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Stun-Devils render Dawgs doormat Trailing by four points at the intermission, ASU outscored Washington 31-3 in the second half to secure a 44-20 victory at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona before 64,347 fans. The Sun Devils rolled up 523 yards in total offense and controlled the clock for most of the game. Leading 17-13 to start the second quarter, the Huskies (2-4, 0-3) managed just 4 first downs in the second half behind an anemic offense that managed just 288 total yards on the night, most of those yards coming in the first half. Leading 20-17 in the third quarter, Arizona State's rushing attack sealed the Huskies' fate as Dimitri Nance uncorked a 67-yard run, taking it to the house, followed by Keegan Herring's 76-yard touchdown run down the sidelines to make it 34-17, ASU, with 2:29 left in the third quarter. To open the fourth quarter, Washington's Anthony Russo returned a punt 21 yards to the ASU 33-yard line. UW managed to work the ball to the Devils' 14-yard line from where Ryan Perkins kicked a 31-yard field goal to make the score 34-20. ASU (7-0, 4-0 Pac-10) added 10 points to make the final score, 44-20. Most of Washington's offensive mojo took place in the first half. After the Sun Devils took a 3-0 in the first quarter, Washington put together a 9-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 36-yard touchdown pass from Jake Locker to Marcel Reece, who made a nifty, diving catch at the back of the end zone. Trailing 7-3, the Devils managed a long drive of their own, one that went for 11 plays and 71 yards, which was topped off by a 3-yard pass from Rudy Carpenter to WR Kyle Williams. That gave ASU a 10-7 lead in the second quarter. Ryan Perkins answered with a 24-yard field goal to tie the score at ten apiece. On that scoring drive (12 plays, 73 yards), Rankin broke off a 38-yard run, his longest of the night, that carried to the ASU 42. Rankin ended the game with 80 yards rushing and a 7.3 average yards per carry. Seconds later, Darrin Harris intercepted a Carpenter pass on the ASU 32. Out of the shotgun, Locker faked a handoff to Louis Rankin and took the ball straight up the gut on a bulling 32-yard touchdown run that carried a couple of tacklers into the end zone. Never has there been a quarterback in the conference that had so much power running the ball. ASU added a field goal to end the first-half scoring at 17-13, coming within 4 points of the Huskies' lead. Prior to the field goal, UW had seemingly stopped Carpenter on a 7-yard run just short of the end zone after the Devils had driven 67 yards to the Washington 8. However, a replay review clearly showed Carpenter had stepped out of bounds on the Huskies' 7 with 1 second remaining on the clock. The Good: -- The first half, particularly the play of Locker, Reece, Rankin, Harris and most of the defense. -- Jared Ballman's punting (41.3 yard average) and kickoffs. It was 78 degrees at kickoff, an ideal temperature for a punter/kicker. I watched the game in high definition on Directv, courtesy of Channel 640, CSNCHD. Directv carried the Cal/OSU game in high def on Versus HD (603). The bad: -- Jake's passing efficiency has dropped from 103.2 to 99.8, based on 169 passing attempts that have gone for 83 completions, 936 yards, 7 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Bonnell's passing efficiency is 83.4. Casey Paus finished his career at UW with a PE of 84.10. Isaiah Stanback finished with a PE of 122.9, which is a remarkable number, indeed, considering the mediocre teams he played on. -- The scoreless third quarter, particularly the opening drive that netted just 10 yards and resulted in a fumble by Locker that was recovered by ASU's Mike Nixon on the Huskies' 35. As a result, the Devils scored a touchdown and took a 20-17 lead. Then came the two long runs that gave the Devils a 34-17 lead. -- "We didn't make plays," Washington coach Ty Willingham (74-71-1; 9-20 at UW) said. "I really don't know how to explain it." Hmmm. -- Locker's pick six, a 35-yard interception return that ended the scoring. It was the second of his career. His other scoring pick came in the UCLA game, which gave the Blue a 24-10 lead. -- Coach Dennis Erickson's smile after the game. Just kidding, he's a great coach and has already left his mark on a Sun Devils team that is playing with enthusiasm and emotion as a consequence. ----------- Here's how we rate the coaches in the Pac-10: 1. Pete Carroll (Cool when Bush burned Washington, but not so cool if the Prez burned Troy). 2. Mike Bellotti (El Deano can't sing any Amore). 3. Jeff Tedford (Beats Trees and wants to chop them down). 4. Dennis Erickson (Not a Vandal, just a Devil). 5. MIke Riley (Oh, really, no O to mark his losses?). 6. Jim Harbaugh (This Tree did burn Troy). 7. Mike Stoops (Will Mike Stoops to conquer?). 8. Karl Dorrell ("Dullard" wears bright blue) 9. Tyrone Willingham (A signature win, not a signature, please!). 10. Bill Doba ("Still Bill" squirms on the hot seat).
Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at
malamute@4malamute.com |
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