Blogging with the Devils

Omar Bolden’s clean tackle of Dennis Dixon two weeks ago appears to have altered the course of the Pac-10 and national championship race. (Darryl Webb/Tribune)

On Thursday night, Arizona got another November victory against a ranked team, the college football world learned that no player has been more valuable to his team than Dennis Dixon, and Arizona State’s big-bowl hopes got more stronger than ever.

With Arizona’s 34-24 win against second-ranked Oregon, the Sun Devils are in sole possession of first place in the Pac-10. And one win in its final two games could net ASU a Bowl Championship Series berth.

Oregon is out of the national-title race, so the Pac-10 champion figures to go to the Rose Bowl against the winner of Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan game. The Fiesta Bowl has come back into the picture for ASU, and a second BCS team from the Pac-10 would likely play in Glendale.

The Sun Devils’ fate is in their own hands. Beat Southern California and Arizona in their final two games, and they are outright Pac-10 champions.

“It’s fun to be sitting here right now — and it doesn’t happen every year, believe me — to be in November with one loss.” coach Dennis Erickson said. “I told the players at the beginning of the year, I hope you guys get to experience some of the things I have been able to experience in my career, playing in big games. They’ve got that opportunity.”

ASU, which is eighth in the BCS standings, has a 6-1 conference record; Oregon and USC are 5-2.

If quarterback Dennis Dixon remains sidelined, Oregon’s Pac-10 aspirations could be done. On Thursday, Dixon re-aggravated the left knee injury he suffered when ASU cornerback Omar Bolden tackled him during a Nov. 3 game, and the offense slumped under backup Brady Leaf, who lacks the physical tools to run a spread option attack.

Without Dixon, who is considered the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, the Ducks’ chances in their remaining games (at UCLA and against Oregon State) decrease, perhaps substantially. Also, star running back Jonathan Stewart suffered an apparent leg injury at Arizona, which has beaten a ranked opponent in four straight Novembers.

The ASU-USC contest on Thanksgiving might become the de facto Pac-10 title game, as both schools will be favored to win their regular-season finales. The Trojans, who are 11th in the BCS standings, finish at home against UCLA.

A Turkey Day win for the Sun Devils and an Oregon loss two days later would clinch the Pac-10 crown for Erickson’s team. If it loses to USC but defeats Arizona, ASU could place high enough in the final BCS standings to earn an at-large invitation from the Fiesta Bowl (assuming the Trojans beat UCLA and, with another Oregon loss, go to the Rose Bowl).

The Sun Devils would likely be locked out of the BCS, however, if they tie with Oregon and USC for first place in the Pac-10 with a 7-2 conference record. Under that scenario, the Ducks go to the Rose Bowl because they defeated the other two teams. Although bowls can choose between schools tied in the final Pac-10 standings, the Trojans, by virtue of beating ASU, would probably get slotted next.

The Pac-10’s top two non-BCS bowl arrangements are with the Holiday Bowl in San Diego and Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

Quarterback Rudy Carpenter (thumb) did not dress for Thursday’s practice. He is not scheduled to resume throwing until Sunday. Safety Jeremy Payton (ankle) and receiver Kyle Williams (migrane headaches) returned to practice, but defensive linemen Michael Marquardt (ankle), David Smith (ankle) and Jon Hargis (shoulder) remained out.

The Sun Devils are off Friday and Saturday.

“They practiced well the last three days, and we got a lot of things done,” Erickson said. “We got a lot of work for our young guys, and that was a lot of fun. (Thursday), we started preparing for USC. Now, the players have a couple of days to rest, and on Sunday, we’ll start it up again.”

I can certainly understand why turkey deep fryers are so popular. I had some bird that had been cooked in one a couple of Thanksgivings ago, and it was the juiciest turkey I have ever eaten. And the fryers are portable, making them usable for tailgating.

However, not at Arizona State University on Thanksgiving day.

Citing safety and grease disposal concerns, ASU will not permit deep-frying equipment on campus before the Sun Devils’ 6 p.m. game against Southern California. Tailgaters are encouraged to have their turkeys cooked in advance.

