Campus Clash
(17) Arizona State Sun Devils at (13) Utah Utes
Arizona State: Once he retired from the NFL, I said to myself for years that Herm Edwards would come back to coaching eventually. I also stated that he’d be great at the college level because some of those kids need a tough guy to come in and tighten things up. The other day, I was asked why Herm has been able to have success right away compared to Lovie Smith at Illinois? Here’s how I put it: When a new coach comes in, it’s almost as if he’s a salesperson and what do salespeople do? They convince you into buying into something. That’s exactly what Herm has done in Tempe with this football program. His players have been convinced by Herm and they’ve bought into his system. The Sun Devils play hard as a team and they play for the coach. Nowadays, you can tell at any level who wants to play for their coach and when they do, they leave everything on the field and give 125 percent. This will be a team that people will be watching for years to come because of the coach and what he’s built up there. He knows there’s still more work to do if they want to win their division. This is one of the younger offenses in the Pac-12 led by quarterback Jayden Daniels. When you watch this kid, he’s always moving around like he’s a joystick. He’s a mobile quarterback that can run the bootlegs and quarterback sneak, he moves the pocket well and shows his awareness to move up and away from pressure to make a pass. He’s young and his game will continue to develop with time. As an offense, they average 25 points per contest. Defensively, they’re one of the better units in the conference giving up only 17 per game. They’re even better when it comes to stopping the run. When you can take away what a team likes to do and make them one-dimensional, you’ve done your part. On Saturday, they’ll face a very good Utah team in Salt Lake City.
Utah: Say whatever you want about them, this is by far the best team in the Pac-12 South. I said during the summer when I previewed divisions the same thing and when I previewed their first game against BYU in August, I made it clear again. They’re a quick unit offensively that’s fun to watch. Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig promised a return to Utah’s traditional, run-oriented scheme. That has proved true, yet he also has mixed in some creative elements in the running game and improved quarterback Tyler Huntley’s passing ability. When you want to establish the running game, you need to be able to lean on someone and they have that guy in Zack Moss, probably the best running back in the Pac-12 today. However, this offense will click and spark as much as Tyler Huntley goes. This year, I’ve seen him develop and lean more on his passing attack then just moving around with his feet. If you want to keep a defense guessing, that’s how you do it. His improvement has shown in his stats this year. Tyler has thrown for 1,393 yards passing and nine touchdowns without a single interception thrown so that right there shows you he takes tremendous care of the football. As a defense, this is the group to watch. They only give up 13 points per game and when it comes to shutting down the run, nobody does it better than the Utes in the Pac-12 as they give up 52 yards per game. After the bye week, they came back to handle business against the Oregon State Beavers winning big, 52-7. Coach Kyle Whittingham said that as the season goes on, the difficulties get more challenging and he’s right. On Saturday, this will be a big game for them as a team who’s given them difficulties comes to town.
ASU Player to Watch: Eno Benjamin– He’s the shiftiest running back in the Pac-12. With Utah so good at shutting down the run, I’d find other ways to get him the ball. I’d attack with a short passing game. Get him in space on a linebacker or a safety.
Utah Player to Watch: Bryan Thompson– With Zack Moss commanding so much attention, this gives Bryan more freedom on the outside. He’s a tall receiver standing at 6’2 with the ability to leap and get the ball in midair and has great breakaway speed to shift into the open field.
Final Analysis: Both these teams are in a tie for first place in the Pac-12 South. Both teams can push the football up the field and score so expect some points in this one. The team who shuts down the others rushing attack will come out on top. For the Sun Devils, make Huntley a pocket passer. He can extend plays with his feet. If I’m Utah, my pass rush needs to be on from the get-go.
Prediction: Utah 41 ASU 27
