Okay.

We lost. That much is clear, and we had an excellent chance to tie it at the end on our 2-point conversion attempt. So, I can't complain; our defense was excellent and our offense did its part by actually putting 12 points on the board.

But why do we keep having to discuss Pac-10 officials? It seems like never a week goes by where there isn't some complaint about lackluster officiating, from missed calls to inconsistencies in the treatment of each scenario.

Tonight, Omar Bolden was flagged for pass interference on a play that Jason Sehorn found to be nothing more than a well defended pass deflection. As a matter of fact, I nearly jumped out of my chair when I saw the flag come in out of the corner of the screen.

What exactly did he do wrong, sir official, sir? Was his form too pristine? His deflection too overwhelming? Did he really impede the receiver's ability to catch the ball? Absolutely, because he jumped and smacked it away. This wasn't pass interference, it was excellent pass defense.

On the ensuing drive by Arizona State, Chris McGaha was whacked right before the ball got to him on a long distance throw from Rudy Carpenter. Expecting a reciprocal call, I quickly realized that no flag was coming. It's funny listening to Sehorn blow up on air; his reaction along the lines of "this is difficult to watch" really resonates with me and bothers me at the same time.

As the Pac-10, Tom Hansen and his cronies have the obligation to provide us with superior officials. If these are the best we can do, ASU is at a constant disadvantage. It's embarrassing to watch these referees ruin the integrity of our sport.

Another thing I couldn't help but notice was the clock management. Every time we got a first down on our march late in the 4th quarter, the clock seemed to run 3-4 seconds longer than it should have, after the whistle blew. I don't want to go out on too big of a limb and call shenanigans on the time keeper, but come on. This is your job, you should be able to do it correctly. If you can't flick a switch when you hear a whistle, you are in dire need of some help.

But anyway, let me quickly talk about the game itself.

• Troy Nolan came up huge with that INT returned for a TD; he is a workhorse that I am truly proud to have on our team.
• The offensive line was a leaky faucet again tonight.
• Carpenter needs protection, but he also needs to look a little harder for open men. This is a problem that is not a recent development.
• I dislike Pac-10 officials. Oh, I already mentioned that.
• Jacquizz Rodgers is impossible to bring down; it's downright ridiculous to see 5 defensive Sun Devils fall down when they try to tackle him. Terrell Carr should be ashamed of that tackle attempt he had; he was made to look plain silly by a 5'7" running back.
• The Sun Devils are now 2-6, and the Beavers are in control of their own destiny to go to the Rose Bowl. Does anyone remember 2007 anymore? I sure seem to have forgotten that magical season.

Dan Zeiger tells us that Rudy is 'very doubtful' to play, likely meaning Danny Sullivan will be making his first career start. Also, look for Ryan Bass, our #1 recruit for this year, to get some carries in the Coliseum.

USC LB Rey Maualuga will suit up for the game, really hurting our chances. As for QB Mark Sanchez...

"He threw the ball really well today and he took a third of our team plays, and that's a really good sign," said [Coach Pete] Carroll.

Sanchez remarked after practice that he was "doing great." He was fortunate, as his father, Nick, explained that he was wearing a knee brace when he went down awkwardly. X-rays and an MRI exam had revealed no ligament damage.

Want to learn more about new commit QB Brock Osweiler? Here is the article to do it with. He passed up a promising college basketball scholarship to Gonzaga to play here, so we can expect big things from the 6'8" monster from Missoula.

Last spring Osweiler's choices were whittled down to firm offers from three schools, Washington State, Arizona State and Stanford - Colorado State and the Montana schools offered too, but weren't in the running - when he chose ASU on the last day of April. He announced his pick the next day, though partial offers from schools like Alabama, Florida State and UCLA still loomed.

“I didn't want to mess with that whole game anymore,” said Osweiler, of why he chose ASU when he did. “I had three offers, I did all the pros and cons for each school and Arizona State stood out - hands down. It made the choice real easy.”

USC is now favored to win by 27.5 points...

Check back soon. We're doing a Q & A with Conquest Chronicles about Saturday's matchup which should be completed soon.

Rudy Carpenter is pretty hurt. During the sack by Cal LB Zack Follett, Carpenter sprained his ankle and may not be able to play against USC. As if they weren't daunting enough.. this gem of an article surfaced.

Follett was out to avenge last year's 31-20 loss at Tempe, which he recalled as, "The most disrespected I've ever been in any stadium." He claimed his parents were spit on, and that his mother reminded him of that going into Saturday's rematch.

Follett hadn't forgotten that, nor all of Carpenter's taunts toward him in that 2007 matchup.

"He would say, 'Zack, you're so close. Zack, you're so close.' He called me by my first name like we were best friends," Follett said. "He's been in my mind-set for a while. Thank lord I finally got him."

