The Trent Edwards fan club is running low on members these days. And Stanford head coach Buddy Teevens is running low on patience.
Note to backup quarterback T.C. Ostrander: Make sure to stay warm Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium.
Edwards, Stanford's starter since Day 1, has been anything but effective, throwing eight touchdowns and eight interceptions in a sophomore season more regrettable than memorable.
He was so bad in last week's 21-0 loss against UCLA that Teevens considered replacing him with Ostrander, a redshirt freshman who has appeared in just three games.
There's no telling what Saturday will bring, especially against an ASU defense that ranks third in the Pac-10 with 25 sacks.
"He's a guy that will take criticism directly himself and will tell you what he needs to do," Teevens said of Edwards. "But he's also a very competitive individual. He has demonstrated some toughness during the course of the year. My expectation would be that he will step back up and perform."
Teevens said most of Edwards' mistakes against UCLA came as a result of poor decision-making and a lack of patience.
Edwards, a sophomore, threw three interceptions, including a pair inside the red zone, nixing any chances of a win in a game that Stanford (4-4, 2-3 Pac-10) could not afford to lose. Breakdowns along a sophomore-laden offensive line caused Edwards to rush through his repetitions and sometimes abandon the pass altogether.
"I think there's a sense of embarrassment offensively that we were not more productive with the run or with the pass, and ultimately, that we did not score," said Teevens, whose team managed just 83 yards rushing. "We throw the ball a fair amount, and we need to be productive there. The frustrating part was not being able to put points on the board."
Junior running back J.R. Lemon has scored six touchdowns but is averaging just 54.8 yards rushing. Senior running back Kenneth Tolon is averaging 40.8 yards rushing. That backfield makes ASU's look dangerous.
Stanford boasts one of the Pac-10's best tight ends in senior Alex Smith, who has caught 19 passes for 246 yards the last two weeks. However, flanker Evan Moore and wide receivers Mark Bradford and Justin McCullum haven't been consistent.
It creates plenty of pressure that falls squarely on Edwards' shoulders.
"His attitude is that it's his responsibility to perform," Teevens said. "He was disappointed [after the UCLA game] and took a lot of blame for the situation. He didn't have his best performance, and we're relying on that position heavily."
Chances are that Ostrander will not see the field Saturday, as long as Edwards stays in control and doesn't press too much. Ostrander has emerged as a viable backup, though.
Earlier this season, Edwards was knocked out against Oregon, and Ostrander didn't look too shabby. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown. Oregon beat Stanford 16-13, as junior kicker Michael Sgroi missed a 49-yard field goal that would have sent the game into overtime.
Edwards is healthy again, and Teevens hopes that his quarterback's head will be cleared after completing midterms.
"He is a competitor," Teevens said. "I've been around some good quarterbacks over time, and every once in a while, they have a performance that you wish they had back."
Having coached several NFL quarterbacks, including Arizona's Shaun King, Miami's Jay Fiedler and Chicago's Rex Grossman, Teevens knows what needs to be done to generate a spark on offense.
"Our bigger plays have all been off the vertical game," said Teevens, whose team is averaging 23.2 points, the Pac-10's third-worst mark. "We need to get back to that. We had a shot on Saturday that was picked off, and we need to continue taking chances down the field."
Teevens doesn't plan on restricting Edwards to the point where Edwards loses some of his natural playmaking abilities.
"We do give our quarterback a fair amount of flexibility," Teevens said. "If he sees something that he can take advantage of, he can do it, based on the coverage he's shown."
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.
