2006 Arizona State Sun Devils

2006 Arizona State Sun Devils Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews

Dec. 24
Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii 41 ... Arizona State 24
Colt Brennan set the single season record for touchdown passes, passing Houston's David Klingler, throwing for five scores as part of a 38-point second half to blow open a tight game. Arizona State held a 10-3 halftime lead helped by a 37-yard touchdown catch from Brandon Smith, and then Brennan and WR Jason Rivers got hot connecting on a 38-yard score on the first drive of the second half and finishing with a 79-yard play to put the game out of reach. Along the way, Brennan connected with Ryan Grice-Mullen for two scores, including a 36-yard play to close out a 99-yard drive that gave Brennan the record. ASU got within three on a four-yard Michael Jones touchdown catch, but an eight play, 80-yard drive finishing with a Davone Bess touchdown put Hawaii comfortably back up. For the game, Hawaii outgained ASU 680 yards to 391.
Player of the game ... Hawaii QB Colt Brennan completed 33 of 42 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns with an interception, WR Jason Rivers caught 14 passes for 308 yards and two scores.
Stat Leaders: Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 13-26, 191 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Ryan Torian, 18-160, 1 TD  Receiving: Michael Jones, 5-72, 1 TD
Hawaii - Passing: Colt Brennan, 33-42, 559 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Nate Ilaoa, 18-97. Receiving: Jason Rivers, 15-308, 2 TD
Notes & Thoughts ... Can we all stop doubting Colt Brennan now? While his receivers did a great job of cranking out yards after the catch against Arizona State, Brennan put the ball in perfect positions. Half the battle is getting the ball to the right guy on the move in places they can make plays. ... What was Dirk Koetter doing at the end of the game with time management? His defense had done nothing to suggest it slow down the Hawaii attack, even when the momentum was on ASU's side, yet with less than four minutes to play and down by two scores, he chose to punt the ball. Five plays, 95 yards, 79-yard catch-and-run for a score from Jason Rivers, ball game. ... More than any other game this season, the loss to Hawaii showed how desperately ASU missed having a Derek Hagan like gamebreaker. Give credit to the Sun Devils for keeping the game close, but the offense brought a knife to a gun fight. ... Hawaii's offense gets all the publicity, and rightly so, but that defense hits like a ton of bricks. It doesn't always come up with plays, but it can pop.

2006 Schedule CFN Prediction: 8-4 2006 Results: 7-6 Preview 2006 predicted wins
8/31	No. Arizona W 35-14
9/9	Nevada W 52-21
9/16	at Colorado W 21-3
9/23	at California L 49-21
9/30	Oregon L 48-13
10/14	at USC L 28-21
10/21	Stanford W 38-3
10/28	at Wash. W 26-23 OT
11/4	at Oregon State L 44-10
11/11	Washington St W 47-14
11/18	UCLA L 24-12
11/25	at Arizona W 28-14
12/24	Hawaii Bowl Hawaii L 41-24

2005 Schedule CFN Prediction: 8-3 2005 Results: 7-5 Preview 2005 predicted wins
9/1	Temple W 63-16
9/10	LSU L 35-31
9/17	Northwestern W 52-21
9/24	at Oregon St W 42-24
10/1	USC L 38-28
10/8	Oregon L 31-17
10/22	at Stanford L 45-35
10/29	Washington W 44-20
11/5	at Wash State W 27-24
11/12	at UCLA L 45-35
11/25	Arizona W 23-20
12/27	Insight Bowl Rutgers W 45-40

