Sept. 18, 2004
· Arizona State All-Time vs. Iowa: Arizona State improved to 2-1 all-time against Iowa with tonight's victory. After losing 21-2 last season, ASU earned its first win over the Hawkeyes since the 1997 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas (12/31/97). ASU beat Iowa 17-7 in that bowl game. Additionally, with its second straight win over a Big Ten team and seventh in the last nine meetings, ASU improves to 12-5 all-time against the Big Ten.
· Beating a Ranked Opponent at Sun Devil Stadium: With ASU's 44-7 win over No. 16 (AP)/No. 12 (USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll), Arizona State defeated a ranked opponent at home for the first time since downing then No. 25 Colorado State (Coaches Poll) 13-10 on Sept. 16, 2000. The Sun Devils beat a ranked opponent in the AP top 25 at home for the first time since Nov. 1, 1997 (No. 10 Washington State; 44-31). ASU's previous win over a ranked opponent came on Oct. 19, 2002 when the Devils upset then No. 6 Oregon 45-42 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.
· ASU Off To 3-0 Start: Arizona State improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2000. ASU won four of its first five games in 2000 and finished the year 6-6. The victory also gave head coach Dirk Koetter his 20th as a Sun Devil.
· A Packed House: The announced sellout crowd of 71,700 fans is the 16th biggest crowed in Sun Devil Stadium history. It is ASU's biggest crowd since drawing 73,501 against Notre Dame in 1998. The game became a sellout at 11:15 a.m.
· Quick Strikes: Arizona State jumped out to a 17-0 lead after its first three offensive possessions. With Walter's 14-yard TD pass to Moey Mutz, it marked the second time this season ASU scored on its opening possession. ASU had not scored on its first two opening possessions since Sept. 28, 2002 in a 65-24 win over Stanford (a span of 23 games).
· Walter Sets School Record For TD Passes: With a career-high-tying five TD passes, senior QB Andrew Walter set the Arizona State career touchdown record. Walter was 31-for-43 for 428 yards, recording his sixth career game of 400 or more yards. He now has 66 career TD passes spread out among 17 different receivers. He broke the ASU career record of 65 previously held by current Denver Bronco QB Jake Plummer (1993-96). Walter also had his first interception of the year, coming on his 95th attempt of the season. His five TD passes tied the record he set against Stanford in 2002. Walter also passed Plummer and moved into sixth place in the Pac-10 record books. Hall of Famer and former Stanford QB John Elway (1979-82) holds the league record with 77 career TD passes. Walter is now 69-for-116 for 961 yards and 11 TD's this season. Below is a look at his career record watch and his career stats:
ASU Career TD Passes: 1. 66 Andrew Walter, 2001-pres. 2. 65 Jake Plummer, 1993-96 3. 64 Danny White, 1971-73 4. 48 Mike Pagel, 1978-81 5. 46 Dennis Sproul, 1974-77 46 Ryan Kealy, 1997-00
ASU Career Passing Yards: 1. 8,827 Jake Plummer, 1993-96 2. 8,428 Andrew Walter, 2001-pres. 3. 6,912 Ryan Kealy, 1997-00 4. 6,717 Danny White, 1971-73 5. 6,610 J. Van Raaphorst, 1984-86
ASU Career Attempts: 1. 1142 Jake Plummer, 1993-96 2. 1106 Andrew Walter, 2001-pres. 3. 868 Jeff Van Raaphorst, 1984-86 4. 859 Ryan Kealy, 1997-00 5. 849 Dennis Sproul, 1974-77
ASU Career Completions: 1. 632 Jake Plummer, 1993-96 2. 601 Andrew Walter, 2001-pres. 3. 503 Jeff Van Raaphorst, 1984-86 4. 477 Ryan Kealy, 1997-00 5. 418 Paul Justin, 1987-90
PASSING G Att- Cmp- Int Yds TD Lg Pct Avg/P Avg/G Effic 2001................ 11 86- 38- 2 546 3 53 44.2 6.3 49.6 104.4 2002................ 14 483- 274- 15 3877 28 85 56.7 8.0 276.9 137.1 2003................ 12 421- 221- 10 3044 24 80 52.5 7.2 253.7 127.3 2004................ 3 116- 68- 1 961 11 65 58.6 8.3 320.3 157.8 TOTAL............... 40 1106- 601- 28 8428 66 85 54.3 7.6 210.7 133.0
