Arizona State (7-4, 4-2 Pacific-10 Conference) at No. 8 USC (7-2, 5-1), 4 p.m., TBS
In this week’s sole clash of Pac-10 teams with winning records, Arizona State travels west to visit No. 8 USC.
While the Trojans have had the advantage recently, winning three of the last four, the Sun Devils are the only Pac-10 team not on the losing side of a series with USC.
In last year’s matchup, hosted by USC, the Trojans ended a four-game losing streak with their 48-17 victory. Trojan quarterback Carson Palmer threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, completing 18 of his 26 passes. The USC defense took three interceptions from Arizona State after Sun Devil starting quarterback Jeff Krohn suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter.
Andrew Walter, Arizona State’s current quarterback, has looked unstoppable against many teams this season. In Saturday’s 55-38 loss to California, Walter passed for 477 yards and four touchdowns, giving him four games this season in which he has passed for 400 or more yards. Walter also broke the Arizona State single-season passing record, having already thrown for 2,992 yards.
“He’s thrown more balls over 55 yards than guys should throw in a season,” USC head coach Pete Carroll said.
Arizona State defensive end Terrell Suggs also broke a record Saturday. With 19.5 sacks this season, Suggs broke the Pac-10 and Arizona State single-season records for sacks. Suggs has 39.5 career sacks as a junior. The Arizona State record for career sacks stands at 41.
USC can only hope to stop both Suggs and Walter, while Palmer looks to break a record Saturday.
Palmer currently stands second on the Pac-10 all-time lists for total offense and passing, and is seventh in touchdown passes. He needs only 290 yards to become the career passing leader for the Pac-10.
“Their offense fits together and when it’s flowing nicely they are a tough team to stop,” Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter said.
USC has won its last four games, including a 44-33 win over Oregon at Autzen on Oct. 26, after a three-point loss in overtime to Washington State on Oct. 5.
Saturday, the Trojans defeated Stanford in a 49-17 blowout. Palmer threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns, and USC scored on seven of their twelve possessions while Palmer was in the game. Though for Palmer, it wasn’t enough.
“I’m mad, I’m frustrated and I’m angry. The whole offense is,” Palmer said. “We should have scored every time we had the ball.”
Palmer and the Trojans may have more to be angry about after Saturday. The Sun Devils have a good shot at ending another four-game Trojan streak.