TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -After opening the season with two easy victories, now comes the hard part for Arizona State.
Waiting.
The 15th-ranked Sun Devils (2-0) face No. 2 Georgia on Sept. 20 in one of their more eagerly anticipated games in recent memory. But first ASU has to take care of lightly regarded UNLV on Saturday night.
"Our players know the schedule," coach Dennis Erickson said Monday at his weekly campus news conference. "But they're also very focused on what they need to get done."
ASU's students aren't quite that focused. They were already looking ahead during ASU's 41-17 victory over Stanford on Saturday night in Sun Devil Stadium, brandishing "Bring on Georgia" placards supplied by a fast food chain.
The stakes will be enormous in that nationally televised game; with a victory, Arizona State would insert itself into the hunt for the first national title in school history.
But Erickson doesn't want his players to think about the Bulldogs. He wants them concentrating on beating the Rebels (1-1), who are coming off a three-touchdown loss to Mountain West Conference rival Utah in Salt Lake City. UNLV's victory came by 10 points against Utah State in Las Vegas.
Aside from the University of Arizona, UNLV is the closest major-college football program to Arizona State at 302 miles. Despite their proximity, the schools have never met.
The Sun Devils have breezed to expected victories over Northern Arizona and Stanford, and they'll be heavily favored to make it three in a row over UNLV. But Erickson said he sees plenty of room for improvement.
One glaring area is ASU's attack deep in opposition territory. ASU failed to gain a yard on its first seven snaps inside Stanford's 5-yard line, twice settling for field goals.
"We've just got a lot of work to do," Erickson said. "We're not near where we need to be to compete in our league. I just don't think we're there yet or close to it."
The Sun Devils have remained relatively healthy through two games. Their most troubling injury concern is senior tailback Keegan Herring, who re-injured his hamstring against Stanford and may not play against UNLV.
"It'll be a day-to-day thing with him," Erickson said.
sammy HAGAR 