For more dos and don’ts concerning Thanksgiving tailgating at ASU, see this release from the school’s sports information department.

ASU’s football awards banquet is Dec. 2 at the Phoenician resort in Scottsdale. A silent auction and cocktail hour precedes the banquet, which begins at 6 p.m. Call (480) 727-7700 or visit www.sundevilclub.com for more information.

More of this stuff is probably coming.

Arizona State guard James Harden was named among the top 10 freshmen in the country by Rivals.com.

Easy to see why after his performances in two exhibition games. Now begins the arduous transition to real college basketball.

Since he plays at the University of Tennessee-Martin, Lester Hudson was a good player nobody heard of.

That changed Tuesday, when Hudson rang up what’s believed to be the first quadruple-double in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history.

25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals.

Poor Central Baptist College.

Nobody from Arizona State has recorded a triple double, but four guys have come close:

Curtis Millage (above) vs. Memphis in the NCAA Tournament, March 20, 2003:  17 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists.

Eddie House (above) vs. California, March 9, 2000:  21 points, eight boards, eight assists.

Mark Becker vs. UCLA, Jan. 21, 1988:  19 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds.

Byron Scott vs. Texas Christian, March 21, 1983:  33 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds.

FSN Arizona is conducting an online poll asking fans to choose the most memorable moments from the Arizona-Arizona State rivalry. There are 10 moments, five for each school, to choose from, with the top five selections unveiled during the network’s ”Duel In The Desert” pregame show at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 30.

This is a noble endeavor on the part of FSN Arizona, which I am proud to appear on occasionally as a panelist on “Sound Off Live” on Sunday nights. However, there should not be much suspense as to which moment finishes on top:

Moment No. 2 is a no-brainer as well. It is also Arizona’s biggest highlight in the rivalry, but that is all I am going to say in this space. After all, I would like FSN Arizona to keep inviting me on the air.

(As of Tuesday night, the early returns listed at FSN Arizona’s Web site have my no-suspense top rivalry moment in fifth place, with a paltry 10 percent of the vote. As Jerry Seinfeld would say, “Ladies and gentlemen, I implore you.”)

Baseball signing day for current high school seniors and junior-college players is Wednesday, and, as usual, ASU must contend with the possibility of losing many of their best commitments when they put their names on another dotted line — on a professional contract.

The real barometer will come in August, when the signing deadline arrives for players selected in the June amateur draft.

Arizona State had a media session Tuesday, the last large-scale press gathering before the team leaves for the Maui Invitational on Friday.

The season begins Nov. 19 against an Illinois team not unlike ASU in terms of age and experience (i.e., not much of either). Then it’s either Duke or Princeton Nov. 20 and then TBD Nov. 21 before the Sun Devils return on a red-eye flight Thanksgiving morning.

A few things we learned:

Coach Herb Sendek is leaning toward a starting lineup of Jeff Pendergraph, Eric Boateng, James Harden, Jamelle McMillan and Ty Abbott.

Of course, since it’s a week before the game, Sendek said it’s subject to change.

To some extent, starting lineups can be overrated. These freshmen haven’t been through a college basketball grind before, so rest and fatigue will eventually become issues, and it’s not like Derek Glasser, Christian Polk, Jerren Shipp or Kraidon Woods aren’t going to see playing time.

Should it happen, however, it would be the first time in school history the basketball team will have started three freshmen in a season-opener. All in the backcourt, the area most coaches and insiders say is key aspect of having a successful season.

According to research by ASU’s sports information department, the Sun Devils will be the last Division I team to open its season. The ASU-Illinois game starts Monday at 11:30 p.m. Eastern time (9:30 p.m. Phoenix time). Wright State also plays its season-opener on Monday against Coastal Carolina, but the Raiders play at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Sendek said he wasn’t very happy with a couple of recent practices, “on offense, defense or special teams,” he joked. The Sun Devils have 12 days between the Western New Mexico exhibition and Illinois, and although Sendek tried to get a game scheduled in between, it didn’t work.

