ASU needs win to stay in Pac-12 South Race
Sun Devils host Chip Kelly and the Bruins today at home
TEMPE, Ariz. — After consecutive wins over USC and Utah, Arizona State finds itself in the thick of the Pac-12 South race. The Sun Devils need a victory over UCLA on Saturday to stay there.
Arizona State (5-4, 3-3) would win the Pac12 South title by beating UCLA, Oregon and Arizona in its final three games of the season.
First come the Bruins (27, 2-4), who have struggled in their first season under coach Chip Kelly and are coming off a 42-21 loss at Oregon in Kelly’s return to Eugene, where he once led the Ducks to national prominence.
Arizona State coach Herm Edwards, also in his first year on the job, said his team faces a big challenge.
“I told our players after the (Utah) game that they have never won
ASU: 5-4 overall, 3-3 Pac-12 UCL: 2-7 overall, 2-4 Pac-12
three straight. That was the challenge I offered to them,” he said. “I did not know what they were all excited about because they had not won three in a row. Maybe I should be giddy, but it is always the next game for me.”
This will be the final home game for 16 Arizona State seniors, including quarterback Manny Wilkins. It also likely is the last at home for dynamic wide receiver N’Keal Harry, one of the best in the country who is widely expected to leave school for the NFL.
“N’Keal Harry is probably the best receiver that we’ll face all year long and we faced some really good ones at Oklahoma,” Kelly said, “but he’s a really difficult matchup because not only is he athletic, he’s the biggest guy we’re going to play.”
Here are some things to ponder when the Bruins meet the Sun Devils in an early start (noon, MST) on Saturday.
EXPLOSIVE TRIO
Wilkins, Harry and running back Eno Benjamin all had big games in Arizona State’s 38-20 victory over then-No. 16 Utah last weekend.
Wilkins completed 19 of 24 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. Harry caught nine passes for 161 yards and those three TDs. Benjamin gained 175 yards and scored two TDs in 27 carries.
In all, Arizona State gained 536 yards, by far the most given up this season by the Utes, who entered the game with the No. 1-ranked defense in the Pac-12.
WHO’S THE QB?
Freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson, bothered by a shoulder injury, returned to start against Oregon but didn’t finish the game. Senior transfer Wilton Speight is