The previous four weeks for the Arizona State Sun Devils have felt like a scene stuck on repeat.
Fall behind on the first drive of the game and spend the rest of the game playing from behind just to fall short in the end.
The scene was more of the same against Oregon State as the Sun Devils fell 35-34 on a failed two-point conversion with just over a minute left to lose their fourth straight game.
During his weekly press conference, head coach Herm Edwards did not hold back on how he felt about the losing streak.
“It’s been disappointing these last four to be quite honest,” Edwards admitted. “For me, for my coaching staff, and the fact that we’ve had some opportunities and we haven’t cashed in. That’s disappointing. It’s been a disappointing season thus far for me personally.”
While the season has been a disappointment for many around the program including Edwards himself, the head coach discussed the potential of still making a bowl game and the benefits that would come with it for his young team.
Edwards also discussed touched base on his team’s attitude moving forward and the challenges that they will face this week against No. 6 Oregon.
Edwards still confident in the decision to go for two
After falling short during the two-point conversion against Oregon State to take the lead, Edwards defended his decision with his plain and simple philosophy.
He was playing to win the game, not tie it.
“I wasn’t trying to tie a football game,” Edwards stated. “We went on an 11-play drive. I felt like we had the momentum of the game going. I looked at it, it was very simple to me. We had gone 90 yards for a touchdown. We can’t make 2 yards? Really? We can’t make two yards? We had just gone 90 to score.”
The main backlash following the decision came from two different directions. The first was the play call ASU used, and the second being the decision to go for two altogether.
Edwards used a toss play to Benjamin during the attempt as he was immediately swallowed up behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a prayer up in an attempt to pick up the conversion.
For Edwards, the run by Eno was one of two options the Sun Devils could have used to pick up the two points and the lead.
“There are numerous plays you can run,” Edwards admitted. “I do know this, there are two ways you’ve got to view it. Either you’re going to take the quarterback and use him to come on the perimeter to give him an option to run or throw, or you’re going to give the ball to Eno. Those are your two options. Those are your two best players.”
The decision in itself to go for it was one that came easy for Edwards given the momentum of the team after the 90-yard drive.
After losing three straight games heading into the matchup, Edwards wanted to push his young team to take the lead and put the pressure on Oregon State.
“When you make it, you put them into a position where they have about a minute forty (seconds) left and two timeouts,” Edwards said. “Their kicker hadn’t been kicking well. If you look at the last three series of defense, we stopped them actually three times. I wanted to put the pressure on them. I’m not playing to tie.”
Edwards becoming concerned with the example that older players and starters are setting
It only takes a few weeks for the trajectory of a college football season to flip on its head, for better or worse. Just ask ASU, who almost exactly one month ago was sitting at 5-1 overall, ranked 17 in the country and getting ready to play a game at No. 13 Utah that was thought to be pivotal in the Pac-12 South race.
Now, the Sun Devils will face their toughest opponent all season this Saturday when they host Oregon and will enter the game as a 5-5 team as a result of their four-game skid. As to be expected from student-athletes when a season takes such a nosedive, the attitude of many players, young and older, have come into question.
“It was a little disappointing, some of them were older guys,” Edwards commented in regards to guys he had to bench at the start of the last game for being late. “I’m not a ‘rule’ guy, I’m a ‘standard’ type of person, and the one thing that I’ve always said, and the number one thing you better understand you have to be on time for everything.
“So, discipline needs to be handed out, and I think when you have a young team with so many young guys, they got to understand that, that’s real important. If it’s not, what are the consequences? So, you got to do something, and so now they see these are the consequences, coach will actually not play you. Yeah, that’s right, and I don’t care who you are, it doesn’t matter.”
Was the Utah game this team’s Rose Bowl? Did the HBO series get into the players' heads just a little too much? Or maybe the wear and tear of a college football season are simply just starting to catch up to guys getting their first consistent reps at this level in 2019?
It’s hard to categorize any of those as myths or truths at the moment, but whatever the case may be, Edwards will clearly be damned if his players don’t understand the importance of being on-time, not just in football but in life, even if they get nothing else out of playing for him at ASU.
“All these freshmen looking at those guys and going ‘oh, well I can be late, because I’m a starter.’ No you can’t, you’ll go to the bench,” Edwards said. “We’re trying to grow these young guys into men, and the first thing you better do in life is always be on time for everything you do.
“Because when you’re not on time, to me, something’s more important. Well, it can’t be more important because this is what you chose to do, you’re a student-athlete.”
Inconsistency of the secondary partially to blame on team’s poor pass-rush
Although the defense’s performance over this losing streak has been far from the Sun Devils biggest liability, it certainly hasn’t helped to allow at least 31 points in each of the past three games.
On the surface, it seems like issues with consistency in the secondary for guys like junior cornerbacks Jack Jones and Chase Lucas played a big role, at least last week, in the unit’s poor performance.
