Head coach Dennis Erickson could not have picked a better bye week. After the Arizona State Sun Devils won their first two games of the season, the best-laid plans of a team considered among the Pacific-10 Conference’s upper echelon were ruined with a home loss in overtime to UNLV as the 15th-ranked team in the nation. Out of the polls for the following week, the Sun Devils haven’t yet found their footing, dropping their last three contests against then-No. 3 Georgia, Cal and then-No. 8 USC. With road games against Oregon State and rival Arizona on the horizon, and a potentially difficult home game against UCLA, Arizona State (2-4, 1-2 Pac-10) may be fighting for its bowl eligibility.
The person most hurt by the wildly inconsistent play has been quarterback Rudy Carpenter, considered the best in the Pac-10 at his position entering the 2008 season. Carpenter has thrown for 9,472 career yards and 73 touchdowns, but he’s also been sacked at an abnormally high rate – 2.5 per game this season, after suffering through 55 sacks last year. Carpenter is a dangerous passer when he’s upright, and it’s the job of Nick Reed and Will Tukuafu to knock him off his feet. The reliability of Carpenter’s top targets – senior Michael Jones and redshirt junior Chris McGaha, both wide receivers – heighten this concern.
The offensive line has made running the ball difficult (117th in rushing offense in the nation), but the Sun Devils do have depth at running back. Junior Dimitri Nance and senior Keegan Herring are averaging less than four yards a carry on the year, but both have the potential to break off big runs.
Arizona State is a respectable defensive team, allowing 335 yards and 22 points per game, both figures in the upper-half nationally. Redshirt junior defensive end Dexter Davis is a terror; his seven tackles for loss and five sacks lead the team. Linebacker Mike Nixon and safety Omar Bolden are first and third in tackles for the Sun Devils, respectively, and each has two interceptions on the season.
Thomas Weber is another reason Arizona State remains a dangerous team in spite of inconsistent play. The redshirt sophomore kicker won the Lou Groza award for the nation’s top kicker last year after making 24 of 25 field goals and 46 of 48 PATs – his 118 points in a season tied for the most in Sun Devils history. This season, Weber has made eight of 12 field goals, but three have been blocked, including the potential game-tier against UNLV that sealed the upset win.
Another source of intrigue for Duck fans in this game is Erickson himself. The two-time national champion and former coach of Oregon State is no Rick Neuheisel, but he has been known to get under the skin of fan bases nationwide.
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