No problems with Boateng’s foot, which he sprained early last week and missed the second exhibition game.

There will be some leisure time for the team in Hawaii, but Sendek said the team is ”not bringing our bathing suits and suntan oil.” Remember, the Sun Devils play three games in three days, so other than a little R-and-R in the day or two before the tournament, they won’t have much free time, especially if you include any walk-through time, watching film and keeping themselves energized.

Christian Polk said he’s gained 10-15 pounds and he looks bulked up. The question is, will his size (or perhaps fewer minutes) help him regain his shot?

The first day high school seniors can sign letters of intent is Wednesday, and the signing period lasts for one week. Phoenix Pinnacle forward Taylor Rohde and St. Joseph (Mo.) forward Johnny Coy are expected to sign, although Coy probably won’t officially sign until Thursday or Friday.

Johnny Coy (left) and Taylor Rohde

Sendek can’t talk about his recruits until they officially sign, but I’ll have a story in Wednesday’s Tribune looking at how Sendek and his staff have been able to piece together this core group of young players so quickly.

Finally, check out our ASU season preview in Sunday’s Tribune, plus a Scott Bordow column on the Sun Devils.

With two games remaining it its season, Arizona State’s bowl possibilities are likely limited to three locations: the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., Holiday Bowl in San Diego and Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

ROSE: This is where ASU will likely go if it wins its final two games, either as the Pac-10 champion (if Oregon loses one of its final three contests) or an at-large selection (if the Ducks qualify for the Bowl Championship Series title game).

If the Sun Devils lose against Southern California on Thanksgiving night, the Trojans get the inside track to Pasadena if Oregon goes to New Orleans. USC will be favored to win its regular-season finale against UCLA.

HOLIDAY: If Oregon goes to the BCS title game and USC to the Rose Bowl, the Sun Devils would probably head here. San Diego is the likely spot if the Ducks lose once and ASU beats USC but loses the Territorial Cup game against Arizona.

The Sun Devils could make the Holiday by losing to USC and beating Arizona if the Trojans stumble against UCLA. Under that scenario, a loss to the Bruins might send the Trojans tumbling from the BCS to the Sun Bowl.

SUN: If Oregon loses once and ASU falls to USC, the Pac-10 could still get two teams in the BCS, with the Ducks to the Rose and Trojans to the Fiesta. If the conference does not get two BCS schools, USC (assuming it beats UCLA) likely goes to the Holiday, with the Sun Devils El Paso-bound.

There is also the slight chance that ASU and Oregon State could finish in a tie for third place in the conference. If Oregon and USC go to BCS games, the Holiday would choose between the Sun Devils and Beavers. Although ASU won the regular-season matchup between the schools, the Holiday could opt to take Oregon State, which has never played in San Diego and travels well.

The Fiesta Bowl? That game remains in play, and the Sun Devils could head to Glendale under the Oregon-loses-once-and-UA-beats-ASU scenario. But the BCS standings math would have to work out just right.

Whew! Got all that?

The Sun Devils are eighth in the current BCS standings. Oregon is second, USC 11th. No more than two schools from a conference can play in the five BCS games.

Thomas Weber (Darryl Webb/Tribune)

Arizona State’s sports information department typically does not promote players for awards and honors before the season, preferring to start the process when they begin to truly display worthiness.

The school was starting to plug running back Ryan Torain with phone calls to college football commentators and writers, but that endeavor never got into overdrive thanks to his season-ending foot injury. The first promotional material sent out on a Sun Devil player in 2007 is for a kicker, and one who had to fight to keep his job in the preseason.

Clicking on the picture below will take you to a PDF file prepared by ASU on Thomas Weber, a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award:

Weber, a redshirt freshman who held off true freshman Zach Richards for the kicking job in camp, has made 19 of 20 field-goal attempts this season, including a streak of 17 straight. He booted a career-long 53-yarder at UCLA on Saturday.

Eleven of his 69 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks, with the 26-yard-line the average starting field position for the opposing team. Those figures are especially impressive considering that kickoffs were moved back 5 yards this season, to the 30.

