Cool. We passed. We ran. We won!

Arizona State dominated Stanford in passing and almost all other facets of the game. ASU led not only in passing, but rushing and defense. The defense stopped Stanford's running game. Overall, the Sun Devils played super.

The crowd was big with 59,441 fans and the largest student section I have seen in some time. ASU (2-0, 1-0 Pac-10) has allowed Stanford only 23 points in the last three years, having scored 120 points against Stanford. Their next opponent is UNLV (1-1), who lost to Utah 42-21.

Keegan Herring and Shaun DeWitty entered the game for the first time this year, but Carpenter overshadowed them. Carpenter threw for 345 yards and was sacked only twice, four sacks less than the Stanford game last year.

The play of the game came with 52 seconds left in the first half. Stanford's Travis Golia kicked off out of bounds after the Cardinal scored a field goal to close within 3 points. The Sun Devils had already used their three time outs. The out-of-bounds kick off gave the Devils the ball on the forty and stopped the clock. The Sun Devils went for a touchdown rather that settling for a Thomas Weber field goal. The big play happened after the Cardinal were penalized for roughing Carpenter. Carpenter rolled right and found Kerry Taylor. Taylor outran cornerback Wopamo Osaisai, Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week, for a 45-yard touchdown and a 20-10 lead.

ASU dominated this game. Carpenter is going great now. It seems as though he is on a mission and if he keeps going, he will be a first round pick. After next week's game with UNLV, ASU dives into probably one of the hardest schedules in all of college football: four ranked teams in a row, not to mention #1 and #2 in the mix.

Stanford is going to be a big game for many other PAC-10 teams this year. This was a great win for the Devils.

Game Photos

A tour of ASU Sports Facilities

Recently, Jim invited me along with his employee, Gabe, to the Tempe Diplomats’ tour of the Sun Devil Sports Facilities.

The tour started in the Wells Fargo Arena Wells, the home for Sun Devil men's and women's basketball as well as volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling, is one of the nation's finest collegiate arenas. Constructed in the spring of 1974 at the cost of $8 million, the 14,198-seat facility also plays host to graduation ceremonies and a variety of concerts and shows.

We were then led to the Ed and Nadine Carson Student Athletic Center. On the first floor is the Hall of Fame and trophy cases of all the trophies won by the Sun Devil sports teams. On another floor is the center is the state-of-the-art 16,000-sq. foot weight room at the Lawrence Strength and Conditioning Center.

In the football locker room is a view of Sparky, the symbol of Sun Devil athletics.

The tour ended with a buffet at Karsten Golf Course Club House. The Karsten Golf Course is home to the ASU Golf Program, which turns out winning teams year after year. Many touring professionals have honed their skills on the fairways and greens of this classic Pete Dye, Scottish links course.

USC Too Powerful

The Arizona State Sun Devil football team played like they had eaten too much turkey this Thanksgiving day. The tryptophan from the turkey took its toll on the team causing them to play sloppy almost the whole game.

In past games, the Sun Devils were noted for their lackluster play in the first half but outscored their opponents by a huge margin in the second half. Tonight was a different matter. USC was sharp throughout the whole game, but ASU played sloppy the whole game. Final score was 44-24 in favor of USC.

The atmosphere was fun though. Shelly and Craig Foster, Jim and Margie Beaton’s daughter and son-in-law, were seated next to me cheering for their Sun Devils; Little Richard together with backup from the Sun Devil Band provided half-time entertainment, screaming out, “Good Golly Miss Mollie” and a couple of his other hits; and Charles Barkley stood on the sideline in support of what he called, “my Sun Devils.”

Signs in the student section read: “O.J. Stole My Other Sign” and “We Beat Stanford.” O.J. was a star for USC. Stanford beat USC but lost to ASU 41-3.

ASU has a very slim chance of going to the Rose Bowl. For ASU to stand a chance of spending New Year’s Day in Pasadena, USC must lose to UCLA; Oregon must lose to Oregon State; and ASU must beat Arizona. That’s a tall order.

8 – 0

The Arizona State Sun Devils won their eight consecutive games by beating the number 18 California Bears 31–10. ASU is in sole possession of first place in the Pac-10. The team is 4th in the BCS Poll and on its way to the national-championship hunt.

Next week, the Sun Devils play at No. 5 Oregon (7-1, 4-1). This will be their most important game since the 1997 Rose Bowl.

Again the Sun Devils put a scare in front a full stadium by getting behind 13-0, 20-7 and at halftime 20-14. But Coach Erickson has the team believing that they can overcome their opponents, which they did by outscoring the Bears 17–0 in the second half.

Tailbacks Keegan erring and Dimitri Nance combine for 181 yards rushing. The defense shut out Cal n the second half and kept the deficit manageable by forcing some field goals early.

GO DEVILS!

THANKS MARGIE AND JIM…

After big win, craziness ensues

ASU versus OSU

It looked like the Sun Devils had played lower division teams in the first three games when Oregon State started the game with nineteen points in the first quarter. That’s right, 19-0 right off the bat. Whew! It was scary. How could they ever oercome a nineteen point deficit? But that they did.

Over the next three quarters, the Sun Devils outscored the Beavers 44 points to 13 to end up with a final score of 44-32. Like the Colorado game, the Devils came out flat in the first quarter. In both games Rudy Carpenter threw an interception to set up a touchdown. However, ASU intercepted the Beavers a few times too...five as a matter of fact.

The fans are louder with fewer boos this year than last year. It is easy to get invoved in the game with this exciting team.

Jake Plummer attended the game as he was inducted into ASU’s Hall of Fame at halftime.

Thanks again to Jim and Margie for allowing me to go in their place.

Something to Cheer About

The ASU football team looked very good last night in their game with San Jose State. It appears we have a running game to go with the passing game, and we finally have a defense. The crowd was noisy. I hope it continues.

The band looked snazzy in their new uniforms. Pants are black which makes them look astute and shapely. And I like the white extenders on their caps. It makes them look tall and proud.

Maybe we have something to cheer about.

ASU marching band: Larger, louder