Dec. 1, 2007
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
TEMPE, Ariz.--
By Matt Storey, ASU Media Relations
ASU completed its first double-digit win season since 1996 with a 20-17 win over Arizona Saturday in front of a third consecutive sellout crowd of 71,706 at Sun Devil Stadium.
"You've got to give credit to these players and what they've done," head coach Dennis Erickson said. "I'm just so proud of what they've done since I came here. For them to do what we ask and to end up 10-2, it's an amazing accomplishment by my coaches and my players."
The Sun Devils are now headed to a bowl game for the fourth consecutive season, tying the longest streak in school history, as they will meet Texas in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Dec. 27.
The win was also ASU's third straight and seventh out of the last nine in the Territorial Cup rivalry game with Arizona.
"U of A is our biggest rival," junior quarterback Rudy Carpenter said. "It is that game we look forward to every year. When it comes down to it, we are just happy to get the win."
ASU's defense, which finished the season second in the Pac-10 in scoring defense, was able to slow down an Arizona offense that had scored more than 30 points in each of its previous three games.
The Wildcats had just 44 rushing yards and turned the ball over three times, and their 17 points was their lowest total since a 20-13 loss to USC Oct. 13.
"It was a great defensive effort," Erickson said. "I thought we tackled well. We got some turnovers. Coach [Craig] Bray and the defensive staff did a nice job."
Wildcat quarterback Willie Tuitama threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns, but he was sacked four times and he committed all three Arizona turnovers with his two interceptions and a fumble.
Erickson said he was happy with his team's defense, especially senior cornerback Justin Tryon, who was matched up with Arizona's leading receiver Mike Thomas most of the night.
"He did a great job," Erickson said of Tryon. "He was in his face, so they had to make perfect throws. During the game there, a lot of times the ball was a little overthrown or underthrown. That's because he was covering him so well."
Carpenter led the Sun Devil offense by throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns on 20-37 passing.
Sophomore wide receiver Chris McGaha was Carpenter's favorite target on the night, as he finished with 83 yards on six catches. Four of those catches resulted in first downs, meaning that 40 of McGaha's 52 receptions this season moved the chains for ASU.
"Chris McGaha is ridiculous," Carpenter said. "Chris is going to go down as one of the best ASU receivers ever. He is a great player."
Sophomore running back Dimitri Nance led the ASU ground game with 58 yards on 22 carries, while junior Keegan Herring added 36 yards on nine carries.
Freshman kicker Thomas Weber made both of his field goal attempts on the night, making him 22-23 on the season and giving him a share of the Pac-10 freshman record with UCLA's Kai Forbath, who has also made 22 field goals this year.
Arizona got the scoring started when Tuitama connected with tight end Rob Gronkowski for a one-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter.
The Sun Devils would even the score in the second quarter with a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended when senior wide receiver Tyrice Thompson caught his first career touchdown pass when Carpenter flipped a shovel pass to him from three yards out.
"I tell Rudy all the time that if he puts it in the air I'll go get it," Thompson said. "I do it all the time in practice. I believe if you work hard in practice, you do it in the game. And that's what happened."
Junior safety Troy Nolan got his team-leading sixth interception on Arizona's ensuing possession, which set up another ASU scoring drive. McGaha made a leaping catch for a 31-yard gain to get the Sun Devils to the Arizona 1, but they ended up settling for a Weber 19-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead.
The Sun Devils led at the half for only the second time in nine Pac-10 games, and on the first play of the third quarter, Tuitama was intercepted again. This time it was junior safety Rodney Cox who picked off the ball, and he returned it 37 yards to the Arizona 40.
A 30-yard completion to Thompson moved the Sun Devils inside the Arizona 5, but they were again unable to score a touchdown, and Weber made a 21-yard field goal to extend the lead to six points.
Later in the third, Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason returned a punt 51 yards to the ASU 31. However, the Wildcats were unable to even get a first down after that, and then their 47-yard field goal attempt was blocked by ASU senior defensive tackle Michael Marquardt.
Arizona's next possession ended in its third turnover of the night, as sophomore linebacker Travis Goethel sacked Tuitama and forced a fumble that Marquardt recovered.
ASU's offense was unable to capitalize, however, and the Wildcats pulled within three in the fourth quarter after a 15-play, 78-yard drive ended with a 31-yard field goal by Jason Bondzio.
The Sun Devils responded on their following possession. Carpenter converted two third downs, one with a five-yard scramble and the other on a 28-yard completion to senior tight end Brent Miller, and then he found junior wide receiver Michael Jones for a 20-yard touchdown to give his team a two-score lead with under five minutes to play.
Arizona moved the ball inside the ASU 5 on its ensuing drive, but Tuitama's incompletion on fourth-and-goal from the 2 turned the ball over to the Sun Devils on downs.
The Wildcats would get the ball back with 1:11 left, and Tuitama found running back Nicholas Grigsby for a four-yard touchdown with 26 seconds remaining.
However, the Sun Devils recovered Arizona's onside kick, securing a victory and a 10-win season in Erickson's first at ASU.
"They believe in each other; they believe in the coaching staff, and it's made a big difference," Erickson said of his team. "We've won a lot of close games at the end, and that says a lot for their character."
NOTES: Marquardt earned the Ben Goo MVP Award for the game with his blocked field goal and fumble recovery...Erickson is now 8-2 in his career against Arizona...The Sun Devils' two interceptions gives them 17 on the season, their highest total since 2004...Carpenter has now won 21 games as ASU's starting quarterback, tying him with Jeff Van Raaphorst for fourth on the school's all-time wins list...With his 56 return yards in the game, senior wide receiver Rudy Burgess set a new single-season school record with 729 return yards on the year.