I'm still getting used to this winning thing

"Ryan Torain did what few other Sun Devils could at Memorial Stadium. He made California look bad."

Of course, if one were to actually look examine the game's outcome, both statistics and score, one would realize that Coach Gregory was looking to first defend the pass — traditionally ASU's strength — and focus on All-American tight end candidate Zach Miller (2 catches for 19 yards), and second defend the run.

The over 200 yards rushing, 190 of which for first-time starter Rudy Torain, included only one rushing TD, but Carpenter threw for 177 and 4 INTs (with 2 touchdowns) on 16 completions in 36 attempts. ASU was fairly unbalanced, rushing over 45 times, and actually gained more yards per rush attempt than pass attempt (4.9 to 5.2).

This emphasis on the run didn't translate to a win, because the secondary preyed on Carpenter to a remarkable extent because the defensive front was playing to contain Carpenter and the run, not to stop the run.

Maybe our defense looked bad in giving up 400 yards of offense. But they also scored 14 points and held last year's efficiency leader to a QB rating of 80. I don't think they looked that bad.