Devil of a time for UW

The Arizona State football team hasn't beaten anyone this year.

Actually, the Sun Devils (1-2 Pac-10, 4-2 overall) haven't beaten a team with a winning record, but those two things might be synonymous.

Whether ASU is for real or not this year will ultimately be on the line tomorrow when it takes on No. 11 Washington (3-1, 5-1). Over the next five games, the Sun Devils face four top-15 teams. They need two more wins to become bowl eligible.

"Their non-conference schedule was not real taxing," said Husky coach Rick Neuheisel. "So they were able to gain some confidence."

The question remains: what means more -- convincing wins against San Diego State, San Jose State and Louisiana-Lafayette or 23-plus point losses to both USC and Stanford.

On paper, the Huskies look like a prime victim for ASU's charge to the postseason. The Huskies have given up at least 199 yards on the ground in each of the past two weeks. UCLA's DeShaun Foster and Arizona's Clarence Farmer were the prime benefactors of a run defense that has been inconsistent at best.

"I'm pretty sure especially after the last two weeks ... that Arizona will come out with the running attack," said senior linebacker Sam Blanche. "They will look at the tape and say that they can run on us. Our goal is to go out and stop it. Pure point blank, there's no other way of looking at it."

Leading the charge for Arizona State will be senior tailback Delvon Flowers, who is averaging over 90 yards per game, including a career-high 226-yard performance last week in the Sun Devil's 41-24 victory over Oregon State.

On top of Flowers, ASU boasts the most experienced and one of the best offensive lines in the conference. The front five starters on offense include four seniors.

The Sun Devils are by no means one-dimensional on offense, however. Jeff Krohn is the highest rated signal caller in a conference full of highly touted quarterbacks.

He has thrown four touchdown passes in three games already this year. A year ago, when the Huskies escaped Tempe, Ariz., with a 21-15 ugly win that featured five UW fumbles lost, Krohn was limited with an injury and split time behind center. The Sun Devils relied on a big-play offense that saw them repeatedly throwing the ball downfield, shooting for the home run to get going. The ASU quarterbacks combined to throw just 15-for-46 as the Husky secondary did its job.

Once again this week the UW cornerbacks will be tested deep by the Pac-10's second-best scoring offense.

"That's part of their game plan, going down the field," said senior cornerback Omare Lowe. "We've been pretty good on that the last couple years. Every now and then they'll get a ball, but if they throw 10 balls downfield and complete two of them, that's good for us."

The Huskies may have one advantage in seeing into the mind of ASU's sophomore quarterback. UW graduate John Pettas was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at ASU a year ago before the staff was fired and he joined the Huskies as receivers coach.

"He knows Krohn very well," Neuheisel said.

On the offensive side, the Huskies will benefit from more depth at quarterback, as Cody Pickett continues to heal, and Taylor returned to form this week, after sitting out a week ago with a foot injury.

The young Husky offensive line will try to take another step after an improved performance against Arizona. The O-line's toughest job may be containing sophomore defensive End Terrell Suggs, last year's Pac-10 freshman of the year.

Suggs has been a monster again this year with a conference-leading nine sacks and 16 total tackles for loss. As if that weren't enough, he has already caused four fumbles.

Neuheisel emphasized this week, once again, a need to get the UW ground game going again. He said he anticipates senior tailback Willie Hurst will be 100 percent by Saturday after suffering a contusion against Arizona.

Gilbertson undergoes test

Offensive coordinator Keith Gilbertson was not at practice because he underwent an angiogram Wednesday after complaining of chest pains following last Saturday's win over Arizona. The test was negative, and Neuheisel anticipates he will rejoin the team today after some time to rest.