The ASU football team has prided itself on playing one game at a time this season. But the instant the clock read all zeros at Autzen Stadium in Oregon on Saturday, the Sun Devils' thoughts focused on one thing, the men of Troy.
On Oct. 16, the team will play in arguably its biggest game since the 1997 Rose Bowl when it faces defending national champion USC in Los Angeles. While the game is not for nearly two weeks, the Sun Devils have twice the amount of time to prepare for the Trojans because of a bye week.
"Our focus turns to them immediately," senior quarterback Andrew Walter said. "We need to get healthy and we need two weeks to prepare for them because they are the best team in the nation."
USC, on the other hand, must face California, the consensus No. 2 team in the Pac-10 and the only squad to defeat the Trojans last year, Saturday. The Golden Bears were able to crush Oregon State 49-7 in Corvallis, Ore, on Saturday.
While the Cal game may end up being the most anticipated match-up of the year for USC, the Sun Devils (5-0) are hoping they can enter the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum flying under the radar, something the team has used to its advantage all season after being picked to finish in the bottom half of the Pac-10.
"That's been awesome for us," Walter said. "The longer we can stay under the radar the better. But at 5-0, I don't know how long that will last, but hopefully a while.
"It is deservedly so that we are still under the radar because of our season last year, and because of how Cal and SC finished. As far as I'm concerned, they are the two best teams in the league right now."
A loud reputation
Despite getting their second straight win in Eugene, Ore., and third overall against the Ducks, the Sun Devils still insist that Autzen Stadium is one of the loudest places to play in college football.
"It's a great college atmosphere," senior defensive tackle Jimmy Verdon said. "I'm happy for [Oregon] because they get to play in front of these fans all the time. They were in it from the get-go.
Verdon added the fans were loud, but not always polite.
"This is the place where you can hear the funniest things," he said. "Somebody said to one of our backups, 'if you ever get back in the game, I'll leave my seat.' And I was like 'are you serious?' Then there were kids saying 'I'm bigger than you.' And then there were other words that I can't repeat."
Walter agreed with Verdon about the volume of the crowd, but couldn't resist rubbing in his third career win over Oregon.
"It's really hard (to play here), but I think there is something about green that I like," he said. "It's a fun stadium."
ASU head coach Dirk Koetter went as far as to say his team was affected by the deafening noise early in the game, as ASU's offense didn't get any real production until the second quarter.
"When we had the ball, their crowd was bound and determined; they were going to play a part in this game," Koetter said. "No matter how much you practice with crowd noise, when we went out for that first series, that was loud. I mean, they came down on us hard, and I think we got rattled."
Props for Hakim
The Sun Devils were quick to shower Hakim Hill with praise following the game. The junior tailback gained a career-high 134 yards on 25 carries including a number of impressive runs down the stretch to keep the ball out of Oregon's hands.
"We have a phrase, 'run until the wheels fall off,' and they were rattling at the end," Walter said. "He was tired, but he was a warrior tonight."
Hill was the only tailback left after the three of the team's four featured runners were absent due to injuries or suspension. Hill also played with a heavy cast on his right arm, which was fractured two weeks earlier.
"The medical staff set me up to where I can feel the least amount of pain as possible," Hill said. "I can't carry the ball with my right arm, so when I run to the right, I'm carrying it with my left arm which definitely cuts any stiff-arm ability. That gets frustrating at times, but I deal with it the best I can."
After the game Hill was the first person that Koetter was asked about.
"Playing with a broken arm and all the things we've been through at tailback in the last week, I'm just very, very proud of Hakim," he said.
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
