RICHMOND, Va. - It seems that every time Armanti Edwards has a big game, or does something that seemingly can't be done, columnists and commentators gush about his athletic ability, his savvy and his skills.

To me, after watching him do what's not supposed to be done for the past four years, I just see it as vintage Armanti.

It doesn't mean I don't appreciate his game. It just doesn't surprise me as much.

This time, Edwards led a fourth-quarter comeback by marching the Mountaineers the length of the field for three touchdowns. The final drive was capped by a 4-yard touchdown dagger to Matt Cline with 10 seconds left, which stunned, squashed and was the stake that was driven in the hearts of the Richmond Spiders in a 35-31 ASU victory.

The way Cline described the pass sounded like a catcher describing the way a pitcher would strike out a power hitter - low and outside.

"He got the ball through pretty well," Cline said. "Armanti put it where it needed to be, low and outside, to keep it away from the inside defender. I knew I wasn't going to have much time to get my head around."

Edwards had little choice on the play. The linebacker that was supposed to cover Cline blitzed Edwards, who wanted to roll out a little more to his left.
So Edwards did what a smart quarterback does, find the open receiver and get the ball to him without anybody else getting in the way.

It's the Edwards that Appalachian Nation is used to seeing. His knee looked healthy enough and his biggest problem, outside of a good Richmond defense, was a wet field that caused him to slip and slide like he was Wayne Gretzky.

Writers who cover ASU opponents keep learning that when Edwards is healthy, he's the most explosive player in the FCS. He can run it and he can pass it. He got his way out of more jams than Ferris Buehler on Saturday and though not all of those escapes led to big plays, they're better than taking a 10-yard sack.

The Mountaineers' final drive Saturday reminded me of the march against Michigan that gave them a 34-32 lead. In Ann Arbor, Edwards had just tossed an interception on the Mountaineers' previous possession, but Brian Quick blocked a field goal to keep the Wolverines to within one point.

Against Richmond, Brian McBride stole the ball away from Travaris Cadet on a punt return and scored a touchdown to give the Spiders a 31-28 lead with 3:26 left.

Yet in both drives, Edwards took over. His cool under pressure makes me wonder if he's under some type of hypnosis or something. Just like he did at Michigan, he mixed passes with a scramble and some designed runs to put the Mountaineers in a position to score.

Only this time, the Mountaineers got seven points instead of three. No block of a potential game-losing field goal was necessary.

Edwards faces a huge challenge Saturday. Suddenly Montana is scoring points like the Michael-Jordan led Chicago Bulls and busting defenses like Norman Schwarzkopf.

Montana has scored 91 straight playoff points, having most recently demolished Stephen F. Austin 51-0 Saturday in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Griz also scored 41 unanswered points in their 61-48 win over South Dakota State after falling behind 48-20.

Now Montana leads the FCS in scoring with 37.9 points per game, having scored 492 points in 13 games. Just for the record, ASU is seventh at 34.5 ppg.

They crushed Stephen F. Austin with a defense that created 10 turnovers. They crushed a Stephen F. Austin offense that led the nation in total offense at the start of the game.

Yet you wonder if they've seen anybody like Edwards. There's no way to duplicate what he does in practice, unless the Miami Dolphins are willing to rent Pat White out to the Griz for a week's worth of practice.

Winning playoff games isn't supposed to be easy. Beating Richmond Saturday night wasn't, even if Edwards make it look that way.

Click here for more Mountaineer coverage in the Watauga Democrat.