After squashing rumors that he was transferring, before coming into games off the bench and suffering a sprained knee at practice, Andrew Walter was finally named ASU's designated starting quarterback last month.
Today, the sophomore gunslinger is the nation's most efficient passer.
In a 65-24 destruction of Stanford in the Pac-10 opener Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium, Walter completed 22 of 37 passes for 414 yards and five touchdowns, tied for the third most in school history. The game boosted Walter's pass efficiency rating to 185.84.
In five games this season, Walter is 47-of-82 passing for 807 yards with 12 touchdowns and one interception. ASU head coach Dirk Koetter said Walter has made great strides, particularly in his decision-making ability.
"Andrew's biggest improvement is knowing where to go with the ball and when to go there with it, even if that means throwing it away," Koetter said. "He has really improved about knowing when he should throw the ball away when he has no chance to make a play and when he should stay in the pocket and try to stay with something. That's hard to teach. That's Andrew growing up as a quarterback, and that's exciting."
Climbing the charts
ASU's blistering performance Saturday caused many around the nation to take notice. ASU jumped to the No. 40 spot in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Polls, which were released Sunday.
The climb is encouraging for the Sun Devils, who were unranked when the season began. Six other Pac-10 teams are still ranked ahead of them.
Stars of the game
ASU's coaching staff awarded five game balls last weekend for superior individual performances. Offensive Most Valuable Player honors went to junior left tackle Regis Crawford and Walter, who got nearly the entire offense involved. All five of Walter's touchdown passes went to different wide receivers.
"I can't say enough about Andrew giving these guys a chance," Koetter said.
Junior end Jimmy Verdon and senior linebacker Mason Unck were awarded MVP honors on defense. Verdon recorded seven tackles and Unck had 13, to go along with three forced fumbles and a tipped ball that created an interception. Sophomore strong safety Riccardo Stewart earned a game ball on special teams.
Crawford, Unck and Verdon will serve as captains when the Sun Devils host North Carolina at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
Positive turnover ratio
ASU exploded Saturday in an area in which the coaching staff has been emphasizing all season — turnover ratio. The Sun Devils marked a plus six turnover ratio against the Cardinal.
ASU forced four fumbles, three of which were recovered, and tallied four interceptions. That put the Sun Devils at plus nine for the season, a mark that is the 10th-best in the country.
"Who knows you're going to go out there and be plus six in one game?" Koetter said. "We were jacked about being plus three going into the game. We're doing a good job of protecting it and we're doing a great job of getting it out."
Loving Lightfoot
Among all the joy a 41-point victory brings, there was one moment that was perhaps more special than any other Saturday. Sophomore wide-out Daryl Lightfoot caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Walter with 2:12 remaining in the third quarter. The game was the first for Lightfoot since he served a one-game suspension and took a two-game leave of absence from the team to deal with personal problems.
"When Daryl scored that touchdown, there are sometimes when that tear comes right to your eye," Koetter said. "I did a 40-yard dash down the sideline, but there were so many guys ahead of me that I just couldn't get to Daryl fast enough. That kid has been through a lot, and that meant a lot to him. You can't appreciate the struggles that kid has been through emotionally in the past year and a half.
"Daryl is a kid where a lot of his self worth is tied up in how he is perceived as a football player. That really is a sad commentary on our society, but it's the truth nonetheless. For where Daryl has been, for him to help our team in general and to make a big play, he gives us another guy who can do that. I just couldn't be happier, and you could tell that was pure emotion for our players."
Plans won't change for N.C.
Although ASU is five games into its schedule and has already started Pac-10 play, Koetter is unfazed about having to face yet another non-conference opponent. He doesn't plan on changing his approach for the North Carolina game.
"Every time in my coaching history, I've seen people say, 'We're going to try to do this,' and then it backfires on them," Koetter said. "It's a little weird to have a non-conference game at this time of year. I wish we were playing a conference game because we are playing good right now, but we're not.
"With 13 games, we want to go to a bowl game, just like everybody else, so wins are hard to come by. We've got to get to seven, and to get to seven, we've got to get to five."
Carlos to have surgery
Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Ricardo Carlos will undergo surgery to repair two bulging discs in his back. Upon completion of the procedure, Carlos will partake in four months of physical therapy. Koetter remains optimistic that Carlos will be capable of returning.
"It was inevitable that any other form of treatment would be temporary," he said. "After a four-month recovery period, Ricardo, his family, doctors and trainers will have to make a decision. Riccardo wants to come back from it, and that's a good attitude for him to have, but he hasn't been able to sleep at night. He can hardly walk around. We've got to give this guy a chance to have a pain-free and normal life and worry about playing football down the road."
Pac-10 Players of the Week
Washington State senior quarterback Jason Gesser, USC junior defensive end Omar Nazel and USC sophomore place-kicker Ryan Killeen received Pac-10 Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Gesser completed 28 of 44 passes for 431 yards and four touchdowns in his team's 48-38 win over California. Nazel recorded seven tackles (six solo) and four tackles for losses totaling 14 yards, while forcing a fumble and deflecting a pass in USC's 22-2 win against Oregon State. Killeen nailed three field goals from 43, 42 and 32 yards out.
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
