With games looming against Utah and USC in the next two weeks, Arizona State and coach Herm Edwards are trying to not look past Eastern Michigan Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.
The Sun Devils and Eagles are coming off humbling losses after winning their respective season openers the previous week.
Eastern Michigan (1-1) lost 49-21 at Louisiana while Arizona State (1-1) fell 34-17 at Oklahoma State.
“They’re very experienced on defense; they’ve played together for a while,” Arizona State coach Herm Edwards said of Eastern Michigan. “It’s going to be a good football game for us as we come off a tough loss and having to play these guys. It’s going to wake us up once we watch the tape.”
The Eagles kept Louisiana scoreless in the first half before allowing seven touchdowns in the second half off six turnovers.
“I told the guys, and I mean this, that we played really, really hard,” Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton. “It is impossible to win a football game especially against a championship-caliber opponent when you turn the ball over six times. If it’s a zero-zero turnover situation, it’s probably a fun locker room right now.”
Creighton has directed Eastern Michigan to three Power Five wins — Rutgers in 2017, Purdue in 2018, and Illinois in 2019. Creighton is the only active MAC coach to have multiple wins against Power Five teams.
All of Eastern Michigan’s defensive starters are returners from last season, including five seniors.
One of the seniors, defensive end Jose Ramirez, attended nearby Arizona as a freshman in 2017 before transferring to Riverside (Calif.) Community College ahead of his Eastern Michigan career. He had seven tackles, one for loss, against Louisiana.
He will target Arizona State quarterback Emory Jones, who completed 12-of-24 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown at Oklahoma State but was under duress consistently. He was sacked three times.
The Sun Devils failed to convert the first nine of their third down chances and finished 2 of 13 overall. They ran 61 plays. Oklahoma State ran 84.
— Field Level Media