Official Start Time: 7:06
Game Time Temp: 106?
Attendance: 39,581
* Game Recap: Behind two first-quarter touchdowns from redshirt freshman running back Hakim Hill, the Arizona State Sun Devil football team built a 28-2 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a 38-2 victory Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium. Redshirt freshman Cornell Canidate rushed for 100 yards on 15 carries (6.7 avg.) to pace the Sun Devil offense and quarterback Chad Christensen was 12-of-20 for 135 yards and two TD's in his debut at Sun Devil Stadium.
* Devils In Season Openers: Arizona State improved to 42-15-1 overall in home season openers and have now won four straight and seven of its last eight. Head Coach Dirk Koetter is now 2-0 in home openers, also defeating San Diego State last year 38-7.
* Canidate Runs Wild: Redshirt freshman Cornell Canidate (Phoenix) rushed for an even 100 yards on 15 carries to pace the ASU running offense. For the season Canidate is second (behind Mike Williams) on the team in rushing with 117 yards on 20 carries (5.7 avg.)
* A Defensive Shutout: The Sun Devil defense did not give up a point for the first time since ASU shutout Nebraska 19-0 in 1996. Led by the nine tackles, including two TFL, from senior linebacker Mason Unck, the ASU defense only 203 yards of total offense for Eastern Washington. The Eagles ended with -13 yards of net rushing. Freshman defensive back Matt Fawley, who made his first career start, tied Unck for the team lead with nine tackles.
* Christensen's Sun Devil Stadium Debut: Redshirt freshman quarterback Chad Christensen recorded the first two touchdown passes of his ASU career while making his debut at Sun Devil Stadium. Christensen, out of Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, was 12-for-21 passing for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Reserve quarterback Andrew Walter (Grand Junction, Colo.) was 3-for-4 for 52 yards and one TD.
* Hill Makes Strong Home Debut: Redshirt freshman tailback Hakim Hill (Iowa City, Iowa) had a strong Sun Devil Stadium debut with 12 rushes for 69 yards (5.2 avg.) and also caught two passes for 29 yards. He ran for a 30 yard touchdown and also caught a 12 yard TD in the first quarter.
* Missed It By That Much: Mike Barth's 57-yard field goal attempt that sailed just left near the end of the first half would have bettered the current school record of 55 yards set by Luis Zendejas vs. Oregon State in 1982. In fact, had Barth, who regularly hit on 55-yarders during preseason scrimmages, would have become the first Sun Devil other than Zendejas to connect on a field goal longer than 51 yards. Barth's career long is 49 yards set in his sophomore year vs. UCLA in 2000.
* Suggs Moves Up On Sack List: Junior defensive end Terrell Suggs (Chandler) had a big night with five tackles and two sacks. The Lombardi and Nagurski Award candidate also recorded two sacks for -20 yards, bringing his season total to three and his career total to 23. With his 23 career sacks, Suggs moved past Bob Kohrs in the ASU record books into fourth place. Kohrs recorded 22 career sacks for ASU in 1978-79.
* Pinkard Has A Career Night: Senior tight end Mike Pinkard had a career night with four receptions for 59 yards and one touchdown. Pinkard's (Thornton, Colo.) previous career highs were two catches (both in 2001) and 38 yards (vs. SJSU).
* True Freshmen On The Field: Corner back Mike Davis Jr., offensive lineman Chaz White and defensive lineman Ali Likio all made their Sun Devil debuts bringing the total of true freshmen to play this year to eight.
* Game Notes: Junior wide receiver Skyler Fulton recorded his second career TD reception with a four-yard catch in the fourth quarter from sophomore QB Andrew Walter...Eastern Washington punter Jesse Nicassio had 10 kicks for an average of 10.2 yards.