Field Level Media
Sep 2, 2018
Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins passed for 237 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, and halfback Eno Benjamin had a career-high 131 yards rushing as the Sun Devils opened the Herm Edwards era with a 49-7 victory over Texas-San Antonio on Saturday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Wide receiver N'Keal Harry had six receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns and Benjamin scored twice, on a 3-yard run and a 7-yard reception, as the Sun Devils won their 17th straight home opener. Harry is a second-team AP preseason All-American.
The Sun Devils scored two touchdowns in the first two minutes, on a Harry 58-yard reception and a 25-yard interception return by 302-pound defensive end Shannon Forman, and the outcome was never in doubt.
UTSA quarterback Cordale Grundy completed 16 of 33 passes for 187 yards with one interception. Roadrunners halfback B.J. Daniels scored on 4-yard run with 6:03 remaining to break the shutout.
Arizona State, which plays host to No. 11 Michigan State on Sept. 8, had 503 yards of total offense and limited the Roadrunners to 220 total yards, including 2 rushing yards. The Sun Devils had nine sacks, two by Darius Slade.
Sun Devils halfback Isaiah Floyd had nine carries for 79 yards and his first career touchdown.
After Harry's scoring reception capped a four-play, 81-yard drive on the Sun Devils' first possession, Arizona State scored on UTSA's first possession. Forman dropped into pass coverage and took his interception in for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 13:01 remaining in the first period.
Benjamin scored on a 3-yard run with 4:26 left in the second quarter drive after Slade sacked Grundy and forced a fumble, and Wilkins hit Terrell Chatman on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining in the half for a 28-0 lead.
Benjamin and Harry had third-quarter scores, and Floyd scored in the fourth.
Edwards had not been a head coach since leaving the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008. His only previous college coaching experience was as a defensive backs coach at San Jose State from 1987-89 before he went to the NFL as a scout and then a coach.
--Field Level Media