■ Arizona State notes
ASU sports steady running
attack and tough defense
Sun Devils aim for fourth
consecutive series win
against the Ducks
BY scorn. ADAMS
SPORTS REPORTER
Arizona State joined Oregon as one
of the only two teams in the nation this
season to hold a halftime lead over No.
1 USC. Like the Ducks, the No. 17 Sun
Devils could not compensate for sec
ond-half adjustments made by the TVo
jans. They fell 38-28.
Following a win over Stanford last
weekend, Oregon quarterback Kellen
Clemens said he and his teammates
have put the loss to USC behind them.
Wideout Derek Hagan of the Sun Dev
ils followed suit on Monday.
“We put the game behind us al
ready,” Hagan said. “We know that if
we finished the game we would have
come out on top.”
Keller played with heart against the
Trojans, but his five interceptions
sealed Arizona State’s fate. Keller
threw for 347 yards and two touch
downs in the game and is expected by
Hagan to bounce back this week
against the Ducks.
“I think (Keller) will be fine,” Hagan
said. “Sam is just one of those guys;
when things go wrong he’ll keep play
ing and just put it behind him. ”
Hagan has been Keller’s most reli
able target this season. The senior had
10 grabs against the TVojans, good for
162 yards. He may be one of the most
dangerous receivers the Oregon sec
ondary will face this season.
Arizona State’s rushing attack has
been consistent this season, utilizing a
tailback-by-committee system directed
by head coach Dirk Koetter. Sopho
more Rudy Burgess, freshman Keegan
Herring and junior Randy Hill have
created a steady balance at tailback
and helped the Sun Devils to fourth
place in the Pacific-10 Conference with
852 total rushing yards. Under run
ning-game coordinator Brent Myers,
the Arizona State backfield has been
successful carrying the ball out of sin
gleback sets, similar to what Oregon
uses. Also like Oregon, the Sun Devils
use an H-Back to contribute to running
and passing plays.
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Freshman
running back
Keegan Herring
has rushed for
five touchdowns
and 6.9 yards
per carry this
season for the
Sun Devils.
Courtesy
Sacks aplenty
Going into the season, there were
many doubts about whether Arizona
State’s defense would be able to force
quarterbacks out of the pocket and cre
ate sacks. Thus far, the defense has
been a pressure cooker, led by the Sun
Devils’ young but suffocating defen
sive line. Last Saturday, senior line
backer Jamar Williams sacked USC
quarterback Matt Leinart in the second
quarter forcing the Ttojans to settle for
a field goal. It was the first of five sacks
recorded by the Sun Devils that after
noon, the most made by a USC oppo
nent since Stanford put Leinart to the
turf six times in 2004. Arizona State’s
defense is third in the conference in
sacks with 14, but has been suspect to
both the run and pass this season.
They rank eighth in the Pac-10 in pass
ing defense and ninth in rushing de
fense. They have surrendered almost
1,000 yards on the ground and gave up
100 rushing yards to both Reggie Bush
and LenDale White of USC.
Score early if you can
Oregon may be in for a frustrating
first quarter if Arizona State’s defense
plays as stingy as it has lately. The Sun
Devils already have four games this
season in which they have held their
opponents scoreless in the first quarter.
They managed to do so last week
against USC and have outscored the
opposition 35-7 in the opening frame
thus far.
No slack on special teams
Arizona State ranks third in the con
ference in both average kickoff (24.5)
and punt returns (15.3) yards. Junior
Terry Richardson put the Sun Devils on
the board first against USC with an 84
yard punt return for a touchdown.
Richardson’s efforts earned him hon
ors as the Pac-10 Special Teams Player
of the Week. Junior piacekicker Jesse
Ainsworth leads the team in scoring
(36) and is a perfect 30-30 in PATs.
Seniors love the Ducks
The Arizona State seniors may be 0
4 against USC, but diey are 3-0 against
Oregon and would love to graduate
with a perfect record over the Ducks.
The Oregon seniors are anxious to
notch their first win in their last game
against the Sun Devils. Starting with
last year, Arizona State has beaten Ore
gon by scores of 28-13, 59-14 in 2003
and 45-42 in 2002.
sadams@dailyemerald.com
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