Maroon and Gold
jlynch | September 29, 2007So let’s put this in perspective ...
ASU hadn’t won in California in fourteen games.
ASU hadn’t won in Stanford since 1997.
Nine of the top-25 teams lost over the weekend.
Colorado - whom ASU beat - went and won against #3 Oklahoma.
The Cal/Oregon game was a good one. Cal should rise through the ranks, particularly given losses by Florida and West Virginia and ineptitude by USC.
Speaking of which ... USC only beat unranked Washington by 3 points. It’s clear that there is no way that they can be considered the #1 team in the country - winning is not enough. But than again, the fanboys who…
jlynch | September 23, 2007W00t! ASU are back among the ranked teams - #23 in the AP and #25 in the USA Today poll. That means four Pac-10 teams are currently ranked - USC (#1), Cal (#6), Oregon (#11) and ASU (with UCLA also receiving votes).
Week 3 of last season was our last time in the rankings (#22), so hopefully this is the mark of something good happening.
jlynch | September 22, 2007I spent Saturday night in Sun Devil Stadium watching ASU beat Oregon State 44-32, to go 4-0 for the season. This after spotting the Beavers 19 points in the first seven minutes and given that OSU had the second-rated run defense in the country. Five interceptions and a lot of big third-down plays (both on offence and defense) helped the Devils.
Next week sees us at Stanford (1-2, 0-2 Pac-10), a game that will be televised by Fox Sports AZ.
jlynch | September 7, 2007I had the pleasure of spending Friday evening as Guest Coach for the Sun Devil women’s soccer team. The Guest Coach program honors faculty who are selected by student-athletes and allows them to get behind the scenes on game day. So 5:30pm saw my daughter and I at the soccer stadium, meeting the players & coaches, and having a good time. I will always remember the look of happiness on my daughter’s face as she sat in the locker room among the players, so a thanks goes out to everyone for making the evening so much fun.
Nine PM unfortunately saw the Sun Devils lose 1-0 to the third ranked…
jlynch | August 31, 2007Ah, Labor Day weekend. Sun, fun, and the start of college football. ASU plays San Jose State (home of my Scibling Janet) tomorrow night - the first game under Dennis Erickson. There is should be little doubt that ASU will win, though they may struggle against the Spartans.
jlynch | June 10, 2007ASU are heading to the College World Series on a 7-1 defeat of Ole Miss tonight and a 4-3 comeback last night. Next stop, Omaha! Oh, and the ASU Women Track & Field are NCAA indoor and outdoor champs. All good.
As some of you may know, I don’t care for pro-football or pro-baseball. NCAA is something else, however.
jlynch | March 19, 2007The third-seeded Lady Sun Devils worked past a terrible start, and rallied from a 14-point deficit in the final 11 minutes to beat Louisville 67-58 on Monday night to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the second time in three years. Which is more than the men have been able to do.
jlynch | December 25, 2006ASU got beaten by Hawai'i 41-24 in the Hawai'i Bowl, Leading 10-3 at the half, but down 24-10 late in the third, ASU rallied for two touchdowns and had a third negated by penalty to nearly pull out a final win for Koetter. But no joy. You can't win a game if you allow the opposing QB throw for 559 yards and five TDs, while your All-America tight end Zach Miller (in what might be his final ASU game) has just one catch for three yards. We finish 7-6 for the season. Let's see what Dennis Erickson can do with this.
jlynch | December 10, 2006ASU will introduce Dennis Erickson as its new football coach during a press conference on Monday.
jlynch | December 7, 2006Regular readers will know that ASU are looking for a new football coach after the firing of Dirk Koetter. Thursday morning the word was that there were six possible candidates: Norm Chow, Dennis Erickson, Steve Mariucci, Mike Martz, Mike Price and Mike Riley, with Chow being a "very strong candidate". By midnight, the Arizona Republic was reporting that a decision was on the verge of being made and that Price, Erickson and Riley were the top candidates, with Price being the front runner - this despite the fact that neither Idaho (Erickson) nor UTEP (Price) have been contacted by ASU to begin…
jlynch | November 25, 2006 It's the last regular season game for ASU - the Territorial Cup game against the University of Arizona Wildcats. At the beginning of the season, I don't think anyone would have predicted that ASU would have a 3-5 PAC-10 record and U of A (4-4) would have beaten three ranked opponents in a row entering into this game.
Both teams have a 6-5 record overall and the winner gets a (possible) bowl game. U of A hasn't been in a bowl games since 1998; ASU has been in five since then. An ASU win would send the team to the Emerald Bowl on December 27th.
Best case scenario for coach Dirk Koetter is…
jlynch | November 18, 2006 It is Saturday and that can only mean college football. It should mean grading as I got papers yesterday, but I like to prioritize.
