Sept. 9, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes
ARIZONA STATE NOTES
· Through the Air: Rudy Carpenter set a career-high with five touchdown passes, each time hooking up with a different receiver. His five scoring strikes ties him with Andrew Walter (vs. Washington State in 2004; vs. Iowa in 2004; vs. Stanford in 2002) and Jeff Krohn (vs. Oregon in 2000) with five touchdown passes, the fourth-best game in ASU history. Carpenter finished the game with 333 yards on 17-of-26 passing with five touchdowns and one interception.
· Spreading the Wealth: Against the Wolf Pack, Carpenter connected with five different receivers on scoring strikes, including Zach Miller (2 yards), Michael Jones (20 yards), Nate Kimbrough (52 yards), Shaun DeWitty (22 yards) and Terry Richardson (25 yards).
· Lighting Up the Scoreboard: Arizona State scored 52 points against the Wolf Pack, marking the seventh time the Sun Devils have scored 50 or more points on an opponent under Dirk Koetter. The last time the Sun Devils scored 50 or more points came last season (Sept. 17) when ASU defeated visiting Northwestern, 52-21.
· Moving On Up: With his touchdown reception in the first quarter, TE Zach Miller recorded his 11th career touchdown grab, tying him with Joe Petty (1970-72) for the school record among tight ends. His reception also was the 100th of his career, making him only the second Sun Devil tight end to break the century mark, joining school-record holder Todd Heap (115 receptions) to do so. Miller finished the game with five catches for 53 yards and one touchdown, bringing his reception total to 103.
· Getting His Kicks: PK Jesse Ainsworth connected on five (through 4th at 2:16) PAT attempts to move into a tie for second on the all-time list at ASU with 124 PATs with Mike Barth (1999-02) and Robert Nycz (1995-97), who also recorded 124. Ainsworth ran his consecutive conversion streak to 109 in a row following his 7-7 performance on the night. He entered the season having made 97 in a row (dating back to the 2003 season) and connected on all five attempts in the first game of the year against Northern Arizona. Ainsworth also moved into a tie for third on the career kick scoring list with Robert Nycz (1995-97) with 244 points.
· Defense: Thanks to a Chris Baloney interception to open the second quarter, Arizona State prevented its opponent from scoring while being inside the red zone for the third time this year. The Sun Devils also sacked the quarterback three times, running their season total to 12 in 2006, which is more than halfway to equaling the 22 recorded in 2005.
· Pick Six: Late in the second quarter, Ryan McFoy intercepted a Jeff Rowe pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown, giving the Sun Devil defense its second return for a score on the season following Chris Baloney's return of 35 yards against Northern Arizona last weekend. During the 2005 season, the defense recorded just one interception returned for a touchdown.
· Lightning Fast: Against Northern Arizona, the Sun Devils exploded for 14 points in a span of 2:42 to take a commanding 28-14 lead after seeing the score tied at 14 following three quarters of play. Tonight, the Sun Devil defense helped the team put up points in a hurry as ASU needed just 31 seconds to score 14 points. With 2:44 remaining in the half, Rudy Carpenter hit Nate Kimbrough for a 52-yard strike to extend ASU's 17-7 lead. Then, on the ensuing Nevada possession, Ryan McFoy intercepted Jeff Rowe's pass and returned it 30 yards for a score and a Sun Devil 31-7 lead.
· Returned: Nevada's Ezra Butler intercepted Arizona State's Rudy Carpenter and returned the ball for a touchdown, marking the first time an opponent had done so since Mike Silva did so for Stanford on Oct. 22, 2005, a 26-yard return.
NEVADA NOTES
· Senior Caleb Spencer has now caught a pass in 25 consecutive games, which is tied for the 10th-longest streak in the nation.
· Junior Ezra Butler's interception return for a touchdown marked both the first interception and first touchdown of his Nevada career.
· Sophomore Marko Mitchell's touchdown catch in the second quarter is the first of his career.