As a 10-year starter in the NFL at defensive back himself, this is a sentiment that Edwards does not shy away from.
“We’re not lacking on talent, dirty eyes (have been an issue),” Edwards explained. “Then you start guessing because you want to make a play, they got you, now they got you going both ways. We knew they were going to run double moves, we ran double moves all this week. We knew the formation, we knew when it was coming, we practiced on it...I’m hollering it out before they even ran a route...and they did it, and we didn’t cover it very well.
“Second half, we were better, we slowed it down. But if our corners can’t play good, then we’re going to give up big plays, and that’s anybody’s corners.”
While the secondary’s performance wasn’t up to par last Saturday, a lot of this could be attributed to guys playing in new positions. Senior Kobe Williams moved to play safety as a result of injuries to redshirt freshman Cam Phillips and true freshman Willie Harts, plus true freshman Kejuan Markham seemed to gain favor over sophomore Aashari Crosswell ahead of last week’s contest.
Another factor that too often gets overlooked in the performance of defensive backs is what kind of pass-rush they are playing with. Given ASU’s lack of a consistent pass-rush all season, this is certainly something to consider, as Edwards explained in more detail.
“There lies the problem, you mentioned it,” Edwards began explaining to a reporter. “If you’ve got to rush five guys, six guys to get a rush, you can’t play zone defense, you’ve got to play man defense. So, all those things kind of mingle together, and that’s why when you’re a little lacking in certain areas, you’re going to get exposed.
“A great rush always helps the secondary, you see it with anybody who’s got a great rush...I’ve played on some teams with a great rush when I was in Philly, and I’m (counting) ‘one-thousand one, one-thousand two, ball’s out,’ because if they waited until three it was a sack.”
ASU looking ahead to primetime matchup with Oregon
For ASU’s game against No. 6 Oregon on Saturday, ESPN is sending its primetime crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Maria Taylor. It’s not College Gameday, but it’s a bright national spotlight on Edwards’ young program.
“Now we have Oregon coming in here, so they’ll be excited about playing them,” Edwards said.
Perhaps it would have been more well-received if it came a month-and-a-half ago, before the four-game tailspin. But it still gives ASU the same platform to showcase to the country what it’s building.
ASU isn’t making the College Football Playoff. Or the Rose Bowl. But Oregon might, and a good showing against the Ducks could go a long way in terms of 1.) National respect, 2.) Momentum moving forward, 3.) Hope for the future.
The last month has seen ASU fans grab their pitchforks and torches and demand answers -- and rightly so. About the slow starts. About questionable play calls. About the team’s discipline.
Saturday has the opportunity to appease many of those fans, and not just because they don’t have to bootleg Pac-12 Networks to watch. If the Sun Devils answer some of their pressing questions against the 6th-ranked Ducks, it may serve as validation that things are moving in the right direction.
“You’re playing one of the better teams in the country. They’re trying to present themselves as one of the teams that are selected to the (Playoff),” Edwards said. “I think our guys are well aware of who we’re playing and what they bring.”
Heck, they don’t even need to win -- no one is expecting them to. But, on national television, with the way the last four games have played out, a rout at the hands of Oregon could lead to widespread apathy ahead of the Territorial Cup.
Brandon Aiyuk impressing despite team’s struggles
On Monday afternoon, ASU wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was named the Pac-12’s Special Teams Player of the Week after housing a punt return 63 yards against Oregon State. It was the highlight of a game that also saw the senior catch 10 passes for 173 yards and a score.
Aiyuk has been a phenomenal return man for the Sun Devils this season, granting the Sun Devils their first return threat since, well, N’Keal Harry last season. And as a receiver, he’s looked like Harry a lot more than most expected.
Taking over for the now-New England Patriot, Aiyuk has reeled in 53 passes for 964 yards and seven touchdowns. Where he’s drawn the most comparisons to Harry is when he catches the ball, the pair both with incredible ability to make magic after the catch.
On the season, according to Pro Football Focus, Aiyuk has nearly 600 yards after the catch, which means that almost two-thirds of his yardage is a product of his speed and elusiveness.
“He’s a fabulous player with the ball in his hands. We know that,” Edwards said. “When he gets the ball in his hands, whether it’s kickoffs, punts -- in space, he can make people miss.”
Coming from Sierra College, Aiyuk took some time transitioning into college football. At first, playing second-fiddle to Harry, he didn’t see much action. This season, though, he’s elevated his game to a place where most believe an NFL team will call his name on Day 2 of the draft.
It’s been a transition of Aiyuk building his tremendous skills in practice, Edwards said.
“I think middle of the way last year, you saw him understand what it took to play at this level coming from JC,” Edwards said. “I think the way he’s practiced the last month, he’s figured out, ‘I have to practice at a certain level if I’m going to play well in games.’ That maturity now is sinking in.”
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