ASU Football: Previewing 2018 non-conference opponents
By Koki Riley
Herm Edwards heads into his first season in charge of ASU football with an interesting mix of challenges to start off the 2018 season.
After going 1-2 in non-conference regular season play in 2017, Herm Edwards and the Sun Devils look to get off to a better start in 2018 when they kick the season off with non-Pac-12 foes UTSA, Michigan State and San Diego State.
ASU starts the new year off with back-to-back home games against the Roadrunners and the Spartans before hitting the road to face off against the Aztecs for the second straight season.
For the 2018 season, Ray Anderson did not give the Sun Devils a cupcake non-conference schedule as two of the three non-Pac-12 opponents that ASU will be playing this year were ranked at some point during 2017.
UTSA may be looked down upon as a small team in a weak conference, but the Roadrunners still had a winning record a season ago and reached a bowl game in 2016 for the first time in school history.
Michigan State are returning 19 starters from a 10-3 squad that played in one of the two to three toughest conferences in college football.
San Diego State came in to Tempe and beat the Sun Devils a season ago and will look to do the same this season with a returning starting quarterback and home-field advantage.
The Sun Devils non-conference slate may not count toward their conference record, but it will still be critical for ASU to start off the season on the right foot before they head to Washington to face off against the Huskies in the first week of Pac-12 play.