Herm Edwards and the Sun Devils got their first Pac-12 win of the season Saturday night against the Oregon State Beavers. ASU left their opponents hanging, 52-24.
Edwards has established this team on their run game, and this was obvious after looking at the amount of utilization from RB Eno Benjamin. The Texas native totaled 312 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns on the night.
ASU’s defense showed up against the Beavers, forcing a turnover and racking up five sacks on the night. LB Malik Lawal led the team with two sacks.
The Sun Devil offense ended the game with 558 total yards and a win that they needed after a disappointing loss against a ranked UW.
Here’s how our Sun Devil prospects performed in week 5.
QB Manny Wilkins
Week 5 Stats vs. OSU: 14/25, 162 YDS, 3 TD
The QB helped lead ASU to its first Pac-12 win of the season, ending the night with three passing touchdowns. Wilkins showed off his versatility Saturday night managing to successfully execute every different play that was called.
WR N’Keal Harry and Wilkins are usually the pair to light up the field but the QB took a different route on Saturday night, connecting with RB Eno Benjamin and totaling up three touchdowns on the night.
Colorado Matchup Preview
Looking ahead to this Saturday’s game against Colorado, Wilkins, statistically, looks better than Steven Montez. The Buffs are undefeated this season and will have home-field advantage, posing a hardship for the Sun Devils. If Wilkins can maintain composure from the first to the fourth, he has the potential to bring ASU their second Pac-12 win on the season. Wilkins will have to utilize RB Eno Benjamin as he did against Oregon State, hopefully, overpowering the Colorado defense.
Grade vs. OSU: A
Draft Stock: 6th – 7th Round
WR N’Keal Harry
Week 5 Stats vs. OSU: 5 REC, 84 YDS, 2 TD
Harry ended up being utilized more in Saturday night’s game against the Beavers than he was against UW. The WR led the team in receiving yards by a large margin but he’s still feeling the implications of Herm Edwards really employing the run game of this team. Harry was even able to run the ball in from six yards out for a touchdown in the third quarter and caught a 41-yard pass for a touchdown at the end the fourth quarter.
Colorado Matchup Preview
If Harry can manage to be versatile throughout four quarters against the Buffs, he should be a key part in the Sun Devils winning Saturday night. As we saw against the Beavers, Harry was able to tack on two touchdowns on the night and he could easily do the same against Colorado. The play calling against the Beavers should mirror that for the Buffs, meaning Harry should be ready for a variety of options.
Grade vs. OSU: A-
Draft Stock: 1st – 2nd Round
DB Chase Lucas
Week 5 Stats vs. OSU: 2 TOT, 2 SOLO
Lucas had an otherwise uneventful night against the Beavers. He fell behind the likes of CB Terin Adams, LB Darien Butler, and DB Demonte King. The DB has thrived against unranked opponents thus far into the season, but that wasn’t the case Saturday night. His biggest play of the night was, arguably, breaking up a pass to WR Timmy Hernandez, ending Oregon State’s bid to add on another touchdown at the end of the third quarter.
Colorado Matchup Preview
Lucas has a tough matchup against the Colorado offense. As repeated, he hasn’t fared too well against ranked opponents and the Buffs are going into Saturday night’s game ranked 21st in the nation. The Buffs should be utilizing a passing game against the Sun Devils so if Lucas can manage to break up some bids from the Buffs, the Sun Devil defense should be able to capitalize on those key plays.
Grade vs. OSU: C
Draft Stock: 6th – 7th Round
LB Koron Crump
Week 5 Stats vs. OSU: 1 TOT
Again this week, Crump has been coming off of an injury. He’s been limited in play but managed to put up 1 tackle in Saturday night’s game. His limitations have put a damper on his season so far.
Colorado Matchup Preview
Crump’s status against Colorado is unknown, he may or may not see time on the field on defense but he may go in on special teams.
Grade vs. OSU: N/A
Draft Stock: 7th Round +
LB Jay Jay Wilson
Week 5 Stats vs. OSU: N/A
Wilson did not record any participation against Oregon State, as cited by the Sun Devils athletic website.
His status against Colorado remains unknown.
Grade vs. OSU: N/A
Draft Stock: 7th Round +
RB Eno Benjamin
Week 5 Stats vs. OSU: 30 CAR, 312 YDS, 3 TD
Saved the best performance for last. Benjamin had a breakout night against the Beavers. He broke the ASU’s single-game rushing record and was named the Pac-12 player of the week. Benjamin managed to get a touchdown in the first, second and fourth quarters of Saturday night’s game and totaled 312 yards. Edwards has started to really pride this team on their run game and Benjamin is seeing the satisfaction of that.
Colorado Matchup Preview
Just as they did against the Beavers, the Sun Devils are going to employ their run game against the Buffs. Benjamin has the opportunity to come up big at Folsom Field, but only if he can fight through the defense. Colorado allows about 18 points per game, something Benjamin and the Sun Devils will need to top if they want to leave Boulder with another win on the season.
Grade vs. OSU: A+
Draft Stock: 6th Round