Nov. 25
Arizona State 28 ... Arizona 14
Arizona State got up 21-0 in the first quarter on three Rudy Carpenter touchdown passes. He connected with Chris McGaha for 26-yard scoring pass on the first drive of the game, and then things got a little strange. ASU set up for a punt on fourth and eight, switched back to the offense, and Carpenter threw a 38-yard scoring pass to Jamaal Lewis. After Arizona had problems with a punt, Carpenter hit Zach Miller for a seven-yard score. Arizona put up 14 points in the second quarter on a six-yard Syndric Steptoe catch and a 22-yard Mike Thomas touchdown grab, but starting QB Willie Tuitama was knocked out of the game and the Arizona offense wasn't the same. The Sun Devils closed out the scoring with a one-yard Dimitri Nance touchdown run after David Smith picked off Adam Austin.
Player of the game ... Arizona State LB Josh Barrett made 11 tackles and two tackles for loss
Stat Leaders: Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 17-25, 214 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ryan Torian, 24-139. Receiving: Zach Miller, 8-61, 1 TD
Arizona - Passing: Adam Austin, 11-30, 99 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Chris Henry, 16-38. Receiving: Syndric Steptoe, 6-42, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... ASU played Arizona like it had nothing to lose, and it showed as Rudy Carpenter appeared to be relaxed and confident in his throws, while the offensive line did a great job of opening up holes for Ryan Torian. Glossed over was the defensive performance that held the Wildcats to 168 yards of total offense and bottled up hot RB Chris Henry. Now the Sun Devils are off to a bowl game salvaging a disappointing year, and maybe Dirk Koetter's job.

Nov. 18
UCLA 24 ... Arizona State 12
Brandon Breazell caught a 56-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring and put the game away with a 35-yard touchdown grab, while the UCLA defense held Arizona State to 264 yards and no touchdowns. The Sun Devils managed four Jesse Ainsworth field goals, but stayed alive until late holding the Bruins to a 24-yard Justin Medlock field goal in the second half before Breazell's second touchdown. The two teams combined to convert just seven of 30 third down chances.
Player of the game ... UCLA WR Brandon Breazell caught two passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 11-30, 149 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Ryan Torian, 19-77. Receiving: Zach Miller, 4-36
UCLA - Passing: Patrick Cowan, 14-24, 187 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Chris Markey, 18-49. Receiving: Chris Markey, 4-14
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Did the loss to UCLA mean the end of the Dirk Koetter era? Even with six wins, a bowl game is far from a sure-thing without a win over a red-hot Arizona team to finish up the regular season. The offense wasn’t able to turn drives into touchdowns against the Bruins settling for four field goals. Rudy Carpenter simply hasn’t been consistent throughout the year, and there’s not enough of a running game to fall back on.

Nov. 11
Arizona State 47 ... Washington State 14
Arizona State exploded with 562 yards helped by the team's best half of the year with a 30-7 halftime lead on two Rudy Carpenter touchdown passes, a three-yard Ryan Torian scoring run and three Jesse Ainsworth field goals. Washington State tied it early on a nine-yard Charles Dillon touchdown catch, but a 23-point ASU run all but put it away. The Cougars opened the second half with a six-yard Jed Collins touchdown, but the Sun Devils countered with 17 unanswered points highlighted by a 62-yard Brandon Smith touchdown catch.
Player of the game ... Arizona State QB Rudy Carpenter completed 16 of 24 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 16-24, 339 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ryan Torian, 19-84, 1 TD. Receiving: Zach Miller, 6-84
Washington State - Passing: Alex Brink, 14-30, 161 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Dwight Tardy, 11-21. Receiving: Brandon Gibson, 5-51
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Where did that come from? Arizona State finally, finally, finally looked like Arizona State blowing away Washington State with pop from the passing game and surprising balance. With a new-found confidence, Carpenter might finally be on track spreading the ball around well and making all the right decisions. The Sun Devils even had a running game tearing off 196 yards, while the defense allowed just 192 yards. Finally bowl eligible, the pressure is now off just a little bit going into the home date with UCLA. With all the problems throughout the year, wins over the Bruins and against Arizona would do wonders for the Dirk Koetter era.