Obviously everyone is looking forward to the Michigan v Ohio State game. I have only one thing to say .... GO BLUE! Apart from my connections to Michigan, I developed an intense dislike for the Buckeyes when they snuck past ASU in the 1997 Rose Bowl. Joe Germaine quaterbacked a 12 play, 65-yard drive in the final 1:40 for the winning touchdown. It is thus with some satisfaction that I note that Germaine's NFL career went nowhere and that he's now playing arena…
jlynch | November 11, 2006Let's start with some good news. ASU's ranked (#13) women's basketball team took their season-opener 87-60 against Nebraska. The men open their season (under new coach, Herb Sendek) on Monday against Northern Arizona.
Back to football. The Sun Devils (5-4, 2-4 Pac-10) play Washington State (6-4, 4-3) later this evening. Half time at the game ASU will honor the 1986 & 96 Rose Bowl teams. 2006 hasn't quite worked out the same way. ASU needs to win two of the remaining three games (Washington State, UCLA, Arizona) to get to a mediocre bowl. Much as last year when we defeated Rutgers in the…
jlynch | November 5, 2006Got back into town a few hours ago from the (very productive) HSS meeting. While I was away, ASU got beaten 44-10 by Oregon State to fall to 5-4 (2-4 in the Pac-10). Sigh.
jlynch | October 28, 2006 It's that time of the week again: time for that rollercoaster ride that is ASU football. Today the team (4-3, 1-3 in conference) travel to Washington to take on the Huskies (4-4, 2-3) at home for the first time since 1999. Last year, ASU won 44-20 on a 401-yard 3-TD performance by Rudy Carpenter. Doubt we will be so lucky today.
Update: Not ASU related, but Oregon State are leading USC 16-10 at the half, and should be up by more had they been able to capitalize on USC turnovers. Once again, USC demonstrate that they dont know how to play the first half of a game.
(7:10 EST) OSU hold on to…
jlynch | October 21, 2006It is Homecoming here in Tempe and ASU (3-3) are playing the only team in the PAC-10 with a worse record than their own - the 0-7 Stanford Cardinal.
This - and the next two ASU games - wont be televised and as I hate listening to football on the radio, I wont have much to say beyond end-of-game summary.
Update: ASU win 38-3. It could have been the first shutout under Koetter if it wasn't for a 58 yard kickoff return that lead to Stanford's only score with 4:45 left in the third. Rudy Carpenter played a little over three quarters and went 14 of 15 for 158 yards and one TD; he also rushed…
jlynch | October 14, 2006ASU are playing #3 USC this evening. The game last year was a classic, although ASU lost 38-28 after leading 21-3 at the half. Here is what I wrote last year. I have my doubts that today's game will be quite as close.
Update #1: End of the first half and ASU are down 21-7. Once again, ASU have no passing game (Carpenter is 6 for 11 and 86 yards), Ryan Torain has been practically the only Sun Devil playing (12 rushes for 34 yards and one TD; 2 receptions for 40 yards), and Zach Miller is unused except as a (very effective) blocker. Dumb unforced errors as always are hurting.
Update #2: Well…
jlynch | September 30, 2006Unranked ASU is playing #14 Oregon. I was supposed to be at the game, but had to attend to family business instead.
At the half it is 24-3 for the Ducks, despite ASU having nearly five minutes extra possession, less penalties, and less turnovers. We don't have a quarterback (Carpenter is 5 for 14, 29 yards, 1 int), Zach Miller is being ignored once again (1 catch for 3 yards), and Ryan Torain (15 carries for 81 yards) is the only player that seems to be making any real effort for the Sun Devils. Some, eh, highlights:
Carpenter has been sacked five times so far.
ASU 0-for-8 on third down…
jlynch | September 23, 2006 ASU (#18) are playing the Cal Golden Bears (#20) at Berkeley. The first half has just ended and the Devils are down 42-14. After a good opening scoring drive, ASU have just collapsed, with the only ray of sunshine being the running effort of (third-string RB) Ryan Torain, a JC transfer from Kansas. Rudy Carpenter has thrown two interceptions to Daymeion Hughes (one for a touchdown), and has not been on form. A punt was returned for a touchdown. Worst of all there is a whole half left to go.
At this rate, watching Notre Dame being beaten by Michigan State later this evening will be the…
jlynch | September 16, 2006ASU beat a mediocre Colorado 21-3 to go 3-0 for the season so far. Defense worked well, and certainly has improved compared to last season, but the offense was, frankly, crap and Rudy Carpenter (QB) never really got his act together. It has been a long time since ASU has gone into a Q4 with only 14 points. As usual, turnovers and stupid penalties were a problem and we deserve to fall out of the rankings. Next week against Cal will be more painful that it should be unless the offense gets a clue.