ASU Football: Sun Devils look to improve for Michigan State game

ASU football got off to a strong start with a 49-7 win over UTSA, but a Week 2 meeting with No. 11 Michigan State looms for the Sun Devils.

A lot of things went right on Saturday night for the Sun Devils. The defense allowed just two yards rushing and forced three turnovers. Manny Wilkins and company got the job done on offense totaling over 500 yards of total offense.

Head coach Herm Edwards’ phone blew up after a big first win to commence his tenure at Arizona State with messages from all kinds of people. He even complimented how well the student section and the rest of the fans showed out.

But despite the early success, Edwards knows his team has an important week of preparation ahead with a perennial program like Michigan State looking to come into Tempe and derail the ASU football train.

“There’s still a lot of things we have to do to improve,” head coach Herm Edwards said. “But it’s always good to coach players after you won a game than trying to improve things from the other side of it.”

Now that the Sun Devils are 1-0, success is going to measured under a microscope every step of the way from here on out this season.

“We won a football game, that’s fantastic,” Edwards said. “But now we’ve got to try and win another one against a really, really good football team. This will be a good test for us.”

The margin of improvement for a team can be enormous between Week 1 and Week 2 of the college football season. However, ASU is taking a giant leap from a Conference USA opponent to a top team in the Big Ten.

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“They’re Michigan State,” Edwards said. “They have a brand of how they’re going to play and they’re not going to change that. And that’s why they are so consistent with winning a lot of games.”

There are still a lot of questions about the youth and inexperience on the ASU roster. MSU is a team that comes in with experience in big moments under long-time head coach Mark Dantonio.

“This team (MSU) is used to the spotlight,” Edwards said. “That’s normal to them. They have an air about themselves that when they get off the bus, regardless of at home or on the road, there’s a standard that they’re going to play to and they’ve done it.”

Edwards simply wants his guys to not let the moment faze them and just play against the 11th-ranked team in the nation.

Spartans starting quarterback Brian Lewerke comes home when his team takes on ASU. Lewerke attended Pinnacle High School in Phoenix.

“He’s a quarterback that’s in full control of the offense,” Edwards said. “He can make some plays with his legs now, and he’ll get out away from it and make plays.”

On a positive note for ASU, senior linebacker Jay Jay Wilson is set to return this week according to Edwards. Wilson missed three weeks of practice and the season opener against UTSA after a violation of team rules that was not disclosed by the program.

Wilson will add major depth to the linebacker rotation in defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales’ 3-3-5 scheme next Saturday.

“He has a veteran presence,” Edwards said of Wilson. “The guys respect him. And he’s a tough football player.”

ASU ran the ball very effectively against UTSA, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Establishing the run game again is going to be essential for the Sun Devils against a top-ranked defense like MSU.

“Our rule is: Throw to score and run to win,” Edwards said.

Now that the dust is settling after the first game of the season, the Sun Devils are right back to work for their first primetime match-up of 2018. Edwards message to his team this week is “stay humble and be hungry”.

dark. Next. ASU Football: Herm Edwards critical of UTSA performance

Other Notes

ASU offensive lineman Zach Robertson is questionable with a left knee injury.
Running back Trelon Smith will not suit up against MSU, noted as a “coach’s decision”.

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

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