· Hagan Catches TD in Sixth Straight Game: Junior wide receiver Derek Hagen caught eight passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. It was his ninth career 100-yard game and sixth consecutive game with 100 or more yards. He has also caught at least one TD in each of his last six games, including a pair of multi-TD games this season. Hagan leads the team with 24 catches for 385 yards this season (128.3 average) and has caught five TD's. Below is a look at his career 100-yard games and his career stats: Hagan's Career 100-Yard Games:
185 at North Carolina (11 rec.), 10/18/03 170 vs. USC (8 rec.), 10/4/03 155 at Arizona (8 rec.), 11/28/03 154 at Northwestern (8 rec.), 9/11/04 138 at Stanford (4 rec.), 11/8/03 119 vs. UTEP (8 rec.), 9/2/04 112 vs. Iowa (8 rec.), 9/18/04 109 at Washington St. (7 rec.), 11/15/03 108 vs. Oregon (7 rec.), 10/12/03
RECEIVING G Rec Yds TD Lg Rec/G Avg/C Avg/G 2002................ 14 32 405 0 51 2.3 12.7 28.9 2003................ 12 66 1076 9 80 5.5 16.3 89.7 2004................ 3 24 385 5 47 8.0 16.0 128.3 TOTAL............... 29 122 1866 14 80 4.2 15.3 64.3
· A Memorable First Half: Arizona State went into the lockerroom at halftime with a 27-0 lead, scoring on five of its six offensive possessions. The ASU defense shut out the Hawkeyes, marking the first time since Sept. 8, 2001 vs. San Diego State (a span of 40 games) that the Devils shut out an opponent in the first half. The Devils defeated the Aztecs 38-7 in Dirk Koetter's ASU coaching debut. In addition to going 4-for-6 for 71 yards on the opening possession, Walter ended the first half 16-for-24 for 236 yards and three TD's. Seven different receivers caught passes from Walter in the first half, led by four catches for 48 yards by sophomore Terry Richardson.
· Big Night For Zach Miller: Freshman H-Back Zach Miller led the team with 10 receptions for 85 yards and the first two touchdown receptions of his Sun Devil career. The high school All-American entered the game with only one catch for 11 yards. His older brother, Brent, also caught one pass for four yards, marking the first time the Miller brothers have each caught a pass in the same game.
· Defensive Shutdown: The Arizona State defense did not give up any points and has still yet to give up a passing TD this season. They held Iowa to 100 total yards for an average of only 2.2 yards per play. The secondary gave up only 44 yards and has allowed only 156.0 yards passing per game. Junior linebacker Dale Robinson led the Sun Devils for the third straight game with nine tackles and had a half of a sack.
· Perfection For Ainsworth: Sophomore kicker Jesse Ainsworth tied a career high with three field goals (set last week against Northwestern) and also tied a career high with a 48-yard field goal. For the season, Ainsworth is among the Pac-10 and NCAA leaders going 8-for-9 on field goals (2.67 per game average) and is a perfect 13-for-13 on PAT's.
· Sun Devil Tidbits: ASU has not allowed an opponent to score in the first quarter this season... the Sun Devils improved to 222-78-3 all-time in Sun Devil Stadium... ASU has scored first in each of its first three games this season... freshman punter Chris MacDonald's first punt of the game didn't come until the third quarter and was a career-high 54-yarder... MacDonald recorded three punts for 154 yards (51.3 average)... Matt Miller caught two passes for a career-high 106 yards... he caught passes from Walter for 41 and 65 yards... Jamar Williams recorded his third career interception... nine different Sun Devils recorded at least one catch... backup QB Sam Keller was 2-for-2 for seven yards... the 83-yard punt return for a TD by Walner Belleus broke up ASU's bid for its first shutout since a 19-0 win over Nebraska in 1996... the punt return for the TD was the first given up by the Sun Devils since Nov. 11, 2000 (Luke Powell, Stanford -- 51 yards).
· Weather Delay: The start of the game was delayed 38 minutes due to a heavy passing thunderstorm.