Yuma Talk

After a 38-14 win over University of Louisiana Monroe last week, Arizona State (2-0) hits the road for its final nonconference game as they head to Athens, Georgia for a meeting with the #21/#17 Georgia Bulldogs (2-1) at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. The game airs at 7 p.m. MST on ESPNU.

This will be the second all-time meeting between ASU and Georgia. The Bulldogs won the first meeting 27-10 last season at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.

The trip to Athens marks Arizona State’s first non-conference road game since the match-up with Colorado in Boulder in 2006. Dexter Davis, Gerald Munns, Chris McGaha, Mike Nixon, Dimitri Nance, Shaun DeWitty and Travis Goethel are only current Sun Devils saw action in that game.

Since joining the Pac-10 in 1978, the Sun Devils are 11-14 in non-conference road games, including a 2-2 mark in the Eastern time zone.

The 1,913-mile trip to Athens is the farthest ASU has traveled for a regular season game since playing at Miami (2,529 miles) in 1997.

The farthest ASU has ever traveled for a regular season game? 5,803 miles when the Sun Devils played the Houston Cougars in Tokyo, Japan in 1990.

Arizona State holds an 0-4 all-time mark against SEC schools. ASU is 0-1 against Georgia, 0-1 against LSU and 0-2 against Arkansas.

The only time the Sun Devils have traveled to what is now an SEC school was back in 1951, when they played the Razorbacks in Arkansas (who were then a member of the SWC). They also played Arkansas in the 1985 Holiday Bowl. The match-ups with LSU and Georgia were both played in Tempe.

When Omar Bolden took the opening kickoff 89-yards for a touchdown last week against ULM, he became the first ASU player to ever return the game’s opening kickoff for a score.

20 different ASU players have made their Sun Devil debuts so far this season.

Freshman kicker Bobby Wenzig was expected to redshirt in 2009, but that all changed when he was forced into emergency action against ULM. With Thomas Weber out, Wenzig filled in admirably, going 5-5 on PATs and 1-1 on field goals in his collegiate debut.

Dexter Davis is a half sack shy of Vernon Maxwell (1979-82) for third place on the school’s all-time list. Terrell Suggs (2000-02) is the leader with 44.

ASU CAREER SACKS
1. Terrell Suggs, 2000-02 44
2. Shante Carver, 1990-93 41
3. Vernon Maxwell, 1979-82 28
4. Dexter Davis, 2006-P 27.5
5. Scott Stephen, 1983-86 26
6. Bob Kohrs, 1978-79 22

The Sun Devil defense has been stingy two games into the 2009 season. Opponents so far have run 103 plays, with 17 of those resulting in negative yardage. Opponents have lost a total of 44 yards while also turning the ball over eight times.