Sept. 20, 2008
TEMPE, Ariz. - By Matt Storey, ASU Media Relations
Behind the strong play of quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno, No. 3 Georgia proved too much for Arizona State in a 27-10 victory Saturday in front of a crowd of 72,955 at Sun Devil Stadium. The loss drops ASU to 2-2 on the season.
Stafford threw for 285 yards and a touchdown while Moreno ran for 149 yards and scored two touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to the victory.
The Sun Devils could not get much offense going against the tough Georgia defense. Quarterback Rudy Carpenter was 23-for-36 for 208 yards and a touchdown, but the team totaled just four rushing yards in the game.
"We felt our best match-up was to throw the ball against them, and we threw it pretty well," head coach Dennis Erickson said. "We just couldn't finish. You can't finish drives unless you can run the ball."
With Keegan Herring missing his third game this season due to injury, Dimitri Nance again got the start, but the Bulldog defense held him to just 12 yards on 10 carries. The Sun Devils' longest running plays came on an 11-yard backward pass to wide receiver Kyle Williams and a nine-yard scramble by Carpenter, both in the first quarter.
"We can't get the big play and that hurts us," Erickson said. "We need to find some way to get some explosion in the running game, and obviously we didn't have that tonight."
Michael Jones led the Sun Devils' receiving corps with seven catches for 70 yards, while Kerry Taylor added 67 yards on four receptions and Chris McGaha caught four passes for 30 yards. Still, the Bulldogs contained the ASU passing game and consistently pressured Carpenter, sacking him four times.
Georgia had 10 plays go for 15 yards or more on the night while ASU had just three, a disparity that made a big difference in the game.
"We've got to find a way to just make big plays on special teams, on offense and on defense, and until we can do that we are not going to be able to beat these teams," Carpenter said. "Georgia came out on offense and had some huge plays and, for us on offense, we couldn't match those big plays."
After the teams traded punts on each of their first two possessions, Georgia used one of those big plays to jump start its offense. Facing a third-and-10 on its own 9, Stafford found true freshman wide receiver A.J. Green for a 30-yard completion. After three more completions by Stafford moved the Bulldogs inside the 10, Knowshon Moreno ran for a nine-yard touchdown, diving into the end zone on the first play of the second quarter.
"He's an acrobat," safety Troy Nolan said of Moreno. "He runs hard, he's energized out there and he's pretty shifty."
After a fumble by Nance later in the second quarter, Georgia added to its lead with a three-yard touchdown run by Moreno, his second score of the game.
ASU responded with its best drive of the half, going 10 plays on 75 yards, but the Sun Devils ended up settling for a 25-yard field goal by Weber with 2:38 remaining in the half.
Georgia wasted no time in answering back on its ensuing drive, as Stafford connected with Green for completions of 23 and 31 yards on the first two plays and then later found Green again for a 14-yard touchdown to put the Bulldogs in front 21-3 at the half.
The Sun Devils showed spark as the second half began, with Carpenter leading a nine-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Andrew Pettes. Carpenter completed all five of his pass attempts for 65 yards on the drive to cut make the score 21-10.
However, that would be the final points of the night for ASU. Georgia's defense forced punts on the Sun Devils' next three possessions, and the Bulldogs added two field goals in the second half to secure the victory.
The Devils now have a bye week before returning to Pac-10 Conference play when they travel to face the California Golden Bears on Oct. 4.
"We've got to find ourselves," Nolan said. "Just get out there and work harder, practice and just find ourselves. We have the Pac-10 coming up, and that's what really counts."