STANFORD, Calif., - Bowl hopes were trounced, a disastrous season was confirmed, rain came down in sheets and a few records were reworked in the process.
Though the ASU football team had one of its worst performances of the year during a 38-27 loss at Stanford, junior quarterback Andrew Walter threw for the second-most yards he has this season. And he did it "on one leg," according to head coach Dirk Koetter.
With his 357 yards, Walter raised his career total to 6,918 yards and passed three former Sun Devil greats on the school's career-passing list, including 1987 Rose Bowl signal caller Jeff Van Raaphorst (6,610), former Dallas Cowboy Danny White (6,717) and Ryan Kealy (6,912).
For the second consecutive week, Walter had to play with sprained ligaments on both sides of his right ankle, which bothered him during a 20-13 loss to UCLA on October 25.
"It's hard to move," the 6-foot-5 pocket passer said. "There were some throws that I make if I have a healthy ankle. I'm going to get outside of the pocket on a few of those. I'm not going to scramble for 100 yards, but I can move around more than what some people may think."
Despite the fact that the Sun Devils trailed throughout the game, Walter was forced to throw even more than usual because of injuries to tailbacks Hakim Hill (sprained knee) and Loren Wade (concussion).
Koetter was impressed with his offensive captain's perseverance as Walter played through a good amount of pain.
"[Andrew] is very limited mobility-wise when he has to try to reset," Koetter said. "He's had to totally change his footwork just to be able to play. It's a credit to Andrew that he can even do that and still hang in there like he has.
"These last two and a half weeks, if you're an aficionado of fine quarterback play, it makes you really appreciate Andrew because he's playing on one leg right now," Koetter said.
While the Sun Devils chalked up mistake after mistake during a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated, Walter brought the contest within respectability at the end as he tossed for 248 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
Walter went 23-for-53 in the game with four touchdowns altogether and one interception. He also brought his career touchdown passes total to 51, putting him third all-time at ASU and passing up Mike Pagel's 48.
Walter said even though the Sun Devils have not lived up to expectations this season, he plans to have the most fun he can in the final two games against Washington State and archrival UA.
"Today I had fun for the first time in a while," Walter said. "It's frustrating when guys don't make plays when there are plays to be had, but I'm just going to have fun because there are not many people that have the chance to be in my shoes. College football is a joy, and that's the way I'm going to look at it.
"Regardless if this season is over, we've got to be the spoiler for somebody."
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
