Around The Valley: Monday Edition; Arizona State vs. California on ABC

Lets see what the newspapers and bloggers around metropolitan Phoenix are saying about the Sun Devils.

ASU has gone from ranked to rancid, writes Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic...

Vince Marotta at AZ Sports Hub wonders, "When was the last time ASU beat a good team?"

We find out that despite the knockdowns, Carpenter stands alone..

We get the "official Pac-10 notes from Ted Miller, ESPN's Pac-10 blogger...

ARIZONA STATE: Sun Devils take the week off then hit the road for the first time this year with consecutive road games at California and USC. Four of the next five are on the road for ASU. . . . With a TD pass vs. Georgia last week, QB Rudy Carpenter upped his career total to 72, tying him for seventh place on the Pac-10 career chart with USC Heisman winner Carson Palmer (1998-2002). . . . In that game, Carpenter also increased his career total offense mark to 9,010, becoming just the 13th QB in league history to top 9,000 yards total offense. Carpenter has started 35 consecutive games and is 23-12 as a starter. He currently ranks second in the Pac-10 in both passing yards (295.8 per game) and pass efficiency (165.4) and has been picked off just two times in four games.

Despite losing 2 in a row, Arizona State @ California will be televised on ABC regional.

The Associated Press discusses ASU and how it was "another big game, another small performance."

Finally, we realize that despite the 2-2 start, the big picture is still unchanged, and a 2nd place finish in the Pac-10 is a reasonable aspiration, according to the Arizona Republic.

Enjoy. 13 days until the ABC game at Cal.