Sept. 1, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery
TEMPE- Some game notes from Arizona State's season opener against UC Davis on Thurs., Sept. 1 at Frank Kush Field/Sun Devil Stadium. The Sun Devils defeated the Aggies by a final score of 48-14.
Grand Opening: With their ninth consecutive season opening victory (and 12th of their last 13), the Sun Devils are now 70-27-2 (.717) all-time on opening day. ASU is now 50-15-1 (.765) when opening the season at home and it was their 12th consecutive season opening victory when playing at home.
Starting Off With A Bang: With today’s 34-point victory, the Sun Devils' average margin of victory on opening day games under Dennis Erickson is now 37 points. On that token, Coach Erickson is now 5-0 on opening day with the Sun Devils and 17-6 overall. He upped his career victories to 174, good for sixth among active coaches and just five behind Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly.
Setting the Tone: Arizona state outgained UC-Davis 108-27 in terms of total yardage in the first quarter and outscored the Aggies 14-0 in the span, a pace they continued through the rest of the game. The Sun Devils finished the first half outgaining UC Davis 284-80. Through three quarters, ASU had outgained their opponent 427-82 before a couple big fourth quarter plays against the second- and third- stringers helped the Aggies to make the final tally more repectable with the final yardage output ending up at 517-243 in favor of ASU.
Goin’ for Miles and Miles: In 2010, Jamal Miles had a season-long rush of nine yards. Miles took his first carry of 2011 for 36 yards. He would go on to take the opening kick in the second half 98 yards to the house for his second career kickoff return for a TD and a tie for the third-longest kickoff return for a touchdown in Sun Devil history. Miles also added three punt returns for 54 yards to bring his total net yardage for the game (returns and offense) to 188 yards.
More on Returns: Miles' return was the six kickoff return for a touchdown for ASU under Dennis Erickson. Here's a complete list of those who have accomplished the feat during Erickson's rein.
98 yards by Jamal Miles vs. UC Davis on Sept. 1, 2011 99 yards by Jamal Miles vs. UCLA on Nov. 26, 2010 100 yards by LeQuan Lewis on Nov. 6, 2010 at USC 97 yards by Omar Bolden at Wisconsin on Sept. 18, 2010 89 yards by Omar Bolden vs. La.-Monroe on Sept. 19, 2009 98 yards by Rudy Burgess vs. USC on Nov. 22, 2007Tough Shoes to Fill (Or Not?): Thomas Weber's graduation was a big loss, not just for the ASU special teams unit, but for the offense in general as wekk. Redshirt freshman Alex Garoutte, Weber's replacement, didn't seem to feel the pressure and took first appearence under the lights in stride, knocking home a 49-yard field goal just before halftime. Garoutte would add a 25-yarder in the third quarter and was 6-for-6 on PATs on the game in a perfect start for a position that entered the season with some question marks surrounding it.
Welcome to the Show: It was a big night for several Sun Devil football players as 21 student-athletes got their first career actions in the Maroon and Gold. The list is as follows: OL Sil Ajawara, S Kevin Ayers, QB Mike Bercovici, DB Ezekiel Bishop, LB Carl Bradford, DE Davon Coleman, DE Gannon Coleman, OL Jamil Douglas, PK Alex Garoutte, P Josh Hubner, LB Anthony Jones, QB Taylor Kelly, LB Kipeli Konisetti, WR Angelo Magee, WR Chike Mbanefo, DE Jordan McDonald, WR Kevin Ozier, WR Rashad Ross, OL Tyler Sulka, CB Rashad Wadood and RB Marcus Washington. Of that list, Garroute and Washington scored their first career points for the Sun Devils tonight as well.
Quick Strikes: Arizona State’s scoring came in quick fashion, scoring in 1:02, 1:09 and 1:17 and :14, respectively, on their first four touchdown drives of the game. Last season, ASU had just 11 scoring drives under 1:10. ASU would finish the game with an average touchdown scoring drive time of 1:42.
No First Game Jitters: The fact that Brock Osweiler started in the season opener for the first time in his career AND got the start at Sun Devil Stadium for the first time didn’t seem to phase the junior. Osweiler finished the first half 13-of-18 for 191 yards and a touchdown, leading the Sun Devils on four scoring drives and would go on to finish the game 19-of-26 for 262 yards and two touchdowns with one interception and two rushes for 25 yards in just over 2-and-a-half quarters of play.
Marching Marshall: Cameron Marshall wasted no time showing his value to this years team. Marshall had touches on all three plays on the Sun Devils first drive of the game and earning a touchdown in the process. Marshall took a short pass from Osweiler 47 yards on the first Sun Devil play from scrimmage and follow that with rushes of six and two yards for the ASU’s first points of the season. Marshall set a career high for receving yards in the first half with 86 yards - which would end up as his total for the game - and finished the game with seven rushes for 23 yards and two touchdowns.
Welcome to the Pac-12: With Thursday’s victory, Arizona State officially became the...second-ever member of the Pac-12 Conference to win a football game as a Pac-12 institution. The University of Utah beat Montana State earlier tonight, 27-10. Not quite as notable as being the first ever victor in the new conference, but interesting nonetheless. The conference formerly known as the Pacific 10 Conference welcomed the University of Colorado and the University of Utah this season.
An Even Dozen: Arizona State was sure to get as many student-athletes involved in the passing game as they could, with 12 Sun Devils recording a pass in the game.
Nine is Fine: The passing game wasn’t the only side of things getting involved as the Sun Devil rushing game saw nine athletes get touches before the game was over.
No Rush: After leading the conference in rushing defense for the second consecutive season in 2010 by only giving up 120.2 yards per game, Arizona State upped the ante in their season opener against UC Davis. The Sun Devils allowed just 13 rushes for one yard in the first half (.077 yards per rush). After three quarters, the Aggies had -4 yards on 17 rushes. Thanks to some big runs in the fourth quarter, UC Davis finished with 88 yards on 26 rushes for a 3.38 yards per rush average, but put up the majority of those numbers against the second- and third- team Sun Devil defenses.
Three and Out: The 2010 ASU defense was one of the top teams in the nation to force opposing offenses into three-and-out possessions. The Sun Devils averaged 4.08 three- and-outs a game, for a total of 49 in their 12 contests. That placed them in the top 20 in the nation. The Sun Devils forced five three-and-outs on Thursday, with three consecutive ones to start out the second half.