ASU Football: Previewing 2018 non-conference opponents
By Koki Riley
Arizona State vs. UTSA – Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. PT on FS1
Herm Edwards first game as a collegiate head coach will be at home against a UTSA team that last season produced a 6-5 record and had defensive end Marcus Davenport selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Despite the winning record the Roadrunners failed to secure a bowl game spot after appearing in a bowl game for the first time in school history the previous season.
UTSA enters the 2018 season with a new starting quarterback in Bryce Rivers.
Rivers will be replacing Dalton Sturm who in his final season with the Roadrunners owned a rock solid 15 to five touchdown to interception ratio to go along with a 62.3 completion percentage.
Nothing will come easy for the Roadrunners on offense this season as UTSA will also be losing three starting spots on their offensive line.
The Conference USA side was already offensively challenged in 2017 after averaging only 23.5 points per contest, so expect the Roadrunners to struggle to score points in Tempe on September 1st.
On the flip side of the ball, UTSA was impressive a season ago by holding opponents to just 17 points per game, a mark that finished eighth in the country.
The departure of Marcus Davenport to the NFL will certainly hurt the Roadrunners and even with the loss of Davenport, UTSA still lost four of their top six tacklers from a season ago.
With that said, head coach Frank Wilson still coached a group that last season finished fifth in the nation in total defense.
Out of the three non-conference opponents that the Sun Devils will face off against this season, it is safe to say that UTSA will be the weakest of the three opponents.
Herm Edwards’ side should not be surprised if this Roadrunners team gives the Sun Devils a formidable challenge in week one of the season.