Edwards: ASU football needs to bring its own energy to Washington

TEMPE, Ariz. — For the amount of energy ASU head coach Herm Edwards exudes, he really gets very little sleep.

“If I can get five (hours) in a day, I’m good,” he said Monday.

If that’s the case, he must have been in a relatively OK state Sunday. Edwards said he didn’t sleep a wink after the loss to San Diego State on Saturday.

“I didn’t go to bed Saturday night. I came into the office,” Edwards said. “We got off the bus at 3:30, I started watching the tape. Watched all three phases like I always do. See, we got in so late, it didn’t make any sense for me to go home cause I’m here so early in the morning.”

By the time the rest of the coaching staff got in, he was ready to discuss what needed to be improved after Sun Devil’s 28-21 loss to SDSU.

But part of this week’s preparation cannot be gleaned from film.

ASU has not been good on the road in Pac-12 play over the last three seasons. With a 4-11 record away from Sun Devil Stadium, the team hasn’t been able to find the success they have at home.

A year after upsetting then-No. 5 Washington at home, ASU travels to Husky Stadium, which has a capacity of 70,138 — third most in the Pac-12, behind only USC’s L.A. Memorial Coliseum and the mammoth UCLA Rose Bowl.

Husky Stadium had an average attendance of 68,822 last season, according to 247 Sports. By contrast, SDSU’s home stadium had a reported attendance of 34,641 on Saturday.

“When you go on the road, you have to bring our own energy,” Edwards said. “I told them that all week.”

It’ll be the same in Washington against the No. 10 team in the country. Edwards has experience of his own there, playing as a college freshman against quarterback Alex “Sonny” Sixkiller in the 1970s.

“It’s going to be spectacular,” he said. “These are the type of venues you want to play in.”

Edwards added that he is considering altering the practice schedule this week. The team, which had been working on the outdoor practice field for the majority of the offseason and the first three weeks, may move into the Verde Dickey Dome in preparation for the Washington crowd.

“I think I’m going to be forced to go to the bubble one day this week, just for crowd noise,” he said.

With that said, ASU has not had much trouble with Washington in the past 15 years. The Sun Devils have won 11 of the last 12 games against the Huskies, a stretch spanning three different ASU head coaches.

This Washington team, though, is unlike the ones Dirk Koetter or Dennis Erickson had to face.

“Coach (Chris) Petersen has done a fabulous job of really developing the program in the time he’s been there,” Edwards said. “They’ve got a veteran offense, they have some skill players at the wide receiver positions, as well as the running back positions, their defense is outstanding, one of the better defenses in college football. … This is a good test for our football team.”

Coach’s thoughts on the end of Saturday’s game

– Edwards wasn’t publicly critical of the referees’ decision to overturn wide receiver Frank Darby’s reception near the end of the game Saturday, but he did hint that he’d like to see a rule change.

On targeting penalties, the ball advances 15 yards, but it is not a spot foul. ASU advanced forward, but because Darby dropped the ball, the team was not awarded with the position on the field that the penalty occurred.

“I think there will be some discussion probably after the season about that maybe being changed,” Edwards said.

– Here comes some hypotheticals to precede a question:

If Darby had come down with the ball, and if ASU managed to score in the six seconds remaining, would Edwards have elected to go for a two-point conversion instead of settling to tie the game on a field goal and send it to overtime?

The coach brought it up unprompted.

“Would’ve been interesting, wouldn’t it have been?” he asked. “Ahh, I bet you guys would’ve wondered. Keep wondering. I know exactly what I was going to do.”

He wouldn’t go any further, even after a reporter asked — “It’s like a story that hasn’t been written yet,” Edwards responded — so fans are left to ponder. But the way he brought the question upon himself during Monday’s press conference reminds us all of one thing:

Herm Edwards loves drama.

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