Nov. 4
Oregon State 44 ... Arizona State 10
Oregon State scored on its first five possessions, with Yvenson Bernard running for two scores, Alexis Serna hitting a 51-yard field goal, and Matt Moore throwing a touchdown pass and running for a five-yard score on the way to a 31-7 lead. The Sun Devils got their final points on a 32-yard field goal with :20 left in the first half and was shut down the rest of the way, while OSU scored 13 unanswered points. Serna hit kicks from 22 and 32 yards out and Tony Carrasco ran for an eight-yard score.
Player of the game ... Oregon State RB Yvenson Bernard ran 24 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 9-27, 124 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Keegan Herring, 15-69, 1 TD. Receiving: Zach Miller, 4-57
Oregon State - Passing: Matt Moore, 17-31, 282 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Yvenson Bernard, 24-66, 2 TD. Receiving: Sammie Stroughter, 5-95
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The Sun Devils want to go to a more balanced offense to take the heat and pressure off Rudy Carpenter, but that only works if there's a little bit of production through the air. While Carpenter has been off, he still doesn't have any deep weapons to help out. Even though Zach Miller is a nice go-to target, Carpenter needs play makers who can turn short passes into big gains. Even so, there's no reason for Carpenter to complete just nine of 27 passes like he did against Oregon State.

Oct. 28
Arizona State 26 ... Washington 23 OT
Arizona State answered Washington's 47-yard overtime field goal from Michael Braunstein with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brent Miller for the win. ASU QB Rudy Carpenter started off the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jamaal Lewis and Keegan Herring made it 20-6 with touchdown runs from 19 and 65 yards out, but Washington came roaring back in the fourth quarter with WR Sonny Shackelford throwing a 41-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Russo and scoring on a four-yard pass from Johnny DuRocher, who filled in for an injured Carl Bonnell, with 2:19 to play to force overtime.
Player of the game ... Arizona State RB Ryan Torian ran 23 times for 98 yards and caught three passes for 30 yards.
Stat Leaders: Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 16-22, 170 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Ryan Torian, 23-98  Receiving: Keegan Herring, 3-43
Washington - Passing: Carl Bonnell, 9-23, 67 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Louis Rankin, 25-67  Receiving: Louis Rankin, 6-46
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk about a season saver, Arizona State got the desperately needed win over Washington before dealing with tougher-looking Oregon State and Washington State teams. It's not a stretch to say this was a job-saver for head coach Dirk Koetter. There was offensive balance with Ryan Torian once again carrying the bulk of the offensive load, but when the offense needed a key play, it turned back to Rudy Carpenter and the passing game. As big as this road win was, there are concerns. 16 penalties for 127 yards was inexcusable, and the passing game has to be sharper on third downs to win over the next two weeks.

Oct. 21
Arizona State 38 ... Stanford 3
Arizona State had no problems with a punchless Stanford attack holding it to 145 yards of total offense with just a 35-yard Aaron Zagory field goal breaking up the perfect game. ASU QB Rudy Carpenter just missed on one pass, while Ryan Torian and Keegan Herring each won twice on the way to a 31-0 lead. Dimitri Nance closed things off with a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Player of the game ... Arizona State QB Rudy Carpenter completed 14 of 15 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 14-15, 160 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Ryan Torian, 17-90, 1 TD. Receiving: Zach Miller, 4-32
Stanford - Passing: T.C. Ostrander, 7-25, 66 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Anthony Kimble, 11-83  Receiving: Richard Sherman, 3-38
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Arizona State needed an easy blowout, and it got it from a near-perfect game for three quarters from the offense along with a great game from a defense that had no problem with Stanford's anemic attack. The only concern was with the penalties committing ten for 95 yards, but that's nitpicking in a game like this. Now the momentum has to carry over in winnable road games at Washington and Oregon State to get back in the hunt for strong bowl game.

