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UTEP/ARIZONA STATE SELECTION
ARIZONA STATE –24 over Texas El-Paso
Arizona State and Texas-El Paso kick off their seasons in Tempe on Thursday night. The UTEP Miners were one of the worst teams in the Western Athletic Conference last season, as they finished with a 2-11 mark. The only victories were over SMU and I-AA foe Sam Houston State. With the lackluster effort the Miners decided it was time for a change at head coach, dropping Gary Nord in favor of Mike Price. As for the Sun Devils, they too had trouble in their own conference, winning just two of eight PAC 10 outings. Overall, they finished just 5-7 last year after placing third in the league in '02 to the surprise of many.
Sophomore signal-caller Jordan Palmer, brother of former Heisman Trophy winner, Carson Palmer, who will be the starting QB for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals this year, got the nod from coach price as UTEP’s starter. Last season Carson's little brother started five games, appearing in 10 overall, completing just under 50 percent of his attempts for 1,168 yards, seven touchdowns and was picked off 13 times. Look for Palmer to be handing the ball off to senior tailback Howard Jackson for quite a few carries. As a First Team All-WAC selection last year, Jackson was one of the only bright spots for the squad, racing for 1,146 yards on the ground. Add to that his 391 receiving yards and another 609 yards on kick returns and Howard was first in the conference and fourth nationally in all-purpose yards per game with just over 165. The problem for UTEP and their offense, however, is the holes they have to fill on the offensive line. After losing three starters from last season to graduation, they lost two more potential starters to knee injuries during spring practices. It will certainly take time for this group to gel. The UTEP defense ranked 104th out of 117 Division I-A programs last year. The unit returns nine starters this season, including the top tackler from 2003 in Robert Rodriguez, so improvement is expected.
Most QBs would be more than happy to post the numbers that ASU’s Andrew Walter put up last season, but they were not as impressive, nor was the team’s record as impressive, as was expected. Walter has added 15 pounds to his frame this year and is ready to make a resurgence as one of the top gunslingers in the country. He has also been named one of the candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and should have a terrific season. With another year in head coach Dirk Koetter's offense under his belt, Walter should excel by showing off one of the quickest releases and throwing arms in the nation. Sophomore Loren Wade returns at tailback for the Sun Devils after leading the way last year with 773 yards and five touchdowns. Wade should show vast improvement this season behind an offensive line returning three starters and comes into the year as one of the top units in the Pac-10 because of their experience and impressive size at nearly every position. ASU returns just one starter to its defensive front, but it’s DE Jimmy Verdon. He is the star of the defense and could possibly move inside to help a unit that is making the transition from a 4-2-5 scheme to a traditional 4-3 set.
Coming off their disappointing season, Arizona State had a renewed sense of purpose, more leadership and a quarterback who rejected a big paycheck to play his senior year of college football. Andrew Walter turned down a chance to go pro after NFL draft experts said he could go as high as the second round last April. The Sun Devils will not feel the pressure of high expectations this year since the annual Pac-10 media poll has them finishing sixth. Very often teams that under-achieve big expectations will over-achieve low expectations the following season, especially if the core players return for a chance at redemption. That is the case here, and we expect Arizona State to be very fired up to start this season. The Sun Devils are an outstanding 18-2 ATS in SU wins, while UTEP has some ugly numbers to contend with. The Miners have covered the spread in their season-opening game only once in the past 8 years, are 2-10 ATS against non-conference foes, 4-12 ATS on grass, and just 1-20 ATS when scoring 14 points or less, while ASU is 7-0 ATS when holding opponents to 14 points or less. No doubt, Mike Price has the Miner program headed in a positive direction, but it will take awhile. In the meantime, the team can be expected to struggle as they try to grasp new offensive and defensive schemes from an entire new coaching staff. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils are ready to explode right now and should do just that as they unload on UTEP.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: ARIZONA STATE 45 UTEP 13
ARIZONA STATE –24 over Texas El-Paso
Arizona State and Texas-El Paso kick off their seasons in Tempe on Thursday night. The UTEP Miners were one of the worst teams in the Western Athletic Conference last season, as they finished with a 2-11 mark. The only victories were over SMU and I-AA foe Sam Houston State. With the lackluster effort the Miners decided it was time for a change at head coach, dropping Gary Nord in favor of Mike Price. As for the Sun Devils, they too had trouble in their own conference, winning just two of eight PAC 10 outings. Overall, they finished just 5-7 last year after placing third in the league in '02 to the surprise of many.
Sophomore signal-caller Jordan Palmer, brother of former Heisman Trophy winner, Carson Palmer, who will be the starting QB for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals this year, got the nod from coach price as UTEP’s starter. Last season Carson's little brother started five games, appearing in 10 overall, completing just under 50 percent of his attempts for 1,168 yards, seven touchdowns and was picked off 13 times. Look for Palmer to be handing the ball off to senior tailback Howard Jackson for quite a few carries. As a First Team All-WAC selection last year, Jackson was one of the only bright spots for the squad, racing for 1,146 yards on the ground. Add to that his 391 receiving yards and another 609 yards on kick returns and Howard was first in the conference and fourth nationally in all-purpose yards per game with just over 165. The problem for UTEP and their offense, however, is the holes they have to fill on the offensive line. After losing three starters from last season to graduation, they lost two more potential starters to knee injuries during spring practices. It will certainly take time for this group to gel. The UTEP defense ranked 104th out of 117 Division I-A programs last year. The unit returns nine starters this season, including the top tackler from 2003 in Robert Rodriguez, so improvement is expected.
Most QBs would be more than happy to post the numbers that ASU’s Andrew Walter put up last season, but they were not as impressive, nor was the team’s record as impressive, as was expected. Walter has added 15 pounds to his frame this year and is ready to make a resurgence as one of the top gunslingers in the country. He has also been named one of the candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and should have a terrific season. With another year in head coach Dirk Koetter's offense under his belt, Walter should excel by showing off one of the quickest releases and throwing arms in the nation. Sophomore Loren Wade returns at tailback for the Sun Devils after leading the way last year with 773 yards and five touchdowns. Wade should show vast improvement this season behind an offensive line returning three starters and comes into the year as one of the top units in the Pac-10 because of their experience and impressive size at nearly every position. ASU returns just one starter to its defensive front, but it’s DE Jimmy Verdon. He is the star of the defense and could possibly move inside to help a unit that is making the transition from a 4-2-5 scheme to a traditional 4-3 set.
Coming off their disappointing season, Arizona State had a renewed sense of purpose, more leadership and a quarterback who rejected a big paycheck to play his senior year of college football. Andrew Walter turned down a chance to go pro after NFL draft experts said he could go as high as the second round last April. The Sun Devils will not feel the pressure of high expectations this year since the annual Pac-10 media poll has them finishing sixth. Very often teams that under-achieve big expectations will over-achieve low expectations the following season, especially if the core players return for a chance at redemption. That is the case here, and we expect Arizona State to be very fired up to start this season. The Sun Devils are an outstanding 18-2 ATS in SU wins, while UTEP has some ugly numbers to contend with. The Miners have covered the spread in their season-opening game only once in the past 8 years, are 2-10 ATS against non-conference foes, 4-12 ATS on grass, and just 1-20 ATS when scoring 14 points or less, while ASU is 7-0 ATS when holding opponents to 14 points or less. No doubt, Mike Price has the Miner program headed in a positive direction, but it will take awhile. In the meantime, the team can be expected to struggle as they try to grasp new offensive and defensive schemes from an entire new coaching staff. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils are ready to explode right now and should do just that as they unload on UTEP.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: ARIZONA STATE 45 UTEP 13