Posted by SJSdude on 8/29/2007, 2:25 pm By Sports Network - The Sports Network Senior Adam Tafralis completed a school-record 65.6 percent of his pass attempts and finished with 21 touchdowns, against only seven interceptions for a team that has issues with its passing attack in recent years. Tafralis was also among the nation's best in terms of pass efficiency with a 155.13 mark over the span of 13 games, a number that will be hard to match this season but is still a strong indication of just how good he can be when given the time. Despite the personal success of Tafralis a year ago, the passing attack for the Spartans still checked in third from the bottom in the conference and 83rd nationally with only 181.6 ypg. Taking much of the credit for the team's success on the ground was Yonus Davis produced 1,007 yards on the ground, third-most in the WAC. Along with Davis, the Spartans have another returning starter coming out of the backfield in James Callier. Clearly the running back situation is under control, which leaves the receiving spots the largest question mark for the program after both James Jones and John Broussard left and took their combined 122 receptions and 17 touchdowns with them. An aggressive defensive unit, SJSU ranked third in the conference and 13th nationally in terms of turnover margin with a +9 a year ago. A huge part of that success was Dwight Lowery, the first player in SJSU history to be named a First Team All-American, who ranked second in the country in interceptions per game and tied for the overall lead and single-season team record with nine picks. Chris Owens also finished in the WAC's top-10 in that department with four INTs of his own. Add another four fumble recoveries between the two of them and they represent perhaps the best cornerback tandems in the WAC. Playing in front of the duo is the nation's top returning tackler in terms of career average with close to nine and a half stops per game in senior linebacker Matt Castelo. The all-conference performer was second in college football in total tackles with an amazing 165 in 2006. Not only did he share the team lead with four forced fumbles a year ago, he also posted two games with at least 20 stops overall. Fellow linebacker Demetrius Jones is more than capable of getting into the backfield, while defensive end Jarron Gilbert led the unit with five sacks. Erickson may be again starting over at a new school, but by no means is he having to start from scratch, what with junior quarterback Rudy Carpenter considered one of the best third-year signal-callers in the nation. With close to 4,800 yards passing in his first two seasons with the Sun Devils, Carpenter is already in a class by himself and will only get better with guidance from Erickson. Making it even easier on the quarterback is running back Ryan Torain, a former transfer from Butler C.C. who is coming back to follow up his 1,229 yards from a year ago. Not to be overlooked is junior ball carrier Keegan Herring who produced another 549 yards coming out of the backfield, giving ASU a tough one-two punch. Sophomore Kyle Williams is being penciled in as the starting wideout for the team even though he caught a total of just four passes a year ago. The top returning receiver is Michael Jones who grabbed 20 balls for an average of close to 16 yards per. With juniors and seniors dotting the starting lineup for the defense, perhaps the one player to really keep an eye on his sophomore defensive end Dexter Davis who blew up offenses a year ago with team highs of 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks on just 40 stops. An all-conference performer right off the bat, Davis also led the Sun Devils with three forced fumbles resulting from his constant pressure. As a junior, defensive tackle Michael Marquardt was far from a slouch himself, producing 7.5 TFLs on just 25 total tackles, ranking third on the team with three and a half sacks as well. Mike Nixon appeared in all 13 games as a freshman and came away with eight TFLs, accounting for a quarter of all his tackles, and yet he is listed as a backup to begin this season behind senior Robert James who did not appear in the final five games of the season for Arizona State. Senior free safety Josh Barrett is the top returning tackler for the unit after posting 82 stops. Barrett also picked off a team-best three passes for the group. Erickson has been a success at every stop during his coaching career and there's no reason to think he won't continue that tradition in Tempe, especially with Carpenter, Torain and Herring to direct. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Arizona State 23, San Jose State 14
Link: http://www.idahostatesman.com/470/story/144892.html
198.246.227.2
San Jose State (0-0) at Arizona State (0-0)
Edition Date: 08/29/07
FACTS & STATS: Site: Sun Devil Stadium (71,706) -- Tempe, Arizona. Television: None. Home Record: SJSU 0-0, ASU 0-0. Away Record: SJSU 0-0, ASU 0-0. Neutral Record: SJSU 0-0, ASU 0-0. Conference Record: SJSU 0-0, ASU 0-0. Series Record: Arizona State leads, 18-11.
GAME NOTES: Back in the Pac-10 Conference yet again, Dennis Erickson kicks off his newest campaign with Arizona State this weekend when the Sun Devils play host to the San Jose State Spartans. Erickson, who was a member of the coaching staff at SJSU from 1979 to 1981, had been out of football for a short spell before getting the urge and the call from Idaho to return to the gridiron in 2006. With the Vandals Erickson had some modest success with four wins over five games at one stretch, but by the middle of October the good times had ended for the coach who once led Miami-Florida to a couple of national titles. Five straight losses to Western Athletic Conference opponents to close out the campaign meant Erickson's time in Moscow was going to be short-lived with him eventually taking the job at ASU in early December. The matchup of Erickson and SJSU head man Dick Tomey accounts for two of the five active coaches in college football who have won at least nine games with three different programs, Erickson having turned the trick with Miami, Washington State and Oregon State while Tomey has done it at Arizona, Hawaii and now San Jose State. As for Tomey, he transformed the Spartans from WAC doormat to a serious competitor last season when he took the squad to a record of 9-4 overall and a 20-12 victory over New Mexico in the first-ever New Mexico Bowl. Not only was it the first winning season for the Spartans in six years, the plus-six rise in the win column was one of the best in the nation, accentuated by the team's first bowl appearance in 16 years. The triumph against the Lobos in the postseason was just the second for SJSU in the last half century. Dating back to 1936, this rivalry shows Arizona State in charge with 18 wins in 29 tries versus the Spartans. The most recent meeting took place in 2001 at Sun Devil Stadium, with the home team recording an easy 53-15 triumph.
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