Blogging with the Devils

Washington quarterback Jake Locker

With most Pac-10 teams getting their final non-conference tune-up this weekend, what conclusions can Arizona State fans draw?

For starters, those who penciled in a sure “W” for the Washington game on Oct. 13, Tyrone Willingham — the ex-Notre Dame coach who is enjoying more vindication by the day — and star-in-waiting quarterback Jake Locker are holding up an eraser. Not so fast.

The Huskies’ victory against Boise State on Saturday — which broke the Broncos’ 14-game winning streak, the longest in the nation — is one of four impressive non-conference wins that the Pac-10 already has this season. California’s victory against Tennessee leads the way, and UCLA’s defense made the big plays when it needed them against a very good Brigham Young attack.

The fourth big win? Yes, Michigan is a mess, but compile the list of teams that have won by more than four touchdowns in Ann Arbor, as Oregon did. Your research will not take long.

This week, the Pac-10 remained the top-rated conference in Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings. In Sagarin’s team rankings, one-third of the top 18 schools — No. 3 USC, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Oregon, No. 10 California, No. 12 ASU and No. 18 Washington — are from the league.

“The conference has been amazing, it really has,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “I figured it would be good, but not this good. California got a big win. Washington has been winning, Oregon too and, of course, (Southern California). There are a lot of good teams. USC has proven it is probably ahead of everyone else, but anybody can beat anybody. It’s going to be an interesting league, to say the least.”

For the Sun Devils, things will be interesting, and even more challenging, during a five-game gauntlet to end the regular season. The ledger: Four teams that beat ASU a year ago — California, at Oregon, at UCLA, USC — and Arizona, a contest where anything can happen.

With USC ranked No. 1 and California eighth in both the Associated Press and USA Today (coaches) polls, it is possible that ASU will host two top-10 teams in the same season for just the fourth time in school history. The Sun Devils went 0-2 on each of the previous three occasions.

In 1987, ASU hosted second-ranked Nebraska and seventh-ranked UCLA. In 2000, No. 7 Oregon and No. 10 Washington visited Tempe. Two years ago, the Sun Devils hosted fifth-ranked Louisiana State (in a game that was moved from Baton Rouge, La., in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina) and top-ranked USC.

This season, California plays at Sun Devil Stadium on Oct. 27. USC visits on Nov. 22, Thanksgiving night.

Last season, the heat at Sun Devil Stadium did not bother Oregon much. (Darryl Webb/Tribune)

Colorado plays at Arizona State this weekend, and the Buffaloes appear to be as concerned about the mercury level in Tempe as the talent level of the Sun Devils. The forecasted high temperature for Saturday is 105 degrees, but it should be at least slightly cooler by the 7:28 p.m. kickoff.

CU is preparing for the hot conditions by hydrating heavily. Also, many players will wear a water-filled cooling vest under their pads during the game.

When an opposing team comes into Sun Devil Stadium for an early-season game, its fretting about the heat can potentially become a bigger issue than the heat itself.

Last year, Oregon spent time worrying about the weather in the days before a 12:30 p.m. contest in Tempe on Sept. 30.

“The temperature will be a major issue for us,” Ducks coach Mike Bellotti said then. “We are playing in the heat of the day, which will be a challenge to our players. I feel good about the conditioning aspect of our team, but we will be tested in this game.”

And when kickoff came, the Ducks were tested in the Tempe heat like “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” contestants are tested with the $100 question. The temperature of 101 degrees was more than three times the passing yardage compiled by ASU quarterback Rudy Carpenter, and Oregon cruised to a 48-13 win.

The other sweltering games in Tempe in recent seasons: Oct. 1, 2005, against Southern California (99 degrees), Oct. 11, 2003, against Oregon (92), Oct. 4, 2003, against USC (94) and Sept. 28, 2002, against Stanford (94). The Sun Devils routed Oregon and Stanford but lost to USC twice, giving them a 2-3 record in these supposedly opponent-wilting heat contests.

Is the temperature a factor? Absolutely. Is it a deciding factor? As the saying goes, both teams have to play in it.

(ASU does not compile a list of its all-time warmest games because it does not want to publicly release information that could be viewed as a liability in recruiting.)

In the Denver Post notebook linked above, Colorado running back Hugh Charles (hamstring), the team’s leading rusher a year ago, indicates that he will not play on Saturday.

Robert James

This is how close Robert James’ football career came to ending: Iowa lineman Alex Kanellis is leaving the sport because of migrane headaches that have plagued him since he had a concussion last spring.

“He’s been through a gauntlet of people who have examined him,” Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He is at peace with his decision.”

James, an Arizona State outside linebacker, suffered a concussion last season, and he battled headaches throughout the winter and spring.

“He didn’t even know if he was going to play again,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said.

The headaches finally ceased, and James, a senior, returned to the Sun Devils in time for fall practice and won the starting job at weak-side LB. He had 10 tackles, a sack and interception in Saturday’s win against San Jose State and was named Pac-10 defensive player of the week.