Oct. 14
USC 28 ... Arizona State 21
USC won the game with Chauncey Washington and a pounding running game holding on with things got tight in the fourth quarter, and going ahead with a two-yard Washington scoring run with 4:29 to play. The Trojans appeared to be on their way to a blowout taking a 21-0 lead on a two-yard C.J. Gable run and two John David Booty scoring passes including a 14-yard lob that made Dwayne Jarrett the Pac 10's all-time leader in touchdown catches. But ASU chipped back with a six-yard run from Ryan Torian late in the first half and an eight-yard pass to Zach Miller early in the third. Keno Walter-White picked off a Booty pass for a 37-yard touchdown to tie it, and then things got interesting.
Player of the game ... USC RB Chauncey Washington ran 22 times for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 21-21, 124 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Ryan Torian, 20-57, 1 TD. Receiving: Zach Miller, 4-36, 1 TD
USC - Passing: John David Booty, 12-25, 148 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chauncey Washington, 22-108, 1 TD  Receiving: Dwayne Jarrett, 6-60, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... So Arizona State is never going to be the explosive team everyone was expecting. While that's fine, that means there needs to be more physical play from both sides of the ball. The defense got run over by USC late, while the offensive line isn't getting enough of a push up front for the running game. There's still time to change things around with the tough part of the Pac 10 schedule out of the way. If the offense can just be efficient, and the D can come up with some bigger stops, there shouldn't be problems against Stanford or Washington over the next two weeks.

Sept. 30
Oregon 48 ... Arizona State 13
Jaison Williams caught first quarter touchdown passes from 13 and 33 yards out on the way to a stunning 31-3 Oregon run that was finally broken up by a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Terry Richardson in the third quarter. Dennis Dixon threw two touchdowns passes and Brady Leaf came on late to add another, but the real story was the Duck defense that held ASU to 175 yards of offense and a mere 33 passing yards. The Sun Devil offense only produced two Jesse Ainsworth field goals.
Player of the game ... Oregon WR Jaison Williams caught ten passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Oregon - Passing: Dennis Dixon, 19-30, 215 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Jonathan Stewart, 12-142  Receiving: Jaison Williams, 10-137, 2 TD
Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 6-19, 33 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Ryan Torain, 19-113  Receiving: Michael Jones, 1-9
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Take a big, deep breath, ASU. After getting bombed by Oregon and California by a combined score of 97 to 44, now things could completely go into the tank with a road trip to USC. It's vital for Rudy Carpenter and the offense to relax and just start winging it. The offense is playing tight with the passing game having a nightmare of a time getting anything going with only 33 yards through the air. While the passing game needs Carpenter to start playing like a D-I quarterback again, it also needs a receiver to step up and be the second coming of Derek Hagan to start hitting on more deep plays. With a tight end like Zach Miller, there's no excuse to not have more production on third downs. On the positive side, Ryan Torian is running well.

Sept. 23
California 49 ... Arizona State 21
California got huge plays on both sides of the ball going on a 34 point run in the first half on four Nate Longshore touchdown passes and an 80-yard punt return for a score from DeSean Jackson. The defense got into the act in with two interceptions for scores highlighted by a 47-yard play by Daymeion Hughes with just :26 left in the first half. Arizona State put up 414 yards of total offense and got two Rudy Carpenter touchdown passes, but five turnovers proved too costly.
Player of the game ... California CB Daymeion Hughes made ten tackles and two interceptions taking one for a score
Stat Leaders: California - Passing: Nate Longshore, 18-26, 270 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Marshawn Lynch, 17-124  Receiving: Robert Jordan, 5-83
Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 16-36, 177 yds, 2 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Ryan Torain, 24-191, 1 TD  Receiving: Nate Kimbrough, 4-44
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Sam Keller, where are you? Rudy Carpenter doesn't have any of the same magic of last year appearing to press way too hard to make things happen and making way too many mistakes. Against Cal, he not only had a hard time getting the offense moving until it was too late, but he killed any hope of a comeback with an awful throw for a pick six in the final minute of the first half. The defense didn't do anything to bail the offense out failing to come up with a big stop. The Sun Devils need a far stronger performance next week against Oregon or things could get ugly with a date against USC to follow.

Sept. 16
Arizona State 21 ... Colorado 3
Arizona State didn't explode against Colorado; it didn't need to. Rudy Carpenter threw two touchdown passes and Ryan Torian ran for an eight-yard score to overcome an earl y3-0 deficit on a 29-yard Mason Crosby field goal. The Sun Devils outgained the Buffs 430 yards to 219, but penalties and four turnovers kept the game close. Colorado helped with three turnovers of its own.
Player of the game ... Arizona State CB Justin Tryon made seven tackles one sack and recovered one fumble.
Stat Leaders: Colorado - Passing: Bernard Jackson, 8-18, 86 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Hugh Charles, 20-109  Receiving: Hugh Charles, 2-30
Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 21-37, 248 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Keegan Herring, 9-82  Receiving: Zach Miller, 5-45, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Yeah, ASU is 3-0 winning all its game by comfortable margins, but something's missing. This isn't the explosive, blow-'em-up attack of previous years; the swagger isn't quite there. That can quickly change over the next three weeks against California, Oregon and USC. It would help if Rudy Carpenter could find some of the same efficiency he showed throughout all of last year. Interceptions have been a problem early on. Penalties were a big issue against Colorado.

