ASU has advantage vs. SDSU
Long: Sun Devils will know Aztecs’ signals
SAN DIEGO — San Diego State coach Rocky Long was driving to work earlier this week when he heard on the radio that the NFL’s Jets knew all the Detroit Lions’ signals, resulting in a 48-17 victory for New York. Then it hit Long. “Guess who is going to have all of our signals and all of our hand signals? Arizona State is going to have that,” Long said about the No. 23 Sun Devils (2-0), who visit the Aztecs (1-1) tonight. “We’re not going to have theirs, but they’re going to have ours. Besides being a really good and talented football team, they also have some other advantages.”
That’s one of the costs of SDSU’s success under Long. After the Aztecs went 10-3 last year, new ASU coach Herm Edwards hired away Aztecs defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales to serve in the same role with the Sun Devils. That’s why the Sun Devils will have the signals used when SDSU is playing defense.
Gonzales is a former University of New Mexico safety and punter and was on Long’s staff at UNM in various capacities from 1999-2008.
Can’t Long, an old-school, defensive-minded coach change the signals?
“No, all that would do is confuse our players,” he said. “If you confuse your own players, you have no chance whatsoever to compete. We’ll live with the fact that they have an advantage and will try and do the best we can.”
The Sun Devils will look to stay undefeated under Edwards, who played his final season of college ball with the Aztecs in 1976 and graduated from SDSU with a degree in criminal justice.
“It will be a unique contest, I think, for both parties,” Edwards said.
Other things to know about Week 3 of the season:
BEST GAME: LSU at Auburn. The stage is set for another thriller. Two years ago, Auburn hung on to win 18-13 when video review showed LSU didn’t get off the play resulting in what would have been the winning touchdown before the clock expired. Last year, LSU erased a 20-0 deficit to win 27-23.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, good but not great so far, will have to contend with a raucous crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium and an inspired Auburn defense. Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham will be challenged by a sack-happy LSU defense that features one of the nation’s top cornerbacks in Greedy Williams.
HEISMAN WATCH: Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State
Haskins put up huge numbers in lopsided home wins over Oregon State and Rutgers. Now let’s see what he can do against one of the nation’s most defensive-minded programs in TCU at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. OFF THE RADAR: Fresno State at UCLA.
Chip Kelly is still looking for his first win as Bruins coach. Will he get it before the Pac-12 opener at
Colorado Sept. 28? True freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson started at quarterback against Oklahoma in place of Wilton Speight. Kelly hasn’t announced his QB against Fresno State.
HOT SEAT WATCH: That second loss in two years to Maryland and a one-touchdown win over a bad Tulsa team have left Texas coach Tom Herman in critical need of a big win. His opportunity comes at home against 22nd-ranked Southern California. A loss would make Herman 8-8 in two seasons.
STATE SCHOOLS: New Mexico Highlands, whose 55 points per game leads NCAA Division II, seeks its first 3-0 start since 2011 today at 6 p.m. vs. Dixie State in St. George, Utah. Danny Cameron’s eight touchdown passes are tied for the most in the nation). … Eastern New Mexico (0-2) hosts top-ranked and defending D-II national champion Texas A & M Commercer (2-0) today at 7 p.m. at Greyhound Stadium. ENMU fell 34-24 last week to No. 19 Colorado Mesa. … Western New Mexico, which fell last week 56-10 to FCS Idaho, hosts West Texas A&M today at noon at Ben Altamirano Field.