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Sun Devils face Hawaii in Koetter's swan song

Dec 24, 2006 - 3:22 PM Hawaii (10-3) at Arizona St (7-5) December 24 Hawaii Bowl 8:00 pm EST

HONOLULU (Ticker) -- Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter gets one last chance to lead Arizona State to victory.

The outgoing Sun Devil coach, fired on November 26, brings Arizona State to the islands to face Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl on Sunday.

The game against the Warriors will complete the Koetter era after six seasons. The Sun Devils never won more than nine games and have recorded back-to-back 7-5 seasons.

With fellow Pac-10 teams like Southern California, California and Oregon succeeding on a national scale, the job got tougher and bids to the Sun and Insight Bowls were not good enough for Koetter to keep his job.

Dennis Erickson agreed to take over at Arizona State two weeks after Koetter was fired. Erickson, who won a national title at Miami, already has turned around one Pac-10 team, as he led Oregon State to records of 7-5 and 11-1 in his first two seasons to end the Beavers' streak of 28 straight losing seasons.

While Arizona State is looking for a new direction, Hawaii is definitely on its way up and can set a school record for wins with a victory over the Sun Devils.

Behind quarterback Colt Brennan, Hawaii leads the nation in passing offense (432.2 yards) and total offense (549.9).

Brennan has thrown for 4,990 yards and 53 touchdowns this season for the Warriors (10-3). His completion percentage is a staggering 72.1 percent (373-of-517), and he leads the nation in pass efficiency with a rating of 182.8.

Arizona State is looking for its third straight bowl win. Hawaii is 3-1 in bowl games under coach June Jones and playing in the postseason for the fourth time in the last five years.