Dec. 31, 2004
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Arizona State Game Notes
2004 Vitalis Sun Bowl
Arizona Stats vs. Purdue
December 31, 2004
Sun Bowl Stadium; El Paso, Texas
#21/24 Arizona State (9-3) 27, Purdue (7-5) 23
Official Start Time: 12:11 pm
Game Time Temp: 61°
Attendance: 51,288
·Arizona State in the Sun Bowl: The 2004 Sun Bowl marks the fourth time Arizona State has participated in the New Year's Eve contest, now holding a 2-1-1 record. ASU and Catholic University played to a 0-0 tie in 1940 before the Sun Devils dropped a 26-13 decision one year later to Case Western. The Sun Devils got into the win column with a 17-7 defeat of Iowa in the 1997 game and made it two games in a row with their 27-23 victory over Purdue today.
·Tillman Joins Sun Bowl Legends Hall of Fame: Former Army Ranger and Sun Devil great Pat Tillman was enshrined into the Sun Bowl Legends Hall of Fame prior to the start of the 71st game. Tillman, who played for the Sun Devils from 1994-97 before later starring for the Arizona Cardinals, played his final collegiate game for the maroon and gold as a member of the 1997 Sun Bowl team that defeated Iowa, 17-7.
·Bowling in His First Start: In his first collegiate start, Sam Keller not only guided the Sun Devils to a 27-23 victory in the Sun Bowl with impressive numbers, but also earned the C.M. Hendricks Most Valuable Player Trophy for the game. Keller went 25-of-45 for a career-high 370 yards while adding three touchdowns to the ledger. His three touchdown passes tied the Sun Bowl record held by six other players while his passing total is a school bowl-game record, surpassing the 336 accumulated in the 1977 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State. Keller, who's previous career-high for yards was 115, led the Sun Devils to 528 yards of total offense, two off the Sun Bowl record, while tying school record bowl performances for touchdowns scored (two) and first downs (26). His 25 completions also stands as a school bowl game record.
·Sun Bowl Similarities: Prior to the 1997 Sun Bowl game, starting Arizona State quarterback Ryan Kealy went down with an injury and was unable to start. Enter Steve Campbell, a career back-up for ASU. In his debut, Campbell threw for 109 yards on 5-for-11 passing with one touchdown in the Sun Devils' 17-7 victory over Iowa. This year, Sam Keller earned his first career start after Andrew Walter went down with an injury and led the ASU offense with 370 yards through the air on 25-of-45 passing with three touchdowns.
·Miller Time: With five receptions on the day, freshman Zach Miller broke the single season record for receptions by a tight end with 56, surpassing the 55 receptions pulled down by Todd Heap in 1999. Miller finished the day with five catches for 28 yards to bring his season totals to 56 receptions and 552 yards, both freshman tight end records.
·Run, Rudy, Run: Rudy Burgess carried the ball 20 times for 125 yards to lead the Sun Devil ground game while also snaring three passes for 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air. His pair of receiving touchdowns ties 14 other players for the Sun Bowl record.
·Hagan's Haulings: Derek Hagan recorded another sterling performance, once again breaking the century mark in yards while also catching the first touchdown pass Sam Keller had thrown as a starter. Hagan tallied 182 yards on nine catches with one touchdown, giving the junior receiver his eighth 100-yard plus game of the season and the 14th of his career, both of which are school records. His season total of 1,248 yards ranks second on the ASU single-season receiving yards list while his 83 catches are second on the single-season list, four shy of Shaun McDonald's 87 in 2002.
·Man(imal) in the Middle: Big Ten opponents appear to bring out the best in Dale Robinson as the middle linebacker has put up stellar numbers in games against Northwestern, Iowa and Purdue. In the Sun Bowl, Robinson recorded 11 tackles, three going for loss and one sack to bring his three game total against Big Ten foes to 34 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
·Linebackers Making Stops: Throughout the season, the linebackers combined to record 33 percent of the defense's total tackles. In the Sun Bowl, the linebacking trio of Dale Robinson, Jamar Williams and Justin Burks combined for 30 total tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack. Burks tied a career high with 13 tackles, including a career-best nine solo stops. The trio combined for 30 of ASU's 60 tackles in the game, or 42.6 percent of the defense's stops.
·First Quarter Scoring: A 22-yard field goal by Jesse Ainsworth with 2:35 remaining in the first quarter gave the Sun Devils their first points in the opening stanza of a bowl game since Tom Pace rushed for 14 yards in the 2000 Aloha Bowl, a 31-17 loss to Boston College. Overall, Arizona State has tallied 13 combined points in the first quarter of its last 12 bowl games.
·The Air Up There: With its 370 passing yards on the day, the Sun Devils finished with 3,808 passing yards on the season, the second-most in school history. The team also set the school mark for passing yards per game average with 317.3 yards per contest.
·Air Defense: Purdue's offense entered the game averaging 324.8 yards passing per contest in 2004, ranking them fourth in the nation. With solid defensive play, the Sun Devils limited the Boilermaker aerial attack to 281 yards on 23-of-47 passing in the contest. At halftime, Purdue accumulated 70 total yards with 42 yards coming through the air.
·Opponents in Bowls: Prior to the start of the Sun Bowl, teams that Arizona State faced during the 2004 season are 1-3 overall. Oregon State's defeat of Notre Dame is the lone win with UTEP, UCLA and California each dropping contests earlier this week. USC and Iowa both play later this week with Iowa facing LSU on January 1 while USC will play Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl (BCS Championship Game) on January 4.
·Large Crowd: A record crowd turned out to see the game with 51,288 fans filling Sun Bowl Stadium. The sellout, the first in the history of the game, passed the previous mark of 50,612 in 1994 when Texas defeated North Carolina, 35-31.
·Hash Marks: The win gives ASU its first bowl victory since a 17-7 defeat of Iowa in the 1997 Sun Bowl ... the win also snapped a three-game bowl losing streak ... the Sun Devils matched their highest win total since the 1997 team pulled in nine victories ... with the win, ASU will more than likely finish ranked in the Top 25 national rankings for the first time since the 1997 season when they were 14th in both national polls.