Sun Devils in control of own destiny
Arizona State has spent most of the season trying to prove itself under new coach Herm Edwards, whose hire was questioned by some because of his lack of experience coaching at the college level.
But the Sun Devils have risen from being picked to finish last in the Pac-12 South to being in control of their own destiny in the balanced division with three games remaining.
When a favorite, ASU has not always stepped up to that challenge.
The last time ASU won consecutive games occurred when the Sun Devils beat then-No. 15 Michigan State in Tempe two months ago. ASU followed that with an upset loss at San Diego State and then another loss in Seattle to a Washington team that is not as strong as the last couple of years.
Arizona State (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12) has now put itself in the best position in the Pac-12 South with consecutive wins over USC and Utah. UCLA, which has struggled under first-year coach Chip Kelly, visits Tempe on Saturday.
“They’ve gone through when they’ve won too early, everybody telling them they were this and that. Obviously they didn’t handle it very well,” Edwards said Monday during his press conference. “So, in life you don’t get a lot of opportunities. Now this opportunity presents itself again. We’ve won two, and I made light of it but I said it after the game (against Utah) was over in the locker room.
“I said, ‘Hey, OK, big deal. Never won three, can we do that? Let’s see.’ It was kind of a challenge, win three in a row, we haven’t done it yet so I don’t know what we’re all excited about.”
The game against UCLA (2-7, 2-4) figures to be emotional with it being the last game at Sun Devil Stadium for the seniors and probably junior receiver N’Keal Harry, a likely future star in the NFL. Harry was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after catching nine passes for 161 yards with three touchdowns in the pivotal win over Utah last week.
If the Sun Devils beat the Bruins and win on the road against Oregon and Arizona to conclude the regular season, they are the Pac-12 South champs and will play the North champion in the conference title game.
“Our focus is on this week and only this week,” Edwards said, trying to deflect attention from the conference race. “I’ve always coached that way. I don’t get involved in all that other stuff.”