Herm Edwards Speaks About Bye Week, Washington State Matchup
While the internal temperature surrounding Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Herm Edwards is high, there is also significant public pressure on Edwards and the rest of the staff to make something of this season.
Two losses where Arizona State truly beat themselves doesn't help the cause, although the Sun Devils now find themselves very much in the thick of the race for the Pac-12 South title with just five games left on the schedule.
Following ASU's bye week, the team plays host to a Washington State squad coming off a narrow 21-19 loss to BYU.
In his Monday press conference, Edwards spoke about where Arizona State was following their off week:
"We had a lot to do obviously. I think it’s always good to get a bye to really reflect on the things you need to work on offensively, defensively, and special teams. I think we addressed all those situations. Coaches did a good job of really capitalizing on things we need to improve on for the next five games of the season. I think the players had a good mindset when they came back Sunday. They were well aware of our situation, being a 5-2 football team.
"Basically, when you look at the South and the North, I said it earlier in the season, before the season, that no one’s going to be undefeated in conference play and that holds true again this year. No one’s undefeated, everyone has a loss, it’s kind of interesting and I think going forward when you look at both sides of it whether it’s the South or the North, there’s three or four teams that when you look at the conference schedule, have a shot. That’s what makes it so interesting in Pac-12 play, that everyone has an outside shot If you won some games, and we happen to be one of those teams. So, I think that’s the exciting part and now there’s a lot of work to be done."
Edwards then went into detail on the Cougars ahead of their matchup on Saturday.
"We play a good Washington State football team," Edwards said. "They went through a little bit of a situation last week with their coach, the staff that was a part of that staff had been let go, the assistant coaches that were on that staff took over and did a fabulous job along with the players. (They're) really playing good football and they’re a 4-4 football team and have a lot of experience on both sides of the ball.
"They have a big powerful offensive line, a strong-armed quarterback, they have two really good runners, they have great contact balance, the wide receivers are nifty, and they have some length outside. Defensively, they’re very active with what they do. They have an outstanding secondary that plays a lot of man-to-man coverage, linebackers that run from sideline to sideline. They’re a very much improved defense, don’t give up a lot of points averaging about 25 points a game I believe it is. They get after the quarterback, they do a lot of good things, and this is a game where obviously both teams need (a win).
"You gotta keep winning in the Pac-12 because you’re running out of time and you’re running out of games. We know we have five games left and this is an important game for us as well as for them.”
The Sun Devils, projected as 15-point favorites, will kick off at noon on Saturday Oct. 30.