportunity to truly take the reins. This season he’s gotten his chance, and he’s proving he’s ready. UCLA will be his first true test, but from everything I’ve seen, don’t expect Foster to slow down.
DB: Headed into Thursday night, what do you think ASU is preparing for most against UCLA – Brett Hundley at quarterback, UCLA’s run game, Ishmael Adams on special teams, the Bruins’ defense, etc?
SP: “Always prepare for the best one” is Todd Graham’s strategy, so I’d say he’s been preparing for Hundley to play. And if Hundley plays, he’s the guy you have to prepare for. I do think Graham sees a weakness up front for UCLA, and he likes to exploit the opponent’s weakest link, so expect ASU to really try to get after Hundley.
DB: On Monday, ASU coach Todd Graham said he and his team “put a star by” the UCLA game each year. What’s the feel from Tempe on the annual ASU-UCLA game, and how much does a win over UCLA mean to both the fans and the program?
SP: This is clearly a big game for ASU. One nice thing about Graham is that he doesn’t BS about cupcake games like Weber State and New Mexico. A few years ago, the Territorial Cup (against the University of Arizona) would be ASU’s biggest game of the year 100 percent of the time. Last week, though, UCLA was the answer to that question. Students started lining up for tickets on Monday at “Camp Fargo.” The line is more than 100 people long as of Tuesday evening, and growing.
Correction: Bercovici is a redshirt junior.
Bercovici is a redshirt junior.