From: kennedy@asuvax.eas.asu.edu (Ralph Kennedy)
Subject: Frank Kush recalls ASU days, UA Rivalry
Keywords: The Game
Organization: Arizona State Univ, Tempe
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 18:18:20 GMT


[ The following article appeared in the Arizona Republic
  on Thursday, Nov. 19.  It is written by Bob Jacobsen. ]

     Former Arizona football coach Jim
LaRue was speaking at a coaching 
clinic in Flagstaff in the spring of 
1965 when he spotted Frank Kush, then the
coach at Arizona State, in the audience.

     "I see Coach Kush out there," La Rue
said.  "Coach, I just want to tell you, you
make my job *so* much easier."

     LaRue's Wildcats clobbered ASU, 30-6,
in the fall of '64, and LaRue had a personal
record of 4-2 against the Sun Devils.

     "I thought, 'You SOB, talk now because
you'll never beat me again,'" Kush relates.

     Well, Frank was wrong, as UA beat him
again, 10-0, ten years later in 1974.  But
that, friends, was Kush's lone loss to UA,
covering five Wildcats head coaches, in his
last 14 tries.

     Why this mastery over Arizona?  Let
Kush tell it.

     "From the standpoint of everything, and
that includes politics, recruiting, your
players' and coaches' self-esteem, this is the
most important football game you play all 
year," he said.  "You've got to hate the son
of a bucks."

     Kush's dislike for UA, and you must
know he called Wildcats Coach Dick
Tomey to congratulate him for UA's win
over Washington, stems from the old days.
The glory years of the late 1950s, when
Arizona State College at Tempe was trying
to become Arizona State University.

     "You became aware of the bitterness real
quick," he said.  "It seemed Arizona was
tring to stop our becoming a
university...It was dramatic, not only
athletically, but politically."

Rivalry escalates
-----------------

     ASC did become ASU, and the rivalry
grew more intense.

     "I had come from rivalries before," Kush
said.  "Windber (Pa., High) vs. Johnstown
(Pa.), Michigan State vs. Michigan and
Notre Dame.  But I became indoctrinated in
this one real early."

     Kush's preparation for UA always was
different.  If the media hype was too great,
he toned down practices.  If it wasn't
enough, well, ask any former Sun Devil who
played for Kush what that week was like.

     "The intensity for this week all comes
from the head coach," Kush said.  "He has
to instill what you need.  The one thing you
need to watch for is overpreparation -- that
can hurt you."

     More than once Kush had someone blast
the UA fight song into ASU's practices.

     "Playing in Tucson is tough," he said.
"They always seemed to play the fight song
when we were audibilizing down there, and
our kids kept their headgear on because UA
fans were throwing cards (from the card
section) down on us."

     Kush's biggest win over UA, and biggest
disappointment, occurred 11 years apart.

     "In 1964, we went down there and got
our butts kicked.  I think we had over 500
yards of total offense, but couldn't score.
The toughest games to prepare for
psychologically are when you're favored,
and we were favored."

     Then there was 1975, when the Devils
were 10-0 and the Cats 9-1.

     "That game helped put us on a different
level because it set us up for a game (the
Fiesta Bowl win over Nebraska) that put
ASU on the map."

Recruiting became easier
------------------------

     Kush says after ASU won a few in the
late 1950s, recruiting became easier.

     "First, you have to sell the high school
coaches around the state, and winning
makes that easier," he said.  "A kid wants to
go where there's success, he wants to be a
part of it.

     "When we first got here, a lot of local
kids were going to UA.  But I think we 
changed that dramatically."

     Can the six-point underdog Devils beat
Arizona in Tucson on Saturday?

     "Yes, because their quarterback (Grady
Benton) is mobile, a scrambler and reads
defenses," Kush said.  "The Arizona
secondary is outstanding, very quick.  But
the key will be the quarterbacks, and ASU
has the edge.  UA better contain this kid,
because he can do a lot of things with the
ball.

     "Defensively, ASU can hurt Arizona
with its stunting and the blitz.  ASU has to
stop the run, not turn the ball over, and not
have any mental breakdowns, like penalties.       <--- Uh oh.  -rk

     "You have to go into a game like this a
little scared of your opponent, in fear of
him.  This should be an outstanding game,
and very close."

                           -- Bob Jacobsen, Az. Republic

--Ralph Kennedy      {ames,gatech,husc6,rutgers}!ncar!noao!asuvax!kennedy
                        {allegra,decvax,ihnp4,oddjob}--^
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