_—lii.
Emerald
Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter has thrown for 1,197 yards and nine touchdowns through five games this season.
Walter slumping
during Sun Devils'
three-game slide
Andrew Walter finished with
536 passing yards against the
Ducks last season at Autzen
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
What does one get for the man who
seemingly has everything?
In Andrew Walter's case, a fresh start
Saturday with the Sun Devils.
Walter lit up the Ducks for 536 pass
ing yards in Arizona State's 45-42 win
last season at Autzen Stadium, skyrock
eting the Sun Devils' presence in the Pa
cific- 10 Conference.
But that was last year. This year has been
anything but smooth sailing for Walter.
"Last year against Oregon, to play at
their stadium and be down by 21 and
come back to win was exciting," Walter
said. "TTiis year, we're not as much of a
big-play offense. I think we have the capa
bility, but so far we haven't done it."
The big play offense that netted the
Sun Devils almost 600 total yards
against the Ducks last season has be
come almost dormant in the team's last
three games. Arizona State has lost to
Iowa, Oregon State and USC after start
ing out with wins over Northern Arizona
and Utah State.
Walter has suffered during that losing
streak. 1 le has thrown three touchdown
passes while being picked off five times,
including a season-high three times
against the Beavers.
His farthest throw against Iowa was
just 16 yards, and he has completed 49
percent of his pass attempts.
Walter's fall from grace has easily co
incided with Arizona State's slump.
"I would say Andrew and myself and
(quarterbacks coach) Mark Helfrich
have much higher expectations for An
drew than anyone else," Arizona State
head coach Dirk Koetter said. "Andrew
played much, much better against USC."
When Walter capitalized on Oregon's
defensive downfalls last season —
throwing for the 536 yards and four
touchdowns — it was a signal to the rest
of the country that he was the real deal.
He ended last season throwing for 28
touchdowns and 3,877 passing yards.
Those totals came in 14 games, and he
started 10.
"No one wants to win more than An
drew Walter," Koetter said. "He's work
ing as hard as he can. As 1 look around,
I'm not seeing any quarterbacks I'd trade
him for. 1 like that guy on my team."
Walter's ineffectiveness this season is
no more than a smoke screen for the
Ducks. After Walter passed for more
than 300 yards last week against USC,
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti is
preparing for him and the Sun Devil of
fense as though there is no change from
last season.
"We're certainly very aware that he is
a quality quarterback," Bellotti said.
"Certainly, given the time, he can rip you
to shreds.
"1 thought he was very effective
against USC. He was scary early on.
Meanwhile, he threw for 300 yards and
(USC) is a good football team."
The Ducks have given up big passing
days to Michigan and Washington State
this season. With Walter healthy, he
could put Arizona State on that list.
I lowever, he's going to have to do it
against a defense that will be changing
as the game wears on.
"What we need to do is make sure we
vary the coverage;" Bellotti said. "We will
bring pressure, but we will vary the types
of pressure that we bring."
Contact the sports editor
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
ANDREW WALTER
Before Arizona State: Walter was named an honorable mention All-American
by USA Today as a senior while at Grand Junction (Colo.) High School. He lettered
three times in football, twice in basketball and once in track and field.
At Arizona State: Became the Sun Devils' first 3,000-yard passer when he
threw for 3,877 yards last season. He also threw for 28 touchdown passes
last season, tying him for sixth all-time on the Pac-10's single
season list. That mark also places him second all-time on ASU’s list.
Specializing in the Care of German,
Swedish ann
Japanese Automobiles.
ASIAN
AUTOMOTIVE
1917 FrankliD Blvd. Eugene, OR 37403
Ptioiie:485-8226
Virtual Office Systems, Inc.
omputers
In Partnership with UO Bookstore!
AMDB
AMD Athlon ™ XP Processor
2000+ with QuantiSpeed ™
Architecture outperforms
Competitive 1.80 GHz
Processors.
“PowerPlant’AMD
Athlon HP2000+
$779.99
1 Gigabyte 7VKMP Board
1 Antec “LanBoy” Case
• 64 MB GeForce 2 MX
■ 20 GB 7200 RPM Drive
• 256 MB DDR 266 MHz
• 17”.27 SVGA Monitor
System also includes A TX case with clear
side panel, carry strap, lights, 350 Watt
power supply, Windows XP Home, 52X CD,
56K V.90 modem, floppy, mouse, keyboard,
sound, and stereo speakers
CUSTOMIZING
This section of our web site is fun!
Here you will find everything you
need to make the best looking
computer on your block.
Check it out at:
www.voscomputers.com
-Microsoft:_
OEM System Builder
Gold Member 2002
3131 West 11th. Ave. Call us at 343-8633 Open Mon-Sat 10-6
ills,. urailahlc at the l O Bookstore. Puces gotjd through Ml T 0V I,ink-marks purports oflheir respective companies . Prices subject to change