Follett got Carpenter at the perfect time Saturday.

The Sun Devils trailed just the 10 points, had driven to Cal's 44-yard line and Carpenter dropped back to pass on third-and-six. As Carpenter rolled right, here came Follett, and to best describe the ensuing scene, here's Cal defensive end Cameron Jordan to explain:

"I had a (offensive) tackle stood up, I saw Zack make contact and I might literally have stopped playing and just watched," Jordan said. "I told the offensive lineman, 'You're quarterback just died.'

"If you guys could have seen the pain, his face when he got hit, it was the funniest thing in the world."

What an unclassy bunch.  Allow us to  just pretend that seeing a player get hurt is funny, yeah. Cal's players should be ashamed of themselves; I thought they would learn more at Berkeley. Spirited smack-talking is an accepted and exciting aspect of football, but getting hurt is nothing to laugh or joke about.

So if Danny Sullivan has to start against USC, who does that really help? Not Cal. Not when they can use all the help they can get against a team that is far superior to them, but has 1 loss in conference play. Essentially, USC will beat them when they play. No one else can stop USC, not Cal and definitely not Danny Sullivan.

So next time you think it's funny to hurt the highest rated quarterback in the Pac-10, make sure you're hurting your own signal caller. Oh wait, your quarterbacks are both mediocre at best and won't be winning any awards anytime soon.

Update: I've received many comments, from this thread and from e-mail, calling me out for generalizing the entire Cal team. Here is my response to these comments. You can also see this in the comments thread.

I think a big part of this is the questionable reporting practices displayed by the newspaper that published this article. As I thought I made clear in my post, I have no issue with smack-talking. As I said, "spirited smack-talking is an accepted and exciting aspect of football." It makes the teams hate each other, and in the end makes the on-field product superior.

With that in mind, saying "If you guys could have seen the pain, his face when he got hit, it was the funniest thing in the world" is NOT smack-talking. It is disturbing. I get it, Rudy says a lot of things during the heat of a game that piss off the opposing teams. He got his ass kicked by Texas for what he did, and we all know he deserved it.

I don’t take issue with having pride in sacking the dude. I’m just shocked that a) the newspaper published those comments by Jordan and b) it actually seems like they wanted to hurt the guy.

But please, don’t come here and act like every Sun Devil fan is "scum" because of some isolated incident in the crowd last year. No one will deny there are bad apples, but every school has had issues like that in the past. I will admit that my generalization of the entire Cal team based on one bonehead was a mistake, and I apologize if any of you feel needlessly slighted.

We can all agree that Cameron Jordan was out of line to say those things, and that is the crux of the issue.

I hope this clears it up.

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.

In the spirit of enhanced sharing of information and the free flow of the internet, Dawg Sports and House Of Sparky have interviewed each other to find out if the grass really is greener on the other side of the Mississippi.

T Kyle King is a very respected blogger, and Dawg Sports is the best Georgia blog out there. Without further ado, lets get to the House Of Sparky Hot Seat, where Kyle has agreed to answer all our burning questions. As for my answers to his questions, they are located at Dawg Sports.

Georgia showed a lot of guts against South Carolina on Saturday, but failed to impress fans of college football who saw it as a less than dominating performance. This is also shown by their slide from #2 to #3 in both polls, as the voters were disappointed in the closeness of the game. Take your Georgia hat off and discuss the team's performance, and then put the hat back on and give us your biased take.

First of all, I don't fault the voters on this one. I voted Georgia No. 3 on my BlogPoll ballot, as well, although this was due to the fact that Southern California and Oklahoma looked extremely good rather than because the Bulldogs looked particularly bad. An SEC game that ends 3-2 is hallmarked by inept offense; an SEC game that ends 14-7 is an old school classic.

I certainly can understand how, from a neutral perspective, the Red and Black's accomplishments so far this season appear comparatively meager. Georgia Southern is a Division I-AA team, Central Michigan has a penchant for giving up gaudy point totals to BCS conference teams on the road, and South Carolina has lost seven of its last eight games, including six conference contests in a row. Given the closeness of Georgia's game against the Gamecocks, I won't fault a neutral observer for dinging the ‘Dawgs in the rankings.

Nevertheless, I believe any doubts about Georgia are premature. 80,250-seat Williams-Brice Stadium is a tough place to play and close, low-scoring defensive struggles historically are the norm between the Bulldogs and the Gamecocks. Half of the Georgia-South Carolina games played in the last 20 years have been decided by a touchdown or less, including six of the last eight. The Classic City Canines always get the Palmetto State Poultry's best game and Georgia found a way to win with three stout defensive stands at the end.

Many elite teams seem to have that one opponent with whom they struggle despite routinely having a marked talent advantage. Even when the Irish have been good, Notre Dame has found it difficult to beat Michigan State in South Bend. Texas always seems to need a furious second-half comeback to beat Oklahoma State. Vanderbilt often gives the Gators a scare. For Georgia, the game that annually seems more challenging than it should is the early-season outing against South Carolina.

