FanHouse Arizona State

The Arizona State Sun Devils are not--repeat ARE NOT--talking to anyone wearing green these days.

ASU denies reports by Hawaii's athletic director that it had offered the Sun Devils to test out the new Dennis Erickson regime in an October 20th matchup in Honolulu. When Michigan State opted out of its game against Hawaii-paying the Rainbow Warriors a quarter-million dollar cancellation fee, Hawaii went looking for an opponent that Heisman Candidate Colt Brennan show off against. Hawaii had reportedly offered seven-figures to entice the Sun Devils but to no avail. I think this may be the first time anyone has turned down a million-dollar payday to make a trip to the Islands.

What's more, Arizona State was not made an offer by Notre Dame to be part of its "America is Our Home Stadium" series for 2017. The Irish have been adding "home games" all across the country at neutral sites. That game will be played in South Bend, home of the actual University of Notre Dame.

With all these non-denial denials, I wonder...am I the only one who thinks that Baghdad Bob has become athletic director in Tempe?

Last Year: 7-6, Unranked

Fans Are: Unable to get into any schools in California.

Expectations: Win a game in the Golden State

Questions:

1. What happened to those Norm Chow rumors?

After firing head coach Dirk Koetter last year, ASU athletic director Lisa Love flirted with bringing Tennessee Titans' head coach Norm Chow to Tempe. Instead, she chose journeyman coach Dennis Erickson who came to the desert after one year at the University of Idaho.

2. So is this Dennis Erickson's last year as head coach of Arizona State?

You never know. It seems there isn't a team in football that this guy hasn't coached, but before other schools--or the NFL--will start buzzing about him, he'll have to win. So we're betting he's around for awhile at ASU.

3. What changes can Sun Devils fans expect on offense?

Well a tight end named Miller--Brent not Zach this time--is still around and will remain a favorite target for Rudy Carpenter. The biggest change is Rudy Burgess' move to wide receiver from the running back position.

4. When will Arizona State win a game in the State of California?

I'd say either once Dirk Koetter leaves the program, since he has never won on California soil, or the Sun Devils play in Palo Alto. Luckily, the stars are aligning for both to happen in 2007!

Dennis Erickson has not coached a game yet for the Arizona State Sun Devils, but the wayward head coach is already making an imprint on the program.

Erickson has announced he'll be moving running back Rudy Burgess back to wide receiver for his Senior year.

Erickson had recruited Burgess to Oregon State as a wide receiver, but Rudy chose the Sun Devils, who shifted him to running back in 2004, when he racked up 186 yards on 34 carried against Stanford.

Asked by the Arizona Republic if Burgess could play both ways, Erickson responded, "It's not fair for him (Burgess) as far as having a great senior season."

Going in to this weekend's match-up between Arizona State and Colorado, one coach is 2-0 this season and the other is 0-2, despite playing a Division 1-AA team to start the season. But the difference in their records isn't the only thing separating Arizona State's Dirk Koetter and the Buffaloes' Dan Hawkins.

Although the two coaches' careers have intertwined, they couldn't be more different, writes the Arizona Republic, " Dirk Koetter is a CEO type, like Donald Trump. Dan Hawkins is a philosopher masquerading as a coach, like Phil Jackson."

But as the past few Lakers' seasons have proven it takes more than Zen to win games...

In his second start as the one-and-only-officially-the-starting quarterback for the Arizona State Sun Devils, Rudy Carpenter lit up the Nevada defense for five touchdown passes in a 52-21 win.

After a slow start in their season opener against Northern Arizona, the Sun Devils looked to Colorado's embarrassing loss to Montana State for inspiration to motivate them against the lowly Wolf Pack.

Fittingly enough, the #23 Sun Devils will travel to Boulder this weekend to meet the winless Colorado Buffaloes, whose road to victory this season seems tougher than ever.

If you were wondering why Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter got off to a shaky start Saturday night, the Phoenix P.D. may have an answer...he was missing one of his go-to targets.

After partying the night before the game at Scottsdale nightclub Next, Sun Devil wide receiver Jamaal Lewis was arrested for criminal speeding and may face DUI charges based upon preliminary reports of thing which would be indicative of such an allegation. Lewis was suspended for at least one game, natch.

Personally, I don't care if you're playing Northern Arizona or scrimmaging against North Texas, you don't go partying until after you win the game!

In his debut as the one-and-only, offically-the-starting quarterback for the Arizona State Sun Devils, Rudy Carpenter looked more like former UCLA Quarterback Drew Olsen than like Sam Keller, whom he replaced just days ago.

Trailing by 7 just before halftime and tied going into the final quarter, the Sun Devils scored 21 consecutive points Thursday night to defeat lowly Norther Arizona by a score of 35-14. Carpenter threw for 261 yards, two touchdowns and one INT en route to chopping down the Lumberjacks.

The reason teams play these "tune-up" games is to help them get out of first gear--and Arizona State is glad to have scheduled Northern Arizona in 2006 when compared to last year's opener against Louisiana State.