First Year of Football: 1897 All-Time Record: 545-335-24 All-Time Pac-10 Record: 123-96-4 All-Time Bowl Record/Appearances: 12-11-1 Last Bowl Appearance: 2007 (loss to Texas in Holiday Bowl)
HEAD COACH DENNIS ERICKSON (Montana State 1970) Third Year at Arizona State
Record at Arizona State: 15-10 (.600), 2 years Overall Career Record: 163-75-1 (.684), 20 years
Coaching Experience Has served as coach of the Sun Devils since 2007 ... also coached at Pac-10 schools Oregon State and Washington State ... spent two years as head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers ... led ASU to a tie for the Pac-10 title in 2007.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE SUN DEVILS OFFENSE: Record-setting quarterback Rudy Carpenter, who passed for 81 TDs and more than 10,000 yards in his four years as Arizona State's starting quarterback, has graduated. Filling his big shoes will be the first order of business on offense, followed closely by getting the running game back on track after a down year last season. Other than at quarterback, the Sun Devils have some experience on hand at both running back and wide receiver, and four starters return on the offensive line. Productive kicker Thomas Weber also returns.
DEFENSE: Six starters are back on defense and the Sun Devils figure to be sturdy on this side of the ball. Up front, DE Dexter Davis, the ASU leader in tackles for loss and quarterback sacks in each of the last two seasons, returns. The senior is the leading returning QB sacker in the Pac-10 and has posted 21.5 sacks over the last two seasons. In fact, Davis is the only returning player in the nation to record double-digit sacks in back-to-back seasons. He is joined up front by promising sophomore DT Lawrence Guy. OLB Mike Nixon led the Conference and ASU in interceptions last year and the Devils return starting CBs Omar Bolden and Terell Carr.
THE SCHEDULE: Three of the first four games are at home, but the Sun Devils' non-conference road trip is at Georgia. It is a good-looking home Conference schedule as USC, California, Oregon State and Arizona all visit Sun Devil Stadium.
