The Herm Edwards train is running on all cylinders, as the surprising Arizona State Sun Devils are 2-0 and cracked the top 25 following last weekend's upset of No. 15 Michigan State.
This Saturday, the Devils will look to keep the train rolling in their first road game of the year when they take on the San Diego State Aztecs. Here are a pair of predictions for that game, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. Arizona time.
ABC15.com sportswriter Shane Dale
It's time to admit we were all wrong: Arizona State is much better than any of us predicted. How much better? That remains to be seen, and we'll learn more in their first road test of the season.
To be clear, this Aztecs team is a bit different from the team that knocked off the Sun Devils in Tempe last year. Rashaad Penny, who rushed for 216 yards against ASU in that meeting, is now in the NFL, and the Aztecs are in flux at the quarterback position, as backup Ryan Agnew is set to start in place of the injured Christian Chapman. The Aztecs did, however, bottle up Stanford running back and potential Heisman candidate Bryce Love two weeks ago, albeit it in a 21-point loss.
San Diego State's weakness on defense is in the secondary, and that will give ASU senior QB Manny Wilkins and wide receiver/beast N'Keal Harry a chance to do a ton of damage. Look for Harry to have himself another huge game and begin to find his way into the Heisman discussion. ASU 34, San Diego State 17
1580 The Fanatic host Eric Cohen
As a UA alum and diehard fan, it pains that ASU is likely to start 3-0. But I have to admit, I believe a heck of a lot more in "The Train" than I did even a month ago. Herm Edwards coached a near perfect 2nd half last week in the 16-13 win over Michigan State, and I expect the Sun Devils to keep rolling against San Diego State.
Manny Wilkins will throw for 250 yards, including two scores to future All-American N'Keal Harry, and Eno Benjamin will rush for 100-plus yards as the Devils improve offensively upon their effort from last week. Also, I don't have a lot of faith in new SDSU QB Ryan Agnew faring well in his first career start against ASU's aggressive defense. ASU 24, San Diego State 13
