Oct. 3, 2009
Arizona State Notes:
• Sticky Fingers: WR Chris McGaha recorded the second 100-yard receiving game of his Sun Devil career as he finished the game with 15 catches for 165 yards, both of which are career highs. The previous time he broke the century-mark came on November 11, 2007, at UCLA when he pulled down 10 passes for 123 yards. With his 15 catches, McGaha recorded the second-most receptions in a game by a Sun Devil behind only Ron Fair, who pulled down 19 passes for 277 yards against Washington State in 1989. His 100-plus yard performance on the day marked just the second time that has happened this season after Kyle Williams collected 129 yards on eight catches against ULM.
• Another Career Night: While McGaha had a career night catching the ball, QB Danny Sullivan joined him with a career performance of his own as he collected his first 330-plus passing game with a career-best 338 yards on 32-of-58 passing. Sullivan, who had a previous best of 220 yards (19-for-30) against ULM earlier this season, finished the game with one touchdown through the air and one interception. His passing attempts and completions also rank highly on the school’s single-game ledger, standing tied for third and eighth, respectively. His 58 attempts tied Andrew Walter (2003 at North Carolina) and was five off the record of 63 (Paul Justin vs. Houston in 1990). Sullivan’s 32 completions were six from the record of 38 that Jeff Van Raaphorst set in 1984 (vs. Florida State) and then again in 1986 (vs. Arizona).
• Start Me Up: DE Dexter Davis was once again in the starting line up, securing the 42nd start of his career and moving him into a tie for fourth-most (since 1984) with Eric Allen (1984-87). With three more this season, he will have started the most games of any Sun Devil in that time period, surpassing the current leader, Scott Peters, who started in 44 games from 1998-01.
• First Start: While Davis has started 42 career games for the Sun Devils, five of his teammates made their first career starts tonight. Those players included: Vontaze Burfict, James Brooks, Brent Good, T.J. Simpson and Keelan Johnson. Burfict got the starting nod as a true freshman while Good earned his first start as a senior.
• Thief: CB Jarrell Holman tipped a pass to himself to record an interception in the third quarter, giving him two picks in as many games after not having an interception in his previous nine career games with the Sun Devils (seven in 2008 and the first two games this year).
• What a Rush: TB Dimitri Nance again was the workhorse out of the backfield for the Sun Devil offense as he carried the ball 18 times for 48 yards and one touchdown while also pulling down five receptions for 45 yards. His overall yardage of 93 nearly gave him back-to-back games with over 100 yards of total offense after recording 139 at Georgia (92 rush, 47 receive).
• Pushing Back to Start: After scoring only a field goal in the first half of the game for the second week in a row, the Sun Devils came out after the intermission and marched down the field for a Dimitri Nance 1-yard touchdown plunge to cap a 10-play, 77-yard drive. The touchdown marked just the second time this season the Sun Devils first drive of the second half of play resulted in points with the first coming in the season-opener against Idaho State as Thomas Weber kicked a 26-yard field goal to cap a 10-play, 87-yard scoring march.
• Hash Marks: On the opening drive of the game, DE Saia Falahola recorded the first sack of his career, bringing down QB Sean Canfield for eight yards... Dimitri Nance now has four rushing touchdowns on the year, the second-highest season total of his career behind the seven recorded in 2007 and ahead of his 2006 and 2008 outputs of three each… the offense was 5-of-7 on fourth-down conversion attempts in the game, including a perfect 4-for-4 on its final drive that resulted in Sullivan connecting with WR Kyle Williams on a 12-yard touchdown reception… ASU was only 2-for-3 all season on fourth-down conversion attempts entering tonight’s game… ASU slipped to 24-11-1 all-time against OSU and 17-4 in games played against the Beavers in Tempe… the Sun Devils are 12-18-2 in their Pac-10 openers since joining the Conference in 1978.
Oregon State Notes:
Game Notes
• Game time weather was cloudy at 87 degrees. Winds are light and variable, humidity was 21 percent.
• Captains for OSU at the start of the game were Lyle Moevao, Stephen Paea, Keaton Kristick and Cameron Collins. ASU won the coin toss and elected to defer.
Oregon State Team Notes
• Prior to tonight, Oregon State had not beaten Arizona State in Tempe since 1969, a span of 16 games.
• Oregon State led 14-3 after the first quarter. The Beavers have a 236-78 advantage in the first quarter over its last 45 games. The Beavers have allowed just 10 points (7 vs. Arizona; 3 at ASU) in the last six first quarters dating back to last year.
• The game was the 23rd straight game that the Beavers had a game televised, which is a school record. It dates back to Nov. 3, 2007 at USC.
• The Beavers won their 31st game since the start of the 2006 season, the second-best mark in the Pac-10 behind only USC.
• The Beavers improved to 29-3 in their last 67 games when committing less than turnovers than their opponents.
• ASU’s first quarter field goal was the first field goal converted against the Beavers this season.
• Oregon State has won its first two road games of the season for the first time since 1967 when the Beavers beat the Sun Devils (27-21) and Iowa (38-18) on the road.
Oregon State Individual Notes:
• Jacquizz Rodgers’ two first quarter touchdowns are the 19th and 20th of his career moving him into a tie for sixth on OSU’s career rushing TD list. He is tied with Dick Twenge (1946-49) and Dave Schilling (1969-71).
• James Rodgers’ 31-yard punt return in the first quarter was the longest of his career.
• Brandon Hardin’s second quarter interception is the first of his career. His is the first interception of the year by an OSU cornerback.
• Brandon Hardin (CB) and Brennan Olander (DT) started for the first time in their careers.
• Taylor Henry’s 4th quarter sack was the first of his career.