Sept. 2, 2005
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery
Football Game Notes
#20 Arizona State 63, Temple 16
September 1, 2005
Frank Kush Field at Sun Devil Stadium; Tempe, Ariz.
Arizona State (1-0) 63, Temple (0-1) 16
Official Start Time: 7:08 p.m. Game Time Temp: 92° Attendance: 50,049
Keeg-on Running: Keegan Herring toted the ball 12 times for 134 yards and 1 touchdown in his Sun Devil debut to become the first true freshman to rush for over 100 yards since Mike Williams during the 2000 season. Williams carried 33 times for 143 yards and one touchdown as the Sun Devils defeated Colorado State, 13-10, on Sept. 16 in Tempe. Herring also is in elite company as he is only one of three true freshmen in the past 14 years (1991 season) to have rushed for 100 yards in a game.
Young Man, Old Record: Keegan Herring broke a 35-year-old record for net rushing yards in the first game of a career as his 134 yards improved upon the 117 Woody Green compiled against Houston in 1971. Green accomplished his feat on 21 carries while Herring ran to his record total with 12 touches.
Hagan's Hauls: Derek Hagan continued his climb up the career receiving charts as he hauled in three passes for 53 yards and two touchdowns on the night. For his career, Hagan has accumulated 184 receptions for 2,782 yards. He is just four receptions behind Hall of Fame member John Jefferson (188) and is 85 yards out of a tie for second place with Shaun MacDonald for most receiving yards in a career (2,867). Hagan also increased his streak to 30 games in a row with at least one reception and gives him at least one reception in 37 of his 39 career games with ASU. Heading into the game, Hagan had recorded four-consecutive 100-yard-plus games.
New Way of Scoring: With 5:56 remaining in the first quarter, tailback Rudy Burgess carried the ball three yards for his first career rushing touchdown. The touchdown is the sixth of this career following five receiving touchdowns in 2004.
Six if by Foot: Rudy Burgess' rushing score in the first quarter Thursday night marked just the 10th time since the 1982 season (24 years) that the first touchdown of the season scored by the Sun Devils came on the ground. It also marked just the second time in Head Coach Dirk Koetter's five-year tenure in Tempe that the Sun Devils have opened the season with score on the ground. The last time it occurred was when Mike Williams carried the ball 34 yards for a score at Nebraska in the third quarter of the 2002 contest. Burgess also joins Darrin Ransom in 1997 as the only tailbacks that scored the first touchdown of the season on the ground for ASU while also recording their first career rushing score.
Four on the Floor: Of the nine touchdowns scored by the Sun Devils, four were scored on the ground. All four were brought across the line by different rushers including Rudy Burgess, Keegan Herring, Antone Sualsberry and Preston Jones.
What A Rush: Six different Sun Devils carried the ball Thursday night and combined to record a net gain of 300 yards rushing. Keegan Herring (134), Preston Jones (73), Rudy Burgess (60), Antone Saulsberry (31), Randy Hill (10) and Sam Keller (-8) all combined to record the team's first 300+ rushing game since the Sun Devils accumulated 314 yards in a 41-24 victory over Oregon State on Oct. 20, 2001, in Tempe.
Lifting the Lid: With its 63-16 win over Temple, Arizona State improved to 64-27-2 all-time in its first contest of the season and now stands 44-15-1 all-time when opening the season on its home field. The Sun Devils have now won seven home openers in a row dating back to a 31-13 defeat of visiting Texas Tech in the 1999 season-opener. ASU also has secured a victory in each of its last three season-opening contests, including a 41-9 last year against UTEP (Sept. 2) and a 34-14 defeat of intrastate rival Northern Arizona (Sept. 6).
Lighting Up the Scoreboard: The 63 points Arizona State scored on Temple marked the most the Sun Devils had scored since defeating conference rival Stanford, 65-24, in Tempe during the 2002 season. The point total also marks the 13th time Arizona State has scored 40 or more points in a game with Dirk Koetter as its head coach. In that same time span (including Thursday night), the Sun Devils have scored 48 or more points in a game seven times and have tallied 55 or more on four occasions. All-time, ASU has scored 60 or more points on
All-Time Series vs. Temple: In its first meeting with Temple, the Sun Devils saw quarterback Sam Keller throw four touchdowns and two interceptions on 14-of-24 passing for 208 yards to help lead Arizona State to a 63-16 victory over the Owls in the first meeting between the programs. The win over Temple, an affiliate member of the Mid-America Conference (MAC) in 2005 and 2006 before becoming a full member in the 2007 season, also brought the Sun Devils' all-time record against MAC teams to an even 2-2.
Home Winning Streak: With its 63-16 victory of Temple Thursday night, the Sun Devils moved their current home winning streak to eight games in a row, dating back to the 2003 season finale. ASU continued its winning ways last season as they swept their home slate with a perfect 6-0 record, just the 11th undefeated home season in Sun Devil history.
Hash Marks: Temple lost its ninth road game in a row ... ASU yielded a safety in the first quarter of play, surrendering two-points to its opponent for the second game in a row after allowing one against Purdue in the Sun Bowl last year ... Instant replay is now a part of college football with two calls in the ASU-TU game receiving extra attention. None of the calls were overturned.
Owl Notes: Keith Holt becomes the first true freshman to start in a season opener for Temple since Dave Yovanovits in 1999 ... Four freshmen saw action in the game including Richard Sheppard, Kevin Armstrong, Keith Holt and Ben Hendy ... 17 players also competed in their first Division I-A contest ... Willie Hardemon and Ray Lamb each recorded their first career interceptions for Temple ... TU recorded its first safety since Eric Carpenter collected two points for the Owls last year against Pittsburgh ... Josh Bundy also scored his first career touchdown for the Owls.