Rewind: What we learned from USC

What we learned

Rudy Carpenter is the best QB on the roster, even when he's not healthy and an easy target for pass rushers.

• There are a number of reasons why the offense has become a liability. One is the drop-off of WR Chris McGaha, still not healthy because of compensation injuries after suffering a broken toe. McGaha has 19 catches this season. He had a team-high 61 last year.

• The defense is good enough to keep the Sun Devils in contention for a minor bowl and, most important, extra practice time for their young players.

Pleasant surprises

Jarrell Holman played extensively at strong safety ahead of Clint Floyd and Rodney Cox.

• Several young players - Jonathan English, Lawrence Guy, James Brooks, Jamaar Jarrett - played well on the defensive line.

• TE Wes Evans, who started with Dan Knapp in a two-tight-end formation and helped in motion as a blocker, played well.

To-do list

The offense continues to scream for radical adjustments, either with play calling or personnel. Coach Dennis Erickson said that won't happen and added that staying the course while improving is the way to a better second half.

• Oregon is a different team than when directed by former QB Dennis Dixon, but the Ducks' spread offense has been mostly a mystery to ASU the past three years. The Sun Devils have been outscored 114-53 during that span. This is a different test for a defense on a two-game roll.

• K Thomas Weber must find a way out of his mini-slump. Field goals are better than nothing.

Injury report

Knapp needs surgery on his right knee for an anterior-cruciate ligament tear and is out for the season.

Extra points

ASU's strength of schedule is fifth nationally in the Sagarin computer rankings behind the schedules of Washington, Oregon State, Southern California and Arkansas.

• Erickson said a sideline outburst by WR Nate Kimbrough late in the third quarter was nothing more than a senior reserve wanting to play on a day he was a team captain. "Nate is a very competitive guy. He cares about winning, wants to play and wasn't. He reacted to that. That happens all the time."

• LB Mike Nixon had no interceptions in the first 30 games of his college career. Now he has one in each of the past two games, both on screen passes. "That was all him knowing what was coming and a big-time play," Erickson said of the interception of a pass thrown by USC's Mark Sanchez.

ASU's Rudy Carpenter #12 gets tackled behind the endzone by USC at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA.