Dec. 1, 2007
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery
ARIZONA STATE NOTES
Block Party: Arizona State blocked a kick for the second week in a row and the third time this season when Michael Marquardt blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt by Jason Bondzio in the third quarter. Marquardt, who finished the game with one tackle and also recovered a fumble, earned the Ben Goo MVP Award in a vote by the members of the media in attendance. Last week, Tyrice Thompson blocked a punt against USC while Luis Vasquez owns the other block, a field goal attempt by Cal.
The Toe: Thomas Weber's 21-yard field goal with 11:41 remaining in the third quarter was the 22nd of this freshman campaign, tying him with UCLA's Kai Forbath for the Pac-10 freshman record. Weber also connected on a 19-yard field goal attempt with 3:06 remaining in the second quarter to tie the previous Pac-10 record set by Arizona's Gary Coston, who connected on 21 in 1986.
Record Return: With his 32-yard kick off return in the third quarter, Rudy Burgess brought his season total to 729 yards and moved past former record-holder Chris Hopkins, who set the standard with 713 return yards in 1995. Burgess finished the day with two returns for 56 yards.
Scoring Charts: With his first field goal of the game, Thomas Weber moved into sixth on the ASU single-season scoring list with 104 on the, taking over from Luis Zendejas, who has 102 in 1982. Weber ended the game with a pair of field goals and a pair of extra points to bring his season total to 108 points. Zendejas also owns the No. 5 position with 112 points in 1983.
Creative First: Tyrice Thompson pulled down his first career touchdown pass with 10:06 remaining in the second quarter as Rudy Carpenter, on a scramble up the middle, flipped the ball forward to the back of the end zone where Thompson went up and pulled it down for the score.
Pick Pocket: Troy Nolan's interception of UA QB Willie Tuitama in the second quarter marked his sixth pick of the season, the most since Nathan LaDuke had six in 1989.
Starting a New Streak: After seeing its 12-game steak of forcing at least one turnover snapped last week against USC, the Sun Devil defense forced three against Arizona, two coming on interceptions and one more on a fumble recovery.
Carpenter Moves Up: Rudy Carpenter had 247 yards on 20-of-37 passing with two touchdowns on the night, giving him 63 scoring strikes for his career. Carpenter now ranks 13th on the Pac-10's all-time touchdown list and moved to within one score of tying Danny White for third all-time in ASU history with 64. Carpenter also stands 21-9 as a starting QB at Arizona State, tying him with Jeff Van Raaphorst (21-9-1) for fourth on the all-time wins list at ASU.
Erickson vs. Arizona: With the victory, Dennis Erickson improved to 8-2 all-time against the Wildcats with his teams winning each of the last five games. In that 5-game span, Erickson's teams have outscored Arizona, 157-52.
Rivalry Streak: The win was ASU's third in a row in the series, giving the Sun Devils their first three-game winning streak against the Wildcats since taking four in a row between 1975 and 1978. The most recent three-game winning streak was owned by UA, who took three in a row between 1993 and 1995.
Hash Marks: The victory gave Arizona State 10 wins on the year, marking the 11th 10-win campaign in school history ... the game was sold out, giving ASU three-consecutive home sell-outs ... the 20-17 victory was the third win for the Sun Devils by seven points or less this year and the second by three points (W 23-20 at Washington State) ... Rodney Cox intercepted Tuitama in the third quarter to give ASU 17 on the season, the most since 2004 and two more than last year.