Remember one year ago, when fourth-ranked Oregon met sixth-ranked Arizona State for a nationally televised duel with national championship implications?
Although far from a battle for the Pacific-10 Conference cellar, this year’s game between the unranked schools has a vastly different feel around it. In fact, unless you are in attendance at Sun Devil Stadium for the 6 p.m. kickoff, you won’t be able to watch the game because of conflicting issues between the conference and television networks.
That isn’t to say both teams have nothing to play for, when Oregon (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10 Conference) is tied atop the conference standings with three other one-loss schools and the Sun Devils (2-4, 1-2 Pac-10) only a game behind. The final score won’t affect the Bowl Championship Series standings, but could very well keep one team in the running for one of the league’s best bowl games.
“We have half of our season left, and that’s the bottom line,” Arizona State head coach Dennis Erickson said. “All Pac-10 games, so a lot of good things can happen.”

The Sun Devils have been looking for a few good things to happen after losing four straight games. Like Oregon, Arizona State had a bye last weekend. And like the Ducks two weeks earlier, the Sun Devils were blown out by USC. Oregon bounced back from its loss to USC by beating UCLA at home 31-24. Under Mike Bellotti, the Ducks have a 13-2 record in games following a bye week.
Both teams expect the week of rest to greatly benefit their play this week. Mike Bellotti expected the Sun Devils to find ways to augment pass protection after allowing nine UO sacks last season.
“I’m sure they’re going to come up with some different schemes and attack us,” Bellotti said. “They threw for a lot of yards but we were able to get a takeaway and we sacked the quarterback.”
Lately the series has been heavily tilted in the Ducks’ favor, beating ASU a combined 112-53 in their last three meetings.
Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter is still very much on the minds of the Oregon defense despite a down year compared to last year’s statistics. Carpenter is third in the conference in passing efficiency, total offense and passing yards per game, with more than 245. Wideout Michael Jones’ 71.2 receiving yards per game is third in the conference. He will try to take advantage of a defense that has allowed 268.7 yards per game.
“He’s capable of getting hot at any time … Any time you’re going against him and their offense, you have to be concerned,” said cornerback Jairus Byrd, who is tied for first in the conference with three interceptions.
Byrd didn’t back away from the scrutiny the defensive secondary has faced this season after being highly touted in August.
“The media is picking us apart a little bit but I think it’s due,” he said. “We haven’t lived up to what we know we can do and it’s shown so, you know, we got a lot of praise the beginning of the season but with that, you know, you’ve got to take the criticism too and we haven’t lived up to it, and I’ll be the first to admit that and take responsibility for that.”
Oregon’s 108th ranking out of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools in pass defense is under its standards, but is actually ahead of 7-0 Tulsa (No. 110) and No. 1 Texas (No. 111).
While Arizona State could have the upper hand in the passing game, the Ducks’ defensive front four of Will Tukuafu, Nick Reed, Cole Linehan and Ra’Shon Harris have left no doubt in their capabilities stopping the running game. Arizona State, meanwhile, has managed only 83.67 yards on the ground, the third-worst average in the nation. The Ducks rank 21st nationally in rushing defense behind Reed and Tukuafu’s conference-best eight and six sacks, respectively. Reed has a sack in six consecutive games.
“Nick Reed is a good player, obviously,” Carpenter said. “He sacked me a few times last year, and he’s having a good year this year as well.”
If Oregon can win out in its final games, it has the best shot at a Holiday Bowl game, possibly a Rose Bowl if everything works out in their favor. But Bellotti, who likened the start after the bye week to a new season, knows none of it will matter if Oregon stumbles on Saturday.
“With no team in the conference undefeated now, it’s anybody’s ballgame,” Bellotti said. “Everybody has a new lease on life in that regard.”
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