Sept. 2, 2004
Frank Kush Field at Sun Devil Stadium; Tempe, Ariz.
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ASU in Season Openers: With the victory ASU improved to 63-27-2 all-time in season openers and 43-15-1 when opening a season at home. The Sun Devils have won five of their last six season openers and 15 of their last 19. ASU has also won eight of its last nine games when opening the season at home.
All-Time vs. UTEP: ASU now leads the all-time series against UTEP 33-13-3 dating back to the first meeting in 1925. The game marks the first meeting between the two schools since 1995 (45-20 ASU victory). The Devils are also 21-5 all-time against the Miners at home. The two schools met almost every year from 1925 to 1978 when ASU and UTEP (formerly Texas Western) were both members of the Border Conference and the WAC.
Watching Walter: Senior QB Andrew Walter (Grand Junction, Colo.) finished the game 18-for-37 for 241 yards and threw three touchdowns. It was his 17th career game with 240 or more passing yards and his 10th career game with three or more touchdown passes. His assault on the ASU career record books continued as he moved to within seven touchdowns of the school record (65 set by current Denver Bronco Jake Plummer). Walter made his 1,000th career pass attempt in the game and is now 551-for-1,027 for 7,708 yards in his career. He is second in the ASU career record books in TD passes (58), passing yards (7,708), attempts (1,027) and completions (551).
Hagan Runs 100-Yard Game Streak To Four: Junior receiver Derek Hagan led the Devils with eight catches for 119 yards and one TD. He recorded his fourth straight 100-yard game and fourth straight game with at least one TD. It was his seventh 100-yard game of his career and the 10th touchdown in his career. He also has at least one catch in 18 straight games (88 receptions during that span). Hagan had three 100-yard games to end the 2003 season against Stanford (138), Washington State (109) and Arizona (155). He is the first Sun Devil to record four consecutive 100-yard games since Shaun McDonald in 2001.
Welcome to ASU: A total of 26 players made their ASU debut against UTEP, including five starters.
Ainsworth's Big Boot: Sophomore kicker Jesse Ainsworth went 2-for-2 kicking field goals, including a career-long 48-yard field goal in the third quarter. Ainsworth also had touchbacks on four of his eight kickoffs. His previous career-long field goals was 47 yards set last year against Washington State. He is now 12-for-17 in his career.
First Time TD's: Wide receivers Rudy Burgess (RS-Fr., Edwards, Calif.), Terry Richardson (RS-So., Corona, Calif.) and tight end Brent Thomas each recorded their first receiving touchdowns. Burgess made his first career reception a memorable one, hauling in a 68-yard pass from sophomore QB Sam Keller (Danville, Calif.) for a 63-yard TD reception. Miller (2-yard TD) and Richardson (34-yard TD) each caught TD's from Walter in the second quarter.
Emmanuel's INT's: Senior cornerback Emmanuel Franklin (Houston, Texas) had two interceptions against UTEP, including returning one 48 yards for a touchdown. He became the first Sun Devil to have two INT's in a game since Jason Shivers had two picks last year against Oregon State (10/11/03) and the first Devil to return an INT for a TD since Jamar Williams last season against Oregon (10/11/03). The fifth-year senior entered the game with only one career INT in 18 career games.
Robinson Leads Defense: Junior linebacker Dale Robinson (Queens, N.Y./Glendale CC) led the Sun Devils with nine tackles and 2.5 TFL in his ASU debut. Robinson also had one sack for a loss of three yards. He made a tackle on his first play from scrimmage.
ASU Quick Notes -- RS-Sophomore receiver Terry Richardson had five catches for 70 yards... he was only nine yards off his career high set last year at Oregon State... the Sun Devils debuted their new Nike jerseys... the game marked ASU's first Thursday night game since the team opened the 2000 season with a 10-7 victory at San Diego State on Aug. 31, 2000... the last home game on a Thursday was in 1998 against Stanford (44-38 win in OT)... freshman Jeremy Payton (Covina, Calif.) played offense (WR) and defense (DB) in the game... he caught one pass for seven yards... Walter completed his first four passes and went 5-for-7 for 51 yards on the first drive... the four interceptions were the most by the Sun Devils since also recording four against Stanford in 2002... ASU's high last season was three, set twice (Utah State and Oregon State)... redshirt freshman punter Chris MacDonald had seven punts for 295 yards (42.1 avg.) in his ASU debut... Jamar Williams, Justin Burks, Emmanuel Franklin and Jordan Hill all tied for second on the team with five tackles.
UTEP Quick Notes: Freshman RB Marcus Thomas, a Phoenix product who was a Parade All-American at Tolleson High School, ran for 18 yards on his first collegiate carry in the third quarter... he finished with 34 yards on seven carries... junior CB James Delgardo, not listed in the special teams depth chart, was utilized on punt returns... Delgardo also had an interception in his first game for the Miners... senior RB Howard Jackson scored his 16th career rushing touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter, tying him for eighth place on the all-time UTEP list... Junior WR Chris Francies blocked a punt with 2:16 remaining in the second quarter... it was the first blocked punt by a Miner player since Josh Chamois versus Tulsa last season... Sophomore Reagan Schneider's extra point attempt with 1:49 to go in the second quarter was wide left, making him 10 for 11 lifetime on PATs... UTEP's game captains were senior P Bryce Benekos, senior RB Howard Jackson and senior LB Robert Rodriguez... The temperature at kickoff was 104 degrees, making it the second-hottest game in school history. The record is 106 degrees at kickoff on Sept. 2, 2000 at Oklahoma... First-time starters for the Miners included WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr., C Bo Morris and LT Josh House on offense, and FS Quintin Demps, LE Brian Givens and RT Zach West on defense... Players seeing their first action in a UTEP uniform included junior LB Anthony Barnes, junior WR Jayson Boyd, junior DB James Delgardo, freshman DB Quintin Demps, junior OL Michael Eddy, freshman DL James Riley, junior WR Daniel Robinson, freshman TE Jake Sears and freshman RB Marcus Thomas... the Miners dropped to 18-10 all-time in Thursday games... UTEP was opening a season on a day other than Saturday for the first time since 1947... UTEP Coach Mike Price fell to 4-1 in his career against Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter, and 6-7 lifetime versus the Sun Devils... The Miners are now 36-46-5 in season-opening games, including 7-30-2 on the road... UTEP has lost 11 of its last 13 openers.