100 Day Sun Devil Football Countdown To Kickoff, #88: ASU, Rutgers Combine For Record-Breaking 2005 Insight Bowl

2005 was a rough year for the Sun Devils. There was so much promise with Sam Keller at the helm, and it all came crashing down on a 4th and 10 miracle touchdown pass caught by Early Doucet in the game against the LSU Tigers.

By the end of the 2005 campaign, Rudy Carpenter, a redshirt freshman, was the starting quarterback for the Sun Devils. With a 6-5 record, the Devils headed into their 2005 Insight Bowl matchup with Rutgers high off the emotions of a 23-20 Territorial Cup win over Arizona.

What happened on December 27, 2005 was a record-shattering performance by the teams, eclipsing an all-time mark for yards in any bowl game - a record that was previously held by Hawaii and Houston.

Between the Sun Devils and the Scarlet Knights, 1,210 offensive yards were amassed, including an incredible 678 yards from ASU alone.

Carpenter led the charge, throwing four touchdowns while collecting 467 passing yards. Fan favorite Rudy Burgess picked up 102 yards on the ground, while steady-handed wideout Matt Miller grabbed 135 yards in the air.

Most importantly, the Sun Devils defense held a highly-regarded tailback named Ray Rice to only 108 yards on 20 carries. He did not score a touchdown on the game (over the next two seasons, Rice hit paydirt 44 times).

The Devils ended up victorious, winning 45-40. I'm not sure how long this yardage record lasted, but it was definitely shattered by Washington and Baylor last year, who combined for 1,397 yards in the wild west shootout known as the Alamo Bowl.

See the previous entries on House of Sparky's 100 day countdown here.

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