Michigan State Football: Arizona State writer previews Week 2 matchup
Michigan State football will face Arizona State on Saturday night and Devils In Detail, FanSided’s ASU site, writer Zach Pekale gives his preview.
The temperatures during the day will exceed 100 degrees, but the matchup on the field will be much hotter. Michigan State and Arizona State will square off in one of the more exciting Week 2 battles in Tempe as the Spartans look to end the Big Ten’s winless streak at Sun Devil Stadium.
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We had a chance to catch up with Devils in Detail — FanSided’s Arizona State site — writer Zach Pekale as he previewed the matchup with a little Q&A.
Q: Arizona State may be under the direction of a new head coach, but what are the realistic expectations in Tempe for Herm Edwards?
ZP: Despite having not coached at the college level before, Edwards’ put together a strong coaching staff around him with Rob Likens running the offense and Super Bowl champion Antonio Pierce at linebackers coach. Personnel-wise, few teams in the entire country have a quarterback-wide receiver tandem as cohesive as Manny Wilkins and N’Keal Harry. Given a tough schedule (at Washington, at Oregon, home against Stanford), Edwards should be able to put together six wins and get ASU to a bowl game in year one.
Q: The Sun Devils blew the doors off UTSA but how much of that was the Roadrunners not being great or is Arizona State that good?
ZP: I think the result was a combination of both. Former UTSA quarterback Dalton Sturm graduated in the offseason. Newcomers Cordale Grundy and D.J. Gillins both struggled to move the ball but the Sun Devil defense looked sharp in its first game using a 3-3-5 scheme. The unit put together nine sacks and 15 tackles for loss, limiting the Roadrunners to 220 total yards with just two coming on the ground.
Q: What are the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the Sun Devils?
ZP: This team is very young but also has a number of experienced playmakers. In addition to Wilkins and Harry, ASU has running back Eno Benjamin who ran for 131 yards in his first career start. Defensively, redshirt senior Renell Wren and redshirt sophomore Chase Lucas showed an ability to command the defensive line and secondary, respectively. From the season opener, the biggest area of improvement will be in limiting penalties. The Sun Devils were flagged 11 times against UTSA, five of which were called against the special team unit.
Q: What does Manny Wilkins struggle with the most?
ZP: As a dual-threat quarterback, part of Wilkins’ game comes from outside of the pocket though sometimes he appears a bit too over reliant on scrambling. In three years as the starter, he’s lacked consistency when needing to step up in the pocket to make throws.
Q: If there is one player who the Spartans need to contain, who is it and why?
ZP: (Eno) Benjamin. He’s the type of back that absorbs contact well and has enough speed to get to the outside. He’s only got one career start under his belt but possess the poise of an experienced player. If he’s running well, the passing game will open up for Wilkins, giving the ASU offense a chance to find its groove early.
Q: Not many people talk about Arizona State as a defensive team, but what does this unit do well and what does it do poorly?
ZP: When Danny Gonzales came over from San Diego State to be the defensive coordinator, he brought his 3-3-5 defense with him. With a small sample size to look at, the activity of this unit is something to watch this week and throughout the season. It felt as though all 11 players were constantly swarming around the field, resulting in nine sacks and 15 tackles for loss. Based on the last week, there wasn’t much the defense did wrong. They were penalized twice, scored a touchdown on an interception returned by Shannon Forman and allowed two rushing yards.
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Q: Prediction for Saturday?
ZP: Despite the morale of confidence of these two teams being in different places after their season openers, I think the Spartans have more experience and will be run the ball and dictate possession throughout the game. I’ve got the Spartans winning 31-27.