Sept. 9
Arizona State 52 ... Nevada 21
Arizona State blew the doors off the Wolf Pack on both sides of the ball as Rudy Carpenter threw a career-high five touchdown passes with three coming in the first half on the way to a 31-7 lead before Jeff Rowe hit Marko Mitchell for a nine-yard score with :14 left. ASU picked up where it left off as Carpenter connected with Shaun DeWitty for a 22-yard score and Terry Richardson for a 25-yard touchdowns for a 45-14 lead after three quarters. Early on, Nevada tied it at seven on a 23-yard Ezra Butler interception return for a score, but ASU returned the favor with a  Ryan McFoy 30-yard pick six.
Player of the game ... Arizona State QB Rudy Carpenter completed 17 of 26 passes for 333 yards and five touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Nevada - Passing: Jeff Rowe, 17-29, 163 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Robert Hubbard, 12-71. Receiving: Marko Mitchell, 5-41, 1 TD
Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 17-26, 333 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ryan Torian, 8-70, 1 TD. Receiving: Zach Miller, 5-53, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Now that's what Arizona State is supposed to look like. The Sun Devils ripped apart Nevada for 486 yards as Rudy Carpenter showed a tremendous command of the offense bombing away for 18.3 yards per completion. The defense wasn't bad with four takeaways including three interceptions. The offense is going to need to be even sharper over the next month with road game against Colorado, California, and USC and a home date with Oregon.

Aug. 31
Arizona State 35 ... Northern Arizona 14
It took a little while, but Arizona State finally knocked off Northern Arizona with a fourth quarter interception for a touchdown from Chris Baloney and a fantastic 15-yard touchdown run from Keegan Herring. ASU QB Rudy Carpenter didn't exactly pick up where he left off last year, but he threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. The Lumberjacks started off hot with Alex Watson catching touchdown passes from 80 and 60 yards out, but the offensive line couldn't keep QB Jason Murrietta upright to make generate much more offense.
Player of the game ... Arizona State LB Derron Ware made eight tackles, three sacks and four tackles for loss
Stat Leaders: Northern Arizona - Passing: Jason Murrietta, 15-20, 259 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Alex Henderson, 14-47, 3 TD. Receiving: Alex Watson, 11-206, 2 TD
Arizona State - Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 17-24, 261 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Dimitri Nance, 1 -61, 1 TD. Receiving: Rudy Burgess, 7-112
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... After a the bizarre controversy with the quarterback situation, Arizona State needed to come out and paste Northern Arizona. It took way too long to put the game away despite being two steps faster on offense and unstoppable at getting into the backfield on defense. Rudy Carpenter was fine, but nothing special. Rudy Burgess proved he's a legitimate number one receiver who should make a sleeper run at All-Pac 10 honors. The secondary will have to play much more consistent next week against Nevada.

2006 Arizona State Preview

Arizona State Preview | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart | Further Analysis

Stop me if you've heard this one before. Arizona State is going to be really, really, good. Like, national title level good if everything breaks the right way.

Oh sure, the last few seasons under head coach Dirk Koetter have been explosive with times of unbelievable offense and enough excitement to think the corner is about to be turned, and then WHAM. Something happens to ruin all the fun.

Last season's team was a brilliant disappointment with the talent to push the two most athletic teams in America, LSU and USC, up until the last minute, but it lost both games. After all the fireworks and all the big numbers, the 2005 Sun Devils' best win was over ... Northwestern? Rutgers? The be elite you have to beat the elite, and this year's team has the makeup to beat the best of the best. At least it does on offense.

