Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter (16) looks to extend his hot streak.
Washington (4-3, 1-2 Pac-10) at Arizona State (6-2, 3-0), 7 p.m.
There will be two homecomings in one game Saturday when the Washington Huskies travel to
Arizona State.
For the Sun Devils, it’s homecoming weekend. For Rick Neuheisel, it’s again time to pay a visit to McClintock High School, where he graduated from in 1979.
Arizona State has shocked Pacific-10 Conference fans this season with a blowout win over Stanford, a come-from-behind victory over Oregon on Saturday, and a 3-0 conference record. Arizona State is second only to Oregon in the Pac-10 for scoring offense, averaging 36.4 points per game.
Washington suffered a rocky start to its season when the Huskies lost 31-29 in their season opener at Michigan. In Washington’s next three games, it beat up on San Jose State, Wyoming and Idaho.
Opening conference play at home, the Huskies thought they were being handed a 1-0 record when California came to visit, but the Golden Bears shocked the Huskies. Washington has since beaten Arizona 32-38, and it lost to USC 41-21 Saturday.
Washington leads the series against Arizona State 15-8, with the Huskies winning four of the past five matches. Washington has a three-game winning streak at Sun Devil Stadium, and has won eight of the 13 games played in Tempe.
The Sun Devils shocked the Oregon Ducks and football fans Saturday when they scored 22 points in the third quarter and squeaked out a 45-42 win. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Andrew Walter set a new Pac-10 record for most passing yards in a game with 536.
Washington started a late comeback after starting the fourth quarter down 34-7 to the Trojans on Saturday. The Huskies scored 14 points, and gave up seven more to USC. Husky senior tailback Braxton Cleman had 15 receptions. That tied for second on the Pac-10 single game receiving list and is the most receptions ever in a game by a running back.
Junior quarterback Cody Pickett threw 61 passes Saturday, one shy of the Pac-10 record for pass attempts in a conference game.
“(Pickett) has the ability to run like (ex-Husky quarterback Marques) Tuiasosopo but throw like any of the great throwers,” Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter said.
The game looks to play out as another close Pac-10 match. Pickett and Walter are among the top in the nation for quarterback rating. Walter has the eighth-best rating in the nation, while Pickett is ranked 17th.
If the Sun Devils are intent on keeping their perfect Pac-10 record, they need to stop Pickett. Against USC Saturday, he threw for 350 yards, his seventh-straight 300-yard passing game.
Pickett leads the Pac-10 with 2,601 passing yards to make him Washington’s all-time single-season passing leader. Pickett is on pace to become the first Pac-10 quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season.
The Sun Devils must also let junior defensive end Terrell Suggs loose on the Huskies to win. Suggs leads individuals in the conference with 13 sacks for a loss of 78 yards.
If the Huskies want to win, they need to protect Pickett. The Sun Devils lead the Pac-10 in quarterback sacks with 32 for minus-227 yards.
The Huskies also need to protect the ball. Arizona State linebacker Mason Unck leads the league in fumbles forced, while fellow linebacker Josh Amobi leads the Pac-10 in fumbles recovered.
“We are playing a very hot team coming off a great win over the defending Pac-10 champions,” Neuheisel said.
Saturday’s game comes down to the quarterbacks playing well and keeping the ball moving forward. Whichever team is more successful will move ahead in the win column.
Mindi Rice is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.