Sept. 15, 2007
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
By Matt Storey, ASU Media Relations
Keegan Herring certainly showed he knows how to take advantage of an opportunity.
With starting running back Ryan Torain out with a sprained right ankle, Herring got the start and rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries to lead the Sun Devils to a 34-13 win over San Diego State in front of a crowd of 54,617 Saturday.
"It felt great," Herring said of getting a chance to start. "You miss that feeling when you're not starting. It felt great running hard and getting hit, making touchdowns. It's been great."
Rudy Carpenter also had the Sun Devil passing game clicking, finishing 15-21 for 200 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also completed ten straight passes in a stretch from the team's final drive of the second quarter to its first drive of the fourth.
"I thought we threw it real well, other than the one interception Rudy threw," head coach Dennis Erickson said. "I thought we executed pretty well on offense."
Wide receiver Rudy Burgess led all Sun Devil pass-catchers with 52 yards on three catches, including a 30-yard touchdown reception with less than a minute left in the first half to give ASU a two-touchdown lead.
Mike Jones and Chris McGaha had three catches each for 41 and 36 yards respectively, while Kyle Williams had 38 yards on two receptions with a 19-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
Still, Carpenter said he felt the offense missed some opportunities, which they could not afford as Pac-10 play began next week against Oregon State.
"I think tonight, once again, we should have scored a lot more points on offense," he said. "We killed ourselves a lot; had the one turnover and a lot of penalties again. It's for real next week, so we better figure it out."
ASU's defense did not dominate like it had in the first two games, as San Diego State's 143 rushing yards on the game were more than the Sun Devils had allowed in their two wins over San Jose State and Colorado combined.
Still, they limited the Aztecs to just 6 of 18 on third-down conversions and they kept their opponent out of the end zone in the second half for a third consecutive game.
"They made some plays in the passing game, but we didn't blow coverages," Erickson said. "We were there to make the tackle. They didn't get the big play, that's the bottom line."
As he did in the first two games, senior linebacker Robert James led the ASU defense with 11 tackles.
"We were sluggish in the first half," James said. "We finished out strong but started off sluggish, so we are going to have to work harder at practice and watch our mistakes." Defensive end Luis Vasquez and defensive tackle David Smith each had a sack, while safety Troy Nolan had his second interception of the season.
The ASU special teams units also performed well in the victory. Freshman kicker Thomas Weber made both his field goal attempts, including a 48-yarder in the second quarter. Williams had a 48-yard punt return to set up ASU's first touchdown, while Burgess, McGaha and Justin Tryon all had kickoff returns of 25 or more yards.
The Sun Devils got the scoring started on their first drive. Williams' punt return set them up in great field position at the Aztec 36, and five plays later he finished the drive with his 19-yard catch and run for a touchdown.
After San Diego State kicker Garrett Palmer's 48-yard field goal, ASU scored on its ensuing possession when Herring turned what appeared to be a short gain into a 46-yard run for a score.
"I think I was playing hide and seek with the defense," Herring said of the touchdown run. "I was really just trying to hide away from the defense. When I saw the opening, I just took it."
The Aztecs got their only touchdown of the night in the second quarter, as running back Brandon Bornes' 41-yard run moved them inside the ASU 20, and quarterback Kevin O'Connell ran for a touchdown three plays later. Weber's 48-yard field goal gave ASU a seven-point lead, and then Carpenter led a four-play, 76-yard scoring drive that ended with his 30-yard touchdown pass to Burgess for a 24-10 halftime lead.
The Sun Devils had their longest scoring drive of the night in the third quarter, going 85 yards on 10 plays for a 31-10 lead when Herring scored from one yard out.
Palmer converted a 50-yard field goal for the Aztecs at the end of the third, and Weber made his second field goal of the night in the fourth to finish off the scoring.
NOTES: Carpenter's two touchdowns gave him 47 for his career, moving him past Ryan Kealy and Dennis Sproul and into fifth on the all-time list at ASU...Weber's 48-yard field goal was the longest by an ASU kicker since Jesse Ainsworth also made a 48-yarder against Iowa on Sept. 18, 2004...Herring's performance was both his fourth career 100-yard rushing game and multiple-touchdown game...The ASU defense has recorded at least one interception in the season's first three games...This is the second consecutive season and third in the past four that ASU has begun the season 3-0.