Even so, the closeness of the Bulldogs' tussle with the Gamecocks is seldom indicative of the quality of the Georgia squad. The ‘Dawgs had to overcome a 16-0 deficit to pull out a 20-16 win in Columbia in 2004, but that Georgia squad went on to beat Louisiana State and Florida to finish with ten wins. The Red and Black lost to South Carolina at home last season, yet the Bulldogs were as impressive as any team in the country during the second half of the year.

The bottom line is this: Georgia beat South Carolina by margins of 7-0 in 1966, 21-20 in 1968, 20-12 in 1976, 13-10 in 1980, 13-7 in 2002, and 17-15 in 2005. The Bulldogs won six SEC titles and one national championship in those half-dozen seasons. There's no reason to think a close call against South Carolina means anything at all.

To find out more about the Bulldogs, continue reading...

Continue reading this post »

I am disgusted.

Disgusted that we could lose to UNLV at home. Angry that their quarterback knew just how to pick apart our supposedly solid defense. Depressed that our season is circling the drain, and can only be salvaged by running the table and going to the Rose Bowl.

But the worst part?

I didn't think it could ever happen. I was 100% certain we would be 3-0 next week, taking on Georgia in a battle of conference supremacy.

Today, we learned the Pac-10 is a joke. Outside of USC, we are a horrible conference with very little talent at this point in the season. Oregon looks suspect at best, and everyone else lost. Oregon State? Meh. UCLA lost by FIFTY NINE POINTS and didn't score ANY.

There are no words that can truly describe how I feel. Arizona State let me down today, in the worst way. I will be in the student section next Saturday, screaming at the Devils to beat the 'Dogs, but I am beyond dejected at this very moment. Going 8-0 to start the year in 2007; it's like I took it for granted to just get to 3 wins. Shame on me, and shame on the Devils for doing the same thing.

Who do I blame?

The O-line gave up too many sacks and let too many people through. Rudy didn't find Jovon Williams when he was open in the end zone in overtime. Dennis Erickson didn't push the accelerator enough. Shaun Dewitty was benched at the worst possible time.

You want more scapegoats? Okay.

Omar Bolden played like a high schooler, giving up all kinds of first downs. UNLV's receiver core is unheralded, but looked solid. That catch in the corner in the 4th was mind-blowing.

In the end, I know we have no one to blame but ourselves. And that is the type of attitude that just might win us some more games.

The Pac-10 got off to a strong start as a whole last week, collecting six victories (two of which came against Pac-10 foes). The biggest victory of the week was UCLA's triumph over #18 Tennessee, in a game that was nearly impossible to watch in the first half.

This week, BYU rolls into Washington, Oregon State crosses the country to play Penn State, and Stanford takes on the Sun Devils in a battle of unbeaten squads. USC and UCLA have much-deserved off weeks after their victories in week 1.

On to the prognoses...

#15 BYU Cougars @ Washington Huskies. Saturday, September 6, 12:10 PM Pacific.

I was wrong last week when it came to my prediction about UCLA having "no chance" against Tennessee. Dead wrong. Tennessee was not nearly as good as I gave them credit for; it was probably all the SEC bias that gets tossed around on ESPN.

This week, I am willing to make another bold statement. Washington has no chance against BYU. QB Max Hall has looked phenomenal and will throw all over the Husky secondary.

UW QB Jake Locker gives Washington a change to keep this close, but if he falters at all, down they go, like a dogsled team falling into a frozen lake during the Iditarod.

Prediction: BYU 45, Washington 28

Oregon State Beavers @ #19 Penn State Nittany Lions. Saturday, September 6, 12:30 PM Pacific, ABC.

The Beavers take on the Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium... in Pennsylvania. What a coincidence, huh? Penn State is implementing a new quarterback for 2008, junior Daryll Clark. He looked good against Coastal Carolina, going 11/14 for 146 yards and a touchdown before getting pulled in the blowout victory.

On the other side of the coin is the OSU attack. Led by QB Lyle Moevao and WR Sammie Stroughter, the air game picked up 404 yards against Stanford in week 1's losing effort. The interceptions Moevao threw were backbreakers, and ended up being the difference between victory and defeat.

I can't help but wish for a huge upset, seeing as I think Penn State is perpetually overvalued, but in reality it just won't happen. Oregon State is known for being awful at the start of the year, and they won't go into one of the most hostile stadiums in the country and walk away with a win.

Prediction: Penn State 42, Oregon State 17

Continue reading this post »

Lets do some quick hits for the game +/- style.

