Asu Melts Down Its Brass Ring Sun Devils Attempt To Salvage Their Sullied Expectations

Jeff Paulk had no choice in schools.

Grey Ruegamer got to Arizona State by accident.

But now here both the senior fullback and center are with All-America potential - Ruegamer is a Lomdardi and Outland finalist, Paulk was a preseason All-America candidate - suffering through an all-aggravating 3-4, 2-2 season.

“It’s frustrating,” said Paulk, who is the son of ASU alums and grew up in the shadow of Sun Devil Stadium.

“We set goals and we have not been able to achieve them,” added Ruegamer, who was only recruited by ASU after a fellow teammate at Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas didn’t pan out. “It’s been disappointing and at times discouraging.”

Wait a minute. Is this Tempe or Pullman?

Yes, the frustrating, discouraging, fed-up quotes are not exclusive to Washington State.

But while a slide was somewhat expected in The Palouse, down in Arizona, everyone was thinking Fiesta Bowl and national championship.

And maybe they should have been. The Sun Devils had their second-highest preseason ranking (No. 8). They had won 24 of their last 29 games, including 19 of 22 regular-season contests. They finished last season ranked No. 20. And they had been to back-to-back bowl games, including the Rose Bowl in 1996.

But somebody forgot to tackle Washington’s Reggie Davis in the first game of the season as he converted a fourth-and-17 for a 63-yard, game-winning touchdown with 28 seconds left. That play proved to be the genesis of the Sun Devils’ inexorable slide from championship dreams to mediocre reality.

“That was pretty disastrous for us,” said Paulk of the 42-38 loss. “And then to go lose to BYU like we did … it was tough.”

“If we could have won, you never know what could’ve happened,” added Ruegamer.

They tried not to listen to the preseason hype. Coach Bruce Snyder even built a fire during preseason at Camp Tontozona and had the players throw in all the magazines that touted them one of the nation’s top teams.

It didn’t work.

Now, the Sun Devils are just trying to play the role of a phoenix and rise from the ashes of their season.

“Everybody has to take responsibility on this team and do what needs to be done,” said Ruegamer. “It’s not one person’s responsibility to go through and pick everybody up.

“Everybody has to play for themselves, for their pride and for the pride of the team,” he continued.

“We’ve got to quit making stupid plays,” added Paulk. “It’s not inexperience on this team, it’s just that there are times when people are doing stupid things and not relaxing and just playing ball.”

By stupid plays, Paulk means penalties. Much like the Cougars, the Sun Devils have continued to victimize themselves with fundamental errors.

Arizona State has been flagged 71 times this season, the same as the Cougars. But ASU’s flags have been much more costly, 722 yards to 525 yards for WSU.

“Just against Stanford we had 160 yards in penalties,” said Paulk.

“I have to admit that not all of those that we had called, to me, were legitimate,” said Snyder. “But once they are called, they are called. You just address it the best you can.

“The pass interference calls are where we are leading the world,” he continued. “The ones that we are responsible for, we need to correct them.”

The Sun Devils seem to have corrected their quarterback problems.

Heading into the Stanford game, Ryan Kealy was demoted from the starting position for the first time in 18 games. But he entered the game with two plays remaining in the third quarter and led two game-tying scoring drives. He then hit Tariq McDonald on the 25-yard game-winner in overtime.

“A win is a win is a win,” said Ruegamer. “And that is what we needed. We needed to remember what it feels like to win.”

“That could be what turns us around,” added Paulk. “Winning like that in overtime, and being able to come back to do it. That had to show everybody on this team what we are capable of.”

“We feel like we ended the game really strong and composed,” said Snyder. “It was the best quarter of football we’ve played all year.

“That’s what we want to build on for the coming weeks.”

Whether that building starts this week against Washington State may depend on the health of tailback J.R. Redmond. The junior, who is averaging 106 rushing yards per game and had three touchdowns against Stanford in the first half, injured a toe on his left foot last week. He is also battling a tender right ankle.

He was at practice Tuesday, but did not participate in any drills. His status will probably been unknown until Saturday.

Gleason still hurts

WSU linebacker Steve Gleason had to leave the practice field on the back of a cart on Wednesday.

Gleason, who had arthroscopic surgery on one knee last Monday, was not practicing, but the knee began to swell during the 2-hour session at Martin Stadium. He was taken to the training room, where they tried to reduce the swelling.

His status for Saturday remains questionable.