After Jonathan Johnson struggled, Weber took over the punting duties last month and has averaged 40.9 yards on 31 boots. Nine kicks have been downed inside the 20, four of them at UCLA.

“You take the whole package, and I can’t imagine that there is anyone in the country who is kicking the ball better than he is right now,” coach Dennis Erickson said.

Of receiver Chris McGaha’s 41 receptions this season, 33 of them — or 80.4 percent — have been for a first down.

Athletic director Lisa Love’s father, Tom, will be laid to rest during a service in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday. He died last week at the age of 81.

An Army Air Force Cadet during World War II, Tom Love played tennis at North Texas and the University of Denver. Perhaps his most notable athletic feat, however, is a course-record 10 holes-in-one at Shady Valley Golf Club in Arlington.

After covering Arizona State’s game at Oregon on Nov. 3, I have visited every Pac-10 stadium. Here is one man’s opinion on how they rank:

From the campus scenery to pregame atmosphere to crowd noise, Autzen Stadium is, far and away, the best place to see a Pac-10 football game. (Darryl Webb/Tribune)

1. Autzen Stadium, Oregon: Frankly, this was going to be a no-brainer No. 1, especially after the visit lived up to everything I had been told about attending a game there. The press-box view of the fall foliage is gorgeous, and the crowd noise is as advertised. Several times while sitting in the open-air press box during the ASU-Oregon game, I had to yell while talking to Tribune columnist Craig Morgan, who was sitting next to me.

2. Martin Stadium, Washington State: The town of Pullman gets a bad rap for being in the middle of nowhere, but a visit to this intimate facility is worth the two-hour drive from Spokane. I get a kick out of when the public-address announcer leads the fans in the “That’s a Cougars! First! Down!” cheer.

3. Memorial Stadium, California: Strawberry Canyon is the prettiest press-box view in the Pac-10 (with Oregon a close second). Whenever I visit California and Stanford, I wish that I had been smart enough to go there. 

4. Rose Bowl, UCLA: I love college football history, and this place just oozes it. The surrounding Arroyo Seco area is beautiful. The only drawback: Long bleachers due to the exit rows being so far apart. If you are sitting in the middle, there are a lot of people to scoot by on the way to the concession stand or restroom.

5. Husky Stadium, Washington: The setting is one of the best anywhere, with a view of Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains. When I visited two years ago, the stadium rocking shook the press box only a handful of times. I cannot imagine what it was like during the Don James glory days. This quote from Southern California quarterback Todd Marinovich after a 1990 game remains a classic: “I saw purple. That’s all I saw. No numbers, no faces, just purple.”

6. Reser Stadium, Oregon State: The expansion of the facility, which was spearheaded by the success of Dennis Erickson’s teams from 1999-2002, has turned it into one of the more impressive ones in the conference. Like at Autzen, there is a pretty view of the Oregon countryside from the press box.

7. Sun Devil Stadium, Arizona State: This probably should be higher, but I have been there so many times, any novelty wore off long ago. Among teams and media from other Pac-10 schools, the Tempe trip rates near the top.

8. Memorial Coliseum, Southern California: This is another place where the history is poured on thick, particularly from the two Summer Olympics the venue has hosted. Tommy Trojan galloping in on his white horse and the USC band’s constant playing of “Conquest” are among college football’s most enduring sights and sounds.

9. Stanford Stadium: The renovated facility is sharp, but the sparse crowds make for a comatose atmosphere. The walk to the stadium — while passing the tailgates featuring wine, cheese and crackers and wireless Internet connections — remains an interesting experience.

10. Arizona Stadium: This seems to be a consensus No. 10. There is not really anything that makes the facility unique, other than the dorm halls at the South end. I will say this, however: the ASU-UA game is a lot more fun when it is in Tucson.

Seemingly everyone and their cat has some kind of awards or rankings these days, but here is the CollegeInsider.com preseason All-America basketball team, which includes Arizona State’s Jeff Pendergraph.

It’s a list of 21 players from the “major” conferences in Division I.

I guess this means he can’t play the “no respect” card.  Not that he was, anyway.