(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
A season ago, Arizona State (3-0) was tabbed with a national ranking following its 16-13 victory over Michigan State. The ensuing week, head coach Herm Edwards and the then No. 23 Sun Devils traveled to San Diego State where ASU received its first loss of the season, falling 28-21 to the Aztecs.
“Last year we were in a similar spot. We had some success, and then we got our nose punched in,” Edwards said Monday afternoon during his weekly press conference.
Edwards preached the importance of focus for the Sun Devils entering Saturday’s matchup with Colorado after the Devils entered the national polls at No. 24 following a 10-7 win over Michigan State on Saturday.
“All the warning signs are there. I’m going to talk about it all week, and then we’re going to go out to the ball yard and find out,” Edwards said. “[The ranking] is really good, but it doesn’t do anything for you. It doesn’t help you win games.”
All Saturday afternoon, the Sun Devils defense kept ASU in the game, holding its opponent to seven points for the third consecutive week. Despite that performance on the road against a ranked opponent, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales told reporters after the game that he thought there was still room for improvement.
“I was disappointed we gave up seven points today,” Gonzales said following the win. “I think we should have shut this team out.”
That mentality expressed by both Gonzales and Edwards is indicative of what the program wants to become. In year two of the Edwards era, the Sun Devils have erased the soft identity which often surrounded former head coach Todd Graham’s teams. In nine of 16 games since his arrival in Tempe, Gonzales’s defense has held opposing offenses to fewer than 30 points.
In the Sun Devils’s matchup with Colorado last year in Boulder, ASU was given fits by Colorado wide receiver Laviska Shenault who Edwards praised heavily. Shenault provided all of the Buffaloes offensive production in Colorado’s 28-21 win over Arizona State last October, scoring four touchdowns to down the Devils.
“Shenault is probably one of the best players in the Pac-12,” Edwards said, “maybe one of the best players in the country.”
Edwards said despite freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Sun Devil offense’s inability to consistently string together drives, the composure of Daniels should allow for ASU to see improvement as the year progresses. The Sun Devils’s freshman quarterback has accounted for 728 yards passing, three touchdowns, and no interceptions through the first three games.
The Pac-12 Conference announced Daniels as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week and Jermayne Lole was named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week, following their performances against Michigan State.
With room for improvement on both sides of the ball, Edwards said he hopes this Sun Devil squad remains focused following a momentum-shifting win.
“I think sometimes players don’t realize when you have opportunities like that. They don’t come along often,” Edwards said. “We’re rolling, and we’re not even playing good yet on offense. [Focus] is going to be mentioned this week not only by the players but also from this guy sitting here.
“Hopefully they listen because last year it just went to deaf ears.”
Arizona State welcomes Colorado to Tempe Saturday night with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
