ASU QB’s bum ankle, offense both fade as Trojans blank Devils
Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter (center) is helped up by teammate Shaun Lauvao (left) and Southern California's Rey Maualuga after being injured during the second half Saturday in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES – This isn’t exactly how Rudy Carpenter imagined his final Los Angeles road trip.
He walked, no, hobbled off the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum field Saturday, his ankle throbbing as he dodged taunts from USC fans after the Trojans’ 28-0 win over Arizona State.
After a strong first half by ASU’s defense, everything went downhill from there, including Carpenter’s health.
The pain from the left sprained ankle that almost prevented him from starting against USC became worse as the game progressed.
He finally left midway through the third quarter because “I couldn’t even walk that well.”
Coach Dennis Erickson hinted all week that junior backup Danny Sullivan might start. Each day, however, Carpenter’s ankle improved. He looked fairly mobile at the beginning of the game, completing 6 of 10 passes in the first quarter, but he later seemed to struggle planting his foot.
He finished 11 of 20 for 126 yards with one interception. Sullivan completed 4 of 17 passes for 28 yards and two interceptions.
Carpenter pestered Erickson all week, insisting he could start. His ankle hurt, he said, “but I tried to put it out of my mind. I tried to stay positive.”
USC defensive tackle Fili Moala wasn’t surprised to see Carpenter take the field.
“Rudy’s a really competitive guy,” he said. “He’s a tough guy, really gung-ho. I’ve known him for a while, so it’s not surprising to see him out there hobbled on one ankle.”
Carpenter and the Sun Devils will benefit from their upcoming off week. They don’t return to action until Oct. 25, when Oregon visits Sun Devil Stadium.
Carpenter’s status is unknown, but with the extra time to heal, it’s likely he’ll start again.
He’s ready to work. Now he needs his ankle to cooperate.
Oregon runs wild
EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli didn’t expect to run so much against UCLA, and he probably ran more than he needed to.
He piled up 170 yards on 24 carries, including a touchdown. He only passed for 42 yards – and just 1 yard in the entire second half – in Oregon’s 31-24 victory over the Bruins Saturday night.
“A couple of times I looked to the run a little bit too soon,” Masoli said. “There are still some things I have to work on with the reads and this week I will be looking at the tapes and fine-tuning everything.”
It was the first time an Oregon quarterback has surpassed 100 yards on the ground since Dennis Dixon ran for 141 yards in last season’s opener against Houston. Reggie Ogburn, who had 173 yards against Oregon State in 1980, is the only quarterback to run for more yards in a game.
LeGarrette Blount added 111 yards and a score for the Ducks.
The Associated Press
———
PAC-10 STANDINGS
California 2-0 4-1
Oregon 3-1 5-2
Stanford 3-1 4-3
Oregon State 2-1 3-3
USC 2-1 4-1
Arizona 2-1 4-2
UCLA 1-2 2-4
Arizona State 1-2 2-4
Washington 0-3 0-5
Washington State 0-4 1-6
———
Last week: Stanford 24, Arizona 23; USC 28, Arizona State 0; Oregon State 66, Washington State 13; Oregon 31, UCLA 24
Saturday: California at Arizona, 7 p.m.; USC at Washington State, 12:30 p.m.; Stanford at UCLA, 1 p.m.; Oregon State at Washington, 4 p.m.;
Idle: ASU, Oregon