“None of the doctors had any answers for me,” James told the Tribune about his headaches. “I was in pain for days at a time. I was told that (the headaches) had to take their course. For some guys, it takes a lot longer. I’m just grateful that they went away.”

Ryan Torain scores one of his three touchdowns against San Jose State. (Darryl Webb/Tribune)

Ryan Torain could get mentioned as a player to watch on your favorite college football studio show or Web site this week.

Arizona State’s athletic media relations office has made a few phone calls — including to such pigskin pundits as Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN and Charles Davis of Fox Sports Net — touting the talents of Torain. The Sun Devil running back followed up a 1,000-yard campaign in 2006 by rushing for 123 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-3 season-opening victory against San Jose State on Saturday.

Before the season, ASU did little promotion of Torain for such honors as the Heisman Trophy or All-America teams, indicating that it would start the process if the senior showed award worthiness. That evidently took all of one game.

“His intensity level is as good as anybody that I’ve ever coached,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “He’s an extremely good blocker, a physical runner that can run over people, break tackles, and he’s got good speed. I thought he ran very well Saturday, but like anybody else, they’ve all got to get better, and he knows it.

“He’s got to play with a little lower pad level, which he does, so at times he’s got to get a little more consistent with that, but he’s a guy we’re depending on. We’re going to jump on his back for awhile.”

Torain — who is on the watch list for the Maxwell Award, given to the nation’s top player — figures to just keep running. He told the Tribune in July: “My family has called a lot and let me know about some of the things that are said about me. I know the honors that I’ve been getting are very prestigious, but I’m not the kind of person to spend hours on the Internet looking for that stuff.”

ASU remains unranked in the Associated Press and USA Today (coaches) polls, but the Sun Devils are 22nd in Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings, and the Pac-10 tops Sagarin’s conference ratings. Seven of Sagarin’s top 31 teams are from the Pac-10: No. 2 Southern California, No. 4 California, No. 13 UCLA, No. 15 Oregon State, ASU, No. 27 Oregon and No. 31 Washington.

Among the important variables in the Sagarin rankings are margin of victory and strength of schedule.

Speaking of conferences, here is a compelling note: The Pac-10 had more victories against ranked, non-conference opposition on Saturday — California’s win over Tennessee — than the Big 12 has had since the end of the 2005 season.

The Big 12 has dropped its last 17 games against ranked teams outside the conference, including three defeats on Saturday. Baylor lost to Texas Christian, Oklahoma State to Georgia and Kansas State to Auburn.

And the Pac-10 gets criticized for its performance against elite non-league competition? Perhaps Louisiana State coach Les Miles should have been dissing Texas or Oklahoma instead of USC during the offseason.

Montana State’s Ryan Force rudely greets Colorado quarterback James Cox in 2006.

While the rest of the college football world still buzzes about Appalachian State’s stunning upset of Michigan on Saturday, Colorado coach Dan Hawkins can, if he wants to, breathe a sigh of relief.

With the mighty, fifth-ranked Wolverines losing to the Mountaineers of the former Division I-AA — Does “Football Championship Subdivision” sound as stupid to you as it does me? — the Colorado team that plays at Arizona State this weekend no longer owns the most recent humiliating loss to a lower-division program.

In Hawkins’ debut as coach in 2006, the Buffaloes were defeated by I-AA Montana State, 19-10, in Boulder. The defeat set the tone for a miserable season, as CU finished 2-10.Losing to Montana State, Hawkins said, reflected the lowly status the Colorado program hit in the season after the departure of former coach Gary Barnett.

“We had to rebuild this thing from scratch,” Hawkins said. “It’s a complete remodel to some degree, based on everything that had gone on in the past. That’s not a shot at Gary; that’s just the situation we were in.”

In Barnett’s last season, the Buffaloes won the Big 12 North title, but finishing first in that dreadful division is not much of an honor these days. CU was whacked, 70-3, by Texas in the conference championship game. More important, Barnett’s later years in Boulder were sullied by allegations against the football program, including rapes and recruiting parties featuring alcohol and sex.

Dan Hawkins

“We spent last year pouring concrete and laying down a foundation of what this thing needs to look, feel and smell like,” Hawkins said. “Now, I think the guys understand and are ready build on it.”

The Sun Devils defeated Colorado, 21-3, in Boulder last September. The Buffaloes’ offense sputtered all of last season, but the unit appears to have a clue under the leadership of freshman quarterback Cody Hawkins, the coach’s son.

The younger Hawkins threw for two touchdowns in Saturday’s 31-28 overtime win against Colorado State, but Hugh Charles, the Buffaloes’ leading rusher in 2006, suffered a strained hamstring and is questionable for the ASU game.

Dan Hawkins promises that the Colorado team that takes the field in Tempe will be much different than the one the Sun Devils played a year ago.

“I think we’re much more self-assured and have a clearer vision of who we are and what we’re trying to get done,” he said. “Our leadership is better. In terms of where we are mentally, it’s not even in the same category at all.”