It was a familiar scene for the Sun Devils.
When ASU left guard Stephen Berg was assisted off of Frank Kush Field in the third quarter of Saturday's game against Washington, he became the fourth casualty to an already depleted ASU offensive line.
The injury made left tackle Brandon Rodd the only remaining opening-day starter still healthy on the offensive line.
"We were within seconds of burning Shawn Lauvao's redshirt tonight," ASU coach Dirk Koetter said.
Koetter instead opted to play redshirt freshman Paul Fanaika, who next week will likely become the 10th lineman to start for the Sun Devils so far this season.
"God bless Paul Fanaika for being able to go in and battle like he did," Koetter said.
Sophomore Robert Gustavis made his first ASU start at right guard, and after Berg's injury, finished the game at left guard. Berg joined fellow linemen Andrew Carnahan, Leo Talavou, Grayling Love and Zach Krula on the bench with injuries.
Koetter said that Carnahan and Love could return as soon as next week, but he was doubtful on Berg's return.
"I'm afraid it doesn't look too good for Stephen Berg," he said.
The makeshift offensive line has allowed seven sacks in each of the last two games, and ASU's total of just 77 yards rushing Saturday can easily be traced to frustration at the line of scrimmage.
Carnahan and Love's return could reinstate some of the offensive line's early-season swagger, a line that kept Sam Keller untouched all but once throughout the first three games.
Golden day
ASU senior Josh Golden's move from cornerback to safety on Saturday proved to be gold for the Sun Devils.
Golden had eight tackles, forced a pair of fumbles and added six points to ASU's growing lead in the fleeting seconds of the game when he returned an interception 58 yards for a touchdown as time expired.
"I only had a week to learn safety, and in this system, that's not easy," Golden said.
The touchdown was Golden's first as a Sun Devil, and the interception was his second this season and fifth career pick.
"I definitely had my fair share of missed assignments, but overall, it was a lot of fun to get out there and run the middle like that," Golden said.
Extra point
ASU place kicker Jesse Ainsworth added punting to his resume Saturday when he replaced Chris MacDonald as the team punter.
MacDonald was benched after Stanford blocked two punts last week in the 45-35 Sun Devil loss to the Cardinal.
Ainsworth punted three times against Washington including a 50-yard punt and a coffin-corner punt that pinned the Huskies down inside their own 15-yard line.
Quick hits
--Derek Hagan padded his school record by recording his 17th career 100-yard receiving game. Hagan also moved into third place all-time in the Pac-10 career record books with 236 career catches.
--Terry Richardson returned three kickoffs for 110 yards and returned a punt 21 yards Saturday, making the Sun Devils' average field position their own 36-yard line. Richardson is among the NCAA leaders averaging 30.4 yards a return on his 13 kickoff returns this season.
Reach the reporter at michael.fowler@asu.edu.
