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Arizona State looks to get running game going

Sep 6, 2008 - 11:45 AM Stanford (1-0) at No. 14 Arizona St (1-0), 10:00pm EDT

TEMPE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Arizona State senior quarterback Rudy Carpenter was in mid-season form during the Sun Devils' season-opening 30-13 victory over Northern Arizona of the Football Championship Subdivision.

Now, the 14th-ranked Sun Devils look to get their running backs on track Saturday when they host Stanford in their Pac-10 Conference opener.

Carpenter completed 22-of-28 passes for 388 yards against Northern Arizona and matched a school record with 13 consecutive completions in the first half. He also was the Sun Devils' leading rusher with 40 yards. Arizona State's tailbacks were held to a combined 54 yards.

"I thought we did fairly well, but I still think we have a lot of work to do, especially in the run game," Carpenter said.

Later in the season, Arizona State faces Georgia, Southern California and Oregon in a four-week span. Stanford was not considered to be one of their tougher opponents, but the Sun Devils could get tested after the Cardinal opened with a 36-28 win over Oregon State.

Toby Gerhart returned from a knee injury that limited him to only one game last season to rush for a career-high 147 yards and two touchdowns for Stanford.

The Cardinal are looking to improve upon last season's 4-8 record in Jim Harbaugh's first year as coach, which included a stunning win over USC as a six-touchdown underdog.

"Jim has done a great job there," Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson said. "They beat SC, and they beat Cal at the end of the year. They're playing well. They believe in what they're doing. They believe in him, and he believes in them. We're going to have our hands full. There's no question about that."

Last season, Arizona State snapped a 14-game losing streak to Pac-10 teams in California with a 41-3 rout of Stanford, which played without Gerhart.