New coach, same play, same result
September 26th, 2007, 3:29 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Zeiger
Oregon State linebacker Alan Darlin had no chance to cover Ryan Torain, and the result was a touchdown. (Darryl Webb/Tribune)
One last thought on the nifty 48-yard touchdown pass from Rudy Carpenter to Ryan Torain during Arizona State’s victory against Oregon State on Saturday night: The Sun Devils can give partial thanks to former coach Dirk Koetter.
If fans thought they had seen ASU run the play — where Torain lined up in the backfield and raced up the middle, looking like a wide receiver as he sprinted by a helpless linebacker before, it is because the Sun Devils have. Against Oregon State, as a matter of fact.
In a Sept. 24, 2005, game at Corvallis, ASU’s Rudy Burgess, then a running back, did the same thing to catch a 49-yard TD pass from Sam Keller. Coach Dennis Erickson and his staff noticed the play during film study last week and figured that, if the Beavers employed similar coverage, it would work again.
“It was something we picked up,” Erickson said. “People are running it against that coverage. We picked a perfect time to throw it, against the exact defense for that play. The safeties had to play the corner route, so there was no one to cover Torain, other than the linebacker.”
On a personal note, I did not cover the ‘05 ASU-Oregon State game for the Tribune. I watched the contest on television, hours after my wife and I came home from the hospital with the reason that I did not make the trip. He turned 2 years old on Sunday:
Ian Zeiger
In the days before he was to be inducted into ASU’s Athletic Hall of Fame, some wondered what attire the typically-very-casual Jake Plummer would wear to the induction ceremony. On Friday night, the legendary quarterback was dressed to the nines in a neatly-pressed blue jacket and slacks and a nice collared shirt.
The only laid-back element of Plummer’s wardrobe was on his feet, where he wore flip-flops. And no long-time Sun Devil football observer had to ask why — the flip-flops were a tribute to Pat Tillman, who loved to wear them.
