Ask Farrell: More surprising start, Arizona or Arizona State?
The first two games could not have gone much differently for the two Arizona schools.
First-year coach Herm Edwards has Arizona State at 2-0 after pounding UTSA 49-7 in the opener, and then the Sun Devils staged a thrilling come-from-behind victory to take down Michigan State 16-13 on Saturday night in Tempe.
At Arizona, it’s been a much worse start for first-year coach Kevin Sumlin. The Wildcats dropped the season opener to BYU 28-23 in a game in which star quarterback and then-Heisman hopeful Khalil Tate had just eight carries for 14 yards and a touchdown.
On Saturday, Arizona lost at Houston 45-18, and the Wildcats trailed 38-0 early in the third quarter. Again, Tate was limited running the ball, but he did suffer a lower leg injury. He finished 24 of 45 passing for 341 yards and two interceptions. He ran only seven times for eight yards and a score. At this pace, it would be impossible to think Tate would be in the Heisman running.
Arizona's record under former coach Rich Rodriguez was 45-35 and 24-30 in the Pac-12. Arizona State under Todd Graham went 46-32 and 31-23. So prior to this season, the media narrative – including on Rivals – was that hiring Sumlin at Arizona was an upgrade to the program and that hiring Edwards could be a complete disaster after having not coached anywhere in a decade and owning a losing record in the NFL.
But, after two weeks, it sure seems as if Edwards has Arizona State moving in the right direction and Sumlin has caught no traction in Tucson yet.
We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell to weigh in on whether Edwards’ good start or Sumlin’s terrible start is more surprising.
FARRELL'S TAKE
“I’m more surprised at Sumlin’s poor start, to be honest, because he has Tate and I expected them to utilize him better and be more competitive. BYU isn’t a great team and Houston trounced Arizona with Tate banged up a bit, but you’d still think they could beat one or both of those teams.
"I expected Herm Edwards to struggle a bit but still at least go 1-1. Arizona State’s win over Michigan State was a surprise, but I’m just more shocked that Arizona is not using Tate the right way. Sumlin was thought to be an upgrade as a coach over Rich Rod, while Edwards was supposed to be a joke of a hire. So the Wildcats' awful start is surprising.”