You know your situation is good when college football's best passer is second string. Rudy Carpenter, who led the nation in passing efficiency, was magnificent over the second half of last year with starter Sam Keller out with a thumb injury, and now the Sun Devils have two All-America caliber signal callers to run a frightening attack that should put up 35 points a game before leaving the locker room.

On both sides of the ball, Koetter has assembled a team that can run, hit, throw, and catch as well as anyone in the nation. The special teams will be tremendous with Terry Richardson back returning punts and kicks, and the defense should see some improvement with the addition of several good JUCO prospects along with Northwestern transfer Loren Howard and BYU transfer Michael Marquardt on the line.

So what's missing?

The confidence is certainly there, players like Keller will make sure of that. The talent is there. The coaching, despite what some Sun Devil fans think, is there. It's just a matter of putting everything together and finally coming up with big Pac 10 wins.

In the Koetter era, the best Pac 10 victory came in 2003 beating a decent Oregon team 59-14. The second best, arguably, was a 27-14 win in 2004 over an Oregon State team that finished 7-5. Yeah, zzzzzzz. Where are the upsets over USC? How about a win over a mighty Cal team?

ope, nothing.

To get where ASU needs to go, it has to become a living, breathing player in in the Pac 10 race. Otherwise, next year we'll be talking about how the 2007 Sun Devils really, truly have what it takes to be a national power.

The Schedule: It's not all that bad outside of road trips to Cal and USC, which could kill any dreams of a Pac 10 title. The road trip to Colorado will have the storyline of two former Boise State head coaches squaring off, but the Sun Devils had better not look past Nevada the week before. It'll be hard to get into too much of a groove with five road dates in seven games hurt by the imbalance of the Pac 10 schedule; some have to play five conference road games.

Best Offensive Player: Junior TE Zach Miller. He likely would've been a first round NFL pick had he been able to come out as a sophomore and would've been the most complete prospect in this year's tight end rich draft. Most of the world knows him for his highlight-reel catches, but the scouts have taken particular note of how good a blocker he has become.

Best Defensive Player: Senior SS Zach Catanese. One of the Pac 10's biggest hitters and the new leader of the defensive back seven, Catanese should start to get more notoriety this season. He needs to make more big plays against the pass, but his main job is helping make tone-setting stops against the run.

Key player to a successful season: Senior CB Keno Walter-White. The ASU secondary struggled last season even by Pac 10 standards. The safeties will be strong with the return of Zach Catanese and Josh Barnett, so the corners have to shine. Walter-White has the best combination of talent and experience, and hopefully players like Justin Tryon, Chad Green and Chris Baloney can help boost the production.

The season will be a success if ... Arizona State wins the Pac 10 title. Enough is enough. There's more than enough experience, talent, and athleticism to win the title and get to the BCS. There are some killer league road games to deal with, but there will always be landmines. A great team has to find a way to get the job done, and this, flaws and all, has the potential to be a great team.

Key game: September 23 at California. The Sun Devils and Bears didn't play last year, but they do now in the new everyone plays everyone Pac 10 world. The conference opener could be a stepping stone game for ASU with a chance, for all intents and purposes, to put the Pac 10 title away over the following two games against Oregon and at USC. A loss wouldn't be a killer, but it would mean there'd be no more margin for error.

2005 Fun Stats: 
- Penalties: Arizona State 114 for 982 yards - Opponents 80 for 666 yards
- Average yards per catch: Arizona State 14.4 - Opponents 14.1
- Sacks: Opponents 36 for 222 yards - Arizona State 22 for 147 yards

The Last Time Arizona State…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Insight Bowl vs. Rutgers)
…missed a bowl game…2003
…pitched a shutout…1996 (Nebraska)
…was shutout…2004 (Cal)
…scored 50 points…2005 (Northwestern)
…went undefeated…1975
…won a conference title…1996 (Pac-10)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…2004 (Andrew Walter)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2001 (Delvon Flowers)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2005 (Derek Hagan)
…had a first-round draft choice…2003 (DE Terrell Suggs)