Arizona State defeats Washington State, 31-0

Arizona State defeats Washington State, 31-0

Arizona State's Kerry Taylor, left, makes a touchdown catch past Washington State's Chima Nwachukwu.

Tools

Story Published: Nov 15, 2008 at 6:43 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 5:47 AM PDT

By ANDREW BAGNATO, AP College Football Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Rudy Carpenter threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns as Arizona State defeated Washington State 31-0 on Saturday.

Carpenter, a senior, has 80 career touchdown passes, third in Pac-10 history.

The Sun Devils (4-6, 3-4 Pac-10) have won back-to-back games and kept their slim bowl hopes alive. Arizona State posted its first shutout since a 19-0 victory over top-ranked Nebraska on Sept. 21, 1996, a span of 152 games.

Ranked 15th in the preseason, Arizona State matched a school-record six-game losing streak before the Pac-10's Washington schools came to the rescue.

The Sun Devils snapped the skid with a 39-19 victory over Washington last weekend. Then came the Cougars (1-10, 0-8), whose lone victory came against Portland State.

Washington State is wrapping up one of the worst seasons in Pac-10 history. But the Cougars put up a fight on a sunny, 81-degree afternoon.

The Cougars had conceded a conference-record 502 points in their first 10 games. They rank last in the nation in scoring defense (50.2 points per game) and next-to-last in scoring offense (13.9 points per game).

But Washington State actually had a chance to take the lead against Arizona State, driving from its own 20 to ASU's 24 midway through the first quarter. Patrick Rooney missed a 41-yard field goal attempt, and Arizona State never trailed after Thomas Weber kicked a 21-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

The Sun Devils made it 10-0 on a 14-yard pass from Carpenter to Kerry Taylor late in the first half.

Early in the third quarter, Carpenter hit Kyle Williams for a 21-yard score to put the Sun Devils up 17-0.

Carpenter and Williams connected for a 51-yard score to make it 24-0 late in the third quarter.

Weather & Traffic

Icon
Current Temp 66.0 °F
Partly Cloudy
More Weather

Weather & Traffic

More Weather

On Demand

Resources and info you need to prepare for the switch to DTV.

Stay Connected

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Marketplace