Holiday Bowl Gameday
December 26th, 2007, 9:08 pm · 1 Comment · posted by Dan Zeiger
Arizona State vs. Texas
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Qualcomm Stadium; San Diego
TV/Announcers: ESPN/Brent Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters
Radio: KTAR (620 AM)
Records: Arizona State 10-2; Texas 9-3
Rankings: ASU No. 12 Associated Press/No. 11 USA Today (coaches)/No. 12 Harris Interactive/No. 11 Bowl Championship Series standings; Texas No. 17/No. 17/No. 17/No. 19
Series: First meeting
Tickets: Less than 1,000 remain. Available online at ticketmaster.com or texasboxoffice.com
SUN DEVILS’ KEYS TO VICTORY
1. Handle the athleticism: Against Southern California on Thanksgiving, ASU was overwhelmed by the Trojans’ speed and physicality at times. As a school that annually has stellar recruiting classes, Texas will have a load of both on the field. Good assignment football is a must for the Sun Devils.
2. Know that the Longhorns will play: There has been speculation if Texas even wants to be in the Holiday Bowl, fueled by coach Mack Brown’s early-morning practices and depth-chart shakeups. Brown tried many of the same tactics last year before the Alamo Bowl, a game in which Iowa stormed to a 14-0 first-quarter lead. The Longhorns came back to win 26-24.
3. Make it a home game: ASU is the designated visiting team, but the Sun Devil fans easily sold their 11,000-ticket allotment — Texas still has seats left — and could have as many as 20,000 supporters in the stands. That could create a fan-noise advantage similar to what ASU had at the 2004 Sun and 2005 Insight bowls.
INJURY REPORT
Arizona State
OUT: DB Chris Baloney (leg); DB Josh Barrett (knee); DL Saia Falahola (triceps); OL Zach Krula (knee); DL Tranell Morant (knee); QB Samson Szakacsy (elbow); RB Ryan Torain (foot) PROBABLE: OL Paul Fanaika (leg), RB Keegan Herring (ankle), OL Brandon Rodd (ankle)
Texas
OUT: LB Antwan Cobb (knee); OL Dallas Griffin (knee); OL Tony Hills (leg); WR Limas Sweed (wrist) QUESTIONABLE: LB Drew Kelson (knee)
WHEN ASU HAS THE BALL
A good balance between run and pass has gotten the Sun Devils this far, but Rudy Carpenter might get a few more chances to sling the ball against Texas, for three reasons. With two weeks of rest, Carpenter’s right (throwing) thumb feels the best it has since he suffered the injury in October; Keegan Herring has been limited by a sore ankle, meaning that Dimitri Nance will carry the bulk of the ASU running game — something the sophomore has never done before — and Texas’ pass defense has been generous, allowing an average of 419.3 yards in the last three games. The Sun Devils must beware Texas defensive tackle Frank Okam and rush ends Lamarr Houston, who could exploit ASU’s propensity to give up sacks.
Texas tailback Jamaal Charles (25) and quarterback Colt McCoy (12) are the Longhorns’ top two rushers.
WHEN TEXAS HAS THE BALL
Only USC and Oregon — who both defeated ASU — have provided as big of a challenge on offense as the Longhorns, whose capability to run and pass the ball with near-equal success should test a Sun Devil defense that prides itself on taking away an opponent’s strength. Quarterback Colt McCoy’s passing and his ability to run if a play breaks down prevents defenses from keying on speedy tailback Jamaal Charles, who is averaging 6.3 yards a carry. ASU does not give up many big gains, but Texas — which has played through the loss of star receiver Limas Sweed and offensive linemen Dallas Griffin and Tony Hills to injuries — has the capability to nickel-and-dime its way to scores.
THE INTRIGUE
The Sun Devils and Longhorns have a bowl TV window all to themselves — in fact, there are no other games on Thursday — so a potentially big audience on ESPN will tune in to watch both try for program-affirming victories. ASU has already improved its “competitive traction,” as athletic director Lisa Love would say, in its first season under coach Dennis Erickson, which would be validated with a win against one of college football’s most storied programs. An 11-victory season would be the sixth in school history. A loss against rival Texas A&M that might have kept Texas out of the Bowl Championship Series has the team and coach Mack Brown feeling heat from fans. The Longhorns are looking for redemption, and a victory would increase their nation-leading streak of double-digit win seasons to seven.
TEAM REPORTS
ASU OFFENSE
SE 1 Michael Jones; LT 62 Brandon Rodd; LG 67 Shawn Lauvao; C 76 Mike Pollak; RG 63 Paul Fanaika; RT 79 Julius Orieukwu; TE 87 Brent Miller; SLOT 6 Kyle Williams; FL 13 Chris McGaha; QB 12 Rudy Carpenter; RB 31 Dimitri Nance
ASU DEFENSE
LE 97 Luis Vasquez; DT 77 Michael Marquardt; DT 90 David Smith; RE 58 Dexter Davis; SLB 44 Travis Goethel; MLB 25 Mike Nixon; WLB 29 Robert James; CB 32 Omar Bolden; CB 4 Justin Tryon; FS 22 Rodney Cox; SS 14 Troy Nolan
TEXAS OFFENSE
SE 6 Quan Cosby; LT 71 Chris Hall; LG 52 Charlie Tanner; C 65 Buck Bernette; RG 55 Cedric Dockery; RT 74 Adam Ulatoski; TE 16 Jermichael Finley; FL 9 Nate Jones; QB 12 Colt McCoy; TB 25 Jamaal Charles; FB 49 Luke Tiemann
TEXAS DEFENSE
DE 98 Brian Orakpo; DT 96 Derek Lokey; DT 97 Frank Okam; DE 36 Lamarr Houston; SLB 40 Robert Killebrew; MLB 44 Rashad Bobino; WLB 33 Scott Derry; LCB 28 Brandon Foster; RCB 13 Ryan Palmer; FS 26 Marcus Griffin; SS 21 Erick Jackson
Texas 2007 schedule and results
December 27th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I cant believe these refs. They make a call about the ballboy touching the ball. Then feel bad after ASU scores a touchdown to pretty much give Texas a game changing touchdown at 28-7 with two big time penalties including a first down penalty on Tryon on Fourth down, I didnt see anything. Thats huge. I am saying this in the second quarter no less. I am not giving up, but gimme a break. Lets see if those four points mean anything.