PLUSSSES +

• Rudy Carpenter:  Who cares that this was against NAU? Rudy came out strong with a 22/28 (~79%), 388 yard, 1 TD, 0 INT performance.  That was good for a 206.76 QB Rating. The spread offense is coming to fruition.  Rudy also scrambled 5 times for 40 yards. Rudy tied a school record in the first half completing 13 straight passes.
• The O-Line's Pass Blocking: The young, inexperienced line which was so maligned last season only allowed 1 sack on the day, and according to most people, it was not because of any sort of physical failing but a mental mistake. Whether this matters is up for debate, but the line protected Rudy.  It was NAU though.
• Mike Jones: ASU's #1 receiver came through with a big game against a lesser opponent, something you look for in college stars. 6 receptions for 162 yards (career high) and an average of 27 yards per reception.  He had  receptions of 52, 49, and a near-TD where Jones reached out for the endzone and fumbled into the endzone for a touchback.
• ASU's 1st Team Defense: Stoutly shut out the lumberjacks for 3 quarters, held the rush to 3.3 yards a carry, and harassed the NAU quarterbacks all night long.
• Fantastic Freshmen: 8 true freshmen suited up and got into the game for the Sun Devils, a good sign for the depth and for the future of the program.
• Special Teams: Weber averaged 44 yards per punt, hit all 3 field goals, and the coverage units held the 'Jacks to averages of 17 yards on kick returns and 8 on punt returns. Good stuff.

MINUSES -

• The Run Game: Sans Keegan Herring, and not counting Rudy Carpenter's scrambles, the Sun Devils rushing offense managed 54 yards on 18 carries, good for a 3 yard per carry average. Herring could have played Erickson said, but they opted to rest him for the Stanford game.  Nance, the supposed "Thunder", managed only 30 yards on 11 carries, but did manage to punch in two TDs in short yardage situations. Woods and Bass had 7 carries for 24 yards. Weak. This needs to improve, especially since this was just NAU. Maybe you can see the theme of this game.
• The O-Line's Run Blocking: Obviously in a spread offensive scheme, running is going to be a tad deemphasized,but the line clearly needs to work on their run blocking, and how to create better holes for the running backs.
• Letting Up a Tad: The Devils clearly let off the gas after going up 27-0 at halftime, and 30 to 0 in the third. After that the team got sloppy, the second unit defense looked soft, and Danny Sullivan looked like he forgot he played well in the Holiday Bowl.

All in all, a solid opening effort for the Sun Devils, with some key areas that need improvement.  Stanford will be a good test this week at home, especially after the upset over Oregon State.

The student section was rowdy and ready for another season of college football. After taking a beating in the Holiday Bowl at the hands of Texas, Rudy Carpenter and the boys looked prepared to show their fans that they are a legitimate Pac-10 contender.

The first thing I noticed was the inexperience of the offensive line really shining through. While statistically looking good on paper, Rudy was flushed out quite often. He showed his mettle and got rid of the ball when he needed to, rather than taking those sacks he was so familiar with.

To be fair to the line, they look promising. There are no guarantees in college football, but if they can give Carpenter 4 seconds to find a receiver, there will be hell to pay.

Continue reading this post »

Just outside Payson, AZ lies Camp Tontozona. Owned by ASU, it used to be the Sun Devils' summer football camp (until this summer, when the new practice bubble/facility was opened up).

Camp Tontozona was special because it gave the team a chance to bond and break away from the 115 degree days in the Phoenix sun. Payson is historically cooler, and this Saturday will be a high of 90. The Devils will be making a one day, one night trip to the old practice grounds to simulate the travel of a road game.

On Saturday, ASU is scheduled to scrimmage among the pines that have framed their fall workouts for nearly five decades. The plan: Up one day, back the next and come Sunday morning.

Arizona State's website has a small explanation of what "Camp T" is all about.

Cresting over the hill on Highway 260 just outside of Payson, AZ, Camp T offers beautiful scenery, bountiful hiking trails and unrivaled natural beauty; creating a colorful and harmonious getaway to renew your spirit any time of the year. Whether you're seeking family fun, a romantic weekend, an outdoor adventure or simply some quiet time, a spectacular experience awaits you. Camp T offers comfortable lodging, meeting facilities and warm hospitality.

Apparently, it is a great place for the outdoorsy type. Not, however, a great place for a bunch of football players who enjoy the amenities of the civilized world. But in the end, the practices held up there had to have been a great bonding experience, and most likely held less distractions (no girls, no computers).

In the end, the Devils are losing a storied tradition. The introduction video where Sparky walks from Payson to Tempe may have to be altered, sadly. We're going from this:

to this:

bubble in progress, via www.azcentral.com

We will let the results of the season judge this for us. If we head to the Rose Bowl, Camp Tontozona is good as gone in the minds of every Sun Devil fan. If Rudy comes down with tennis elbow and we go 6-6, watch out.