BLOG: Give Arizona State University football a 'brake'

Here in the executive offices of Calvisi Consulting, might we suggest a temporary rebranding of ASU football? 

And no, this doesn’t involve another logo change (uh, Paulie Pitchfork isn’t funded by Nike with a swoosh-sized budget). 

Truth be told, we’re not interested in evolving the logo or advancing the nickname at all. Instead, with the Sun Devils currently skidding thru a 3-game power slide of a losing streak, perhaps it’s time to change ASU to ABS. 

Translation: Apply the brakes! 

Effective immediately, every Sun Devil should take his game cleats to the equipment manager to have an anti-lock braking system installed. (Hey, if the soles of early Nike running shoes were fabricated in a waffle iron somewhere in Eugene, I’m sure we can get the ASU engineering department to rig something up, right?) 

Of course, the letters ABS are really all about another letter – W. 

“I just want to get these W’s. I don’t even care about my own stats,” Will Sutton said in his first statements since suffering the bone bruise on the first snap against Oregon. “I just want W’s. I don’t like losing."

Now, what ABS fans, err, ASU fans also like to hear is that Sutton projects he’ll be 100 percent against USC on Saturday.   

“Best Wednesday practice we've had," Todd Graham declared, perhaps buoyed by the return of his dominant defensive tackle. 

And, as we know, Graham has spent considerable time fielding questions about whether this losing streak compares to the season-ending slide last year that cost Dennis Erickson his head coaching headset.    

Except this time, the first year ASU head coach didn’t have to answer the question. The other 9-0 in town (aka, Darnell Dockett) did it for him.   

“Last year we probably just gave up and just went out here lackadaisical, but there’s more of a fight with this team now,” Sutton said. “We’re out here practicing harder than ever. So, yeah, I’d have to say there is a difference (compared to last year).”