Herm Edwards: I See Why Utah Was Picked To Win The Pac-12

TEMPE, Ariz. – Ahead of their big matchup at Rice-Eccles Stadium against the 13th ranked Utah Utes, Arizona State head coach Herm Edwards now knows the reason why Utah was picked to win the Pac-12 conference in the preseason poll.

“These guys (Utah) are a very good football team,” Edwards said at his weekly press conference. “I think they were picked to win the conference and I can see why. This is going to be tough going there and being on the road.”

The Sun Devils enter the week with the same record as Utah, 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 play. They have Utah’s number in the series, currently on a two-game winning streak and have won 13 of their last 15 matchups. Despite that, Edwards knows that the Utes will present a tough challenge.

“Utah is very well coached,” Edwards said. “They have veteran players on this team when you look at it. Similar to last year, they play complimentary football and run the ball very well.”

Last season in Tempe, Arizona, the Utes lost quarterback Tyler Huntley for the season when he was injured in the third quarter. At the time of the injury, Utah was down by four points. On the drive that Huntley was injured, they hit a field goal to trim the deficit to one point. In the fourth quarter, ASU scored 17 unanswered points to snatch the win over Utah.

Huntley recorded 88 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions before exiting the game. Edwards knows that his injury was the difference in the game.

“Let’s make it perfectly clear, it was a tight game going into the fourth quarter and then the quarterback got hurt,” Edwards stated. “That is tough for anybody, the quarterback goes down and we were able to run the football and I think the heat got to them a little bit. I remember that it was a very physical game for both parties, but a lot of the players that were here last year are not here this year.”

This season, Huntley is playing his best football, currently ranked fifth in the country in quarterback rating (187.6) and third in completion percentage (75.6 percent). He is also the only quarterback from a power-five school that hasn’t thrown an interception.

The most accurate passer in college football thru 7 weeks? That would be Utah's Tyler Huntley. pic.twitter.com/Pm8eWaegIf

— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 16, 2019

“It looks like he has gained some weight and muscle, he is playing well,” said Edwards. “The defense is outstanding, giving up about 13 points per game. Really good in the red zone, they don’t allow you touchdowns and they don’t punt the ball very much. They are a very powerful football team on both sides, they are big up front and physical. We will have our hands full to say the least.”

Edwards has a lot of respect for his counterpart, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham.

“Coach has done a marvelous job, he has been there a long time,” Edwards said. “He has created a program like his image. You know they are really tough when you play them. We better be prepared to put our shoulder pads on and tie them up tight because it is going to be that type of football game.”

The Sun Devils’ coach is excited to get to Rice-Eccles Stadium and play in a very loud atmosphere.

“It will be a wonderful environment to play in because it is going to be loud, similar to Michigan State, but we have to go experience that now. We are going to show up and we are going to play,” said Edwards.

KSL’s UnRivaled sat down with Edwards at Pac-12 media day. Listen to the full interview below.

Utah and Arizona State will kickoff at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.