ASU s loss to Arizona puts
it in Sun Bowl with Purdue
After the defeat, the Wildcats dropped down to
a tie for third in the Pac-10 and lost their star QB
BY JON ROETMAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
Arizona State’s promising season
of offensive authority came to a
crashing halt on Nov. 26 when the
Sun Devils lost to lowly Arizona to
cap off what had been a successful
Pacific-10 Conference season.
The 34-27 loss gave Arizona State
a 5-3 conference record and dropped
the Sun Devils into a third-place tie
with Oregon State in the Pac-10.
Adding insult to injury, Arizona
State lost one of the most highly
lr- =
decorated quarterbacks in confer
ence history to injury during its slip
up against the Wildcats.
Andrew Walter, the Pac-lO’s all
time leader in touchdown passes
with 85, separated his throwing
(right) shoulder midway through
the fourth quarter, leaving sopho
more Sam Keller in control of the
Sun Devil offense.
Keller, who has thrown for 483
yards during his young career, will re
main in charge as Arizona State takes
on Purdue in the 71st edition of the
Sun Bowl Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas.
The Sun Devils (8-3 overall, 5-3
Pac-10) will have their work cut out
for them without their offensive
leader. They will face a stingy Boiler
maker defense that is allowing only
16.3 points per game. But if Keller
can limit his mistakes and keep Ari
zona State in the game, the Sun Dev
ils have the pass-catching playmak
ers needed to pull out a victory.
All-Pac-10 second team wide re
ceiver Derek Hagan has been a de
pendable weapon all season. The jun
ior has amassed 1,066 yards and nine
touchdowns in 74 receptions and is
averaging nearly 100 yards per game.
One of the reasons Hagan has
ASU, page 11B
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Oregon
State’s
quarterback
Derek
Anderson
(14) led the
Pac-10 in
passing,
averaging
296.1 yards
per game.
Insight: OSU will depend
on its pass offense for points
Continued from page 5B
previous visits to the Phoenix area for
a bowl, and we are looking forward
to another enjoyable experience,”
Oregon State Director of Athletics
Bob De Carolis said. “I know our
team is excited about playing in a re
spected bowl and against an oppo
nent with a tremendous reputation.”
The two teams have compiled
identical records of 6-5 but need a
win in this game to mark 2004 as a
winning season in their archives.
The Fighting Irish come into this
game in the cross hairs of college foot
ball for unfortunate reasons. Notre
Dame is reeling in the wake of a 41-10
loss to rival Southern California, who
will have its bags packed for the Or
ange Bowl in January. On top of that,
Notre Dame football has received more
criticism than praise from the media
following the firing of former head
coach Tyrone Willingham. Notre Dame
will be led by defensive coordinator
Kent Baer, who is serving as the inter
im head coach. That decision came
shortly after the Fighting Irish received
their invitation to the Insight Bowl fol
lowing the release of Willingham.
Notre Dame is desperate to revamp
its program, and a bowl win could be
just what it needs to do so. The year
2004 marks a decade since the Fighting
Irish last won a bowl game. In 1994,
Notre Dame hoisted the Cotton Bowl
Trophy after defeating Texas A&M.
Sophomore Brady Quinn will lead
the Fighting Irish at quarterback and
hopes to emulate his outing against
the TYojans in which he led the offense
for an opening-drive of 92 yards en
route to a touchdown. Quinn ended
the 2004 regular season leading the
team in more statistical categories
than any other sophomore quarter
back in Notre Dame history.
Quinn looked impressive through
out the first half of the game against
USC and was aided by a Notre Dame
rushing attack that churned out 195
yards. A consistent running game has
been the key to every victory this sea
son for the Fighting Irish and will be
a necessity against Oregon State.
Quinn will have to throw out of the
pocket with confidence and keep the
offense balanced.
Senior flanker Carlyle Holiday has
been one of Quinn’s favorite targets this
year and will need to continue hauling
deep passes. Most importantly, Notre
Dame needs to continue playing
smart football by avoiding turnovers.
The Fighting Irish committed zero
turnovers against the TYojans, which
helped them stay in the game early.
Defensively, the Fighting Irish have
remained sturdy throughout the sea
son. Their biggest advantage over the
Beavers comes with their ability to
defend the run. Notre Dame’s front
eight is led by senior linebackers
Mike Goolsby and Brandon Hoyte,
who lead the team in tackles. Fortu
nately for Notre Dame, Oregon State
does not feature a decent running at
tack — the strength of its offense is
welded by the throwing arm of sen
ior quarterback Derek Anderson.
Anderson leads the Pacific-10 Con
ference with 3,257 passing yards and
will give the Notre Dame secondary
all it can handle. Anderson’s favorite
receiver has been senior split end
Mike Hass, who leads the Pac-10 in re
ceiving yards. Hass played one of his
best games two weeks ago against
Oregon and was a major threat in last
year’s Las Vegas Bowl win against
New Mexico. When these two Beaver
seniors are at their best, they make the
worst of any defense.
The real challenge for Oregon State
will be containing Notre Dame’s of
fense. The Beaver defense is led
by senior defensive end Bill Swancutt,
who anchors the front four. Stopping
Notre Dame’s rushing attack will
be quite a feat for Swancutt and
Meeuwsen, but if they and the rest of
the defense play as well as they did late
in the regular season, a Beaver win
could be nothing less than sealed.
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