ASU Football: Edwards era opens in dominant fashion against UTSA

The hiring of Herm Edwards promised a change in the culture of ASU football. On Saturday, these adjustments were clear from the first snap.

Nine months ago, Edwards stepped to the podium for the first time as the Arizona State football coach, determined to revitalize the program and re-energize a fan base that sorely needed it.

In his first game as head coach, Edwards’ infectious charisma was personified by his team in a convincing 49-7 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

For some players it takes a series or two to ease into the flow of a game, but the chemistry between and quarterback Manny Wilkins and wide receiver N’Keal Harry was evident from the start.

Harry found himself on the receiving end of two pinpoint passes from Wilkins on the game’s opening drive, one for 21 yards and second for a 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

In the final minutes of the third quarter, Harry was at it again as the star wideout made a pair of Roadrunners miss on the left side line, flipped the field to the right sideline and scampered into the end zone for his second score of the evening.

“I was just trying to make a play,” Harry said regarding the video game-esque play. “That’s something that comes really naturally to me.”

Harry and the offense dominated the Roadrunners from start to finish, with nine different Sun Devils catching passes from Wilkins.

For Wilkins, the redshirt senior was sublime with three touchdown passes for 183 yards in the first half and finished with 237 passing yards while adding another score after halftime.

Following Harry’s touchdown grab, it was ASU’s defense that stole the spotlight as defensive end Shannon Forman jumped in front of UTSA quarterback Cordale Grundy’s second attempt and took it to the end zone for an early 14-point lead.

Forman’s interception set an aggressive tone for an ASU defense that was unrelenting for much of the evening.

The fast paced, smash-mouth mentality of the unit was something new defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales preached from the day he joined Edwards’ staff.

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“We did our job,” cornerback Chase Lucas said. “Everything that coach Gonzales and coach Herm said worked.”

After the quick touchdown on their first drive of the ballgame, it was the defense that maintained the two-score lead for the Sun Devils as Gonzales’ unit forced UTSA to punt on three straight possessions.

Ohio State transfer Darius Slade then followed up on the Sun Devils’ three straight stops by giving ASU the ball right back on a strip sack as the forced turnover gave the Sun Devil offense a new found sense of momentum.

In fact, ASU’s defense finished the game with nine sacks.

Even with a strong passing attack, the key to the sustained offensive success that ASU had on the night came from a running attack that was headlined by first-year starter Eno Benjamin.

Benjamin on the night was spectacular as the sophomore displayed excellent vision and explosiveness throughout the night.

As the leader of the Sun Devil rushing attack, Benjamin finished his night with 131 rushing yards on only 16 carries as redshirt sophomore Isaiah Floyd saw more action in the backfield as the night went on.

Floyd finished his night averaging 8.8 yards per carry for 79 yards and a touchdown.

“I was impressed with him when I saw him at San Francisco City College,” Edwards said regarding Floyd. “He didn’t surprise me at all.”

Without any points to show for on the night, UTSA struggled to find any groove as the Roadrunners could not settle on one quarterback.

Although Cordale Grundy started the game for UTSA, the junior college transfer was quickly replaced by D.J Gillins in the second quarter as the two quarterbacks split reps for the rest of the game.

ASU may have dominated the game from start to finish, but Edwards was not totally impressed.

“There’s still some work to be done,” Edwards said. “(We got) a win not playing very well, playing sloppy.”

The Sun Devils were sloppy indeed as ASU committed 11 penalties for 95 yards by the end of the night. In contrast, Edwards’ 2004 Jets had the second fewest penalties on offense committed in the NFL.

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Regardless, a win is a win. And for Herm Edwards and his team, a blow out win is exactly what the Sun Devils need heading into next week against the No. 11 team in the country in Michigan State.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.

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