2006 Hawaii Bowl Preview: Hawaii vs Arizona State
Date: Dec 24th at 8pm EST from Honolulu, Hawaii

Arizona State is bringing a big-name coach on board to turn around the program. Dennis Erickson, though, won't be around to help the team end this disappointing season on a positive note.

With Erickson about to take his place, Dirk Koetter hopes to go out a winner as his tenure with the Sun Devils comes to an end at the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24 when they try to prevent Hawaii from notching the winningest season in school history.

While coach June Jones and the Warriors (10-3) boast the nation's most potent offense, a faltering offense may have cost Koetter his job.

Last season, Arizona State (7-5) was led by one of the country's best quarterbacks in Rudy Carpenter and had one of the nation's top offenses. After a considerable drop-off in production from last year, coupled with the inability to beat the best teams in the Pac-10, Koetter was fired on Nov. 26 -- the day after beating archrival Arizona 28-14. Koetter agreed to stay on and coach this game.

"It's tragic, man," senior cornerback Keno Walter-White said. "We have a great coach in coach Koetter. It's a real disappointment. It's tough being a Sun Devil right now."

Two weeks after Koetter was fired, Erickson accepted an offer to take his place and leave Idaho after only one season. A winner of two national titles at Miami, Erickson also had coaching stints in the NFL with Seattle and San Francisco. This will be his third shot in the Pac-10, having also coached Washington State and Oregon State.

The Sun Devils hope he pulls off the kind of transformation he created earlier this decade at Oregon State. That program had an NCAA record 28 consecutive losing seasons before Erickson went 7-5 in his first season with the Beavers and 11-1 in his second.

Koetter went 2-19 against ranked opponents in his six years as coach, during which the team never won more than eight games in the regular season.

"Everybody has regrets," he said. "You learn things along the way."

With Carpenter and 2005 top rusher Keegan Herring returning, Arizona State was 24th in the AP preseason Top 25. The Sun Devils won their first three games to remain in the poll, but were just 4-4 in conference play to finish sixth in the Pac-10.

"(Koetter) has put us on a wonderful stage," athletic director Lisa Love said. "He has done some wonderful work. But we're looking for a higher platform."

While the Sun Devils were inconsistent offensively -- they scored 21 points or less in all five losses -- Hawaii's offense has soared.

The Warriors average 47.3 points and 549.9 yards per game to lead the nation in both categories, and are led by the country's top quarterback statistically, Colt Brennan.

Brennan was voted the WAC offensive player of the year after leading the nation with 4,990 passing yards, 53 touchdown passes and a 72.1 completion percentage. The junior also has rushed for 351 yards and five TDs.

"When the offense is doing good, obviously the quarterback is going to get a lot of credit," said Brennan, who has 88 TD passes in his last two seasons. "I didn't put up the numbers I did and have the success I did without the guys around me. There's no doubt about that."

Hawaii started 1-2, but will set the single-season school record for victories with one more win. After the poor start, the Warriors rallied to win nine straight games and cracked the Top 25 on Nov. 19 for the first time since 1992, though they fell out of the poll after a 35-32 loss to Oregon State in their regular-season finale.

"This team is special," said Jones, named the WAC coach of the year. "I can feel it in the locker room, on the field. This team is different. I almost thought it was a spiritual thing."

Brennan is one touchdown pass shy of tying the NCAA record set by Houston's David Klingler in 1990, and is 198 passing yards short of tying the WAC single-season record of 5,188 set by BYU's Ty Detmer in 1990. Brennan leads the country with a 182.8 passing efficiency, a category in which Carpenter led the nation last season.

Carpenter had little help from an inexperienced receiving corps this year and struggled behind an injury-riddled line, though, as the offense averaged 365.3 yards and 27 points. The Sun Devils had the nation's second-best offense last season (519.1 ypg) and were seventh in scoring (36.8 ppg) while Carpenter had a 175.0 passer rating, throwing 17 touchdowns to two interceptions.

The sophomore quarterback threw for 2,332 yards and 21 TDs this year, but had 14 interceptions and was sacked 33 times -- 12 more than last season.

Herring averaged 5.9 yards a carry, but only had 91 attempts this year after having 158 last season. Junior Ryan Torain controlled the Sun Devils ground game, rushing for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns.

Arizona State now must play its bowl game in its opponent's home stadium. The Warriors outscored opponents by an average of 31 points in seven home wins before falling to Oregon State.

Hawaii has played at Aloha Stadium for five of its six bowl games, going 3-2. They won their last two appearances in the Hawaii Bowl, defeating UAB 59-40 in 2004 and Houston 54-48 in 2003.

The Sun Devils are 12-9-1 all-time in bowl games, including wins in their last two appearances. They've lost both of their bowls at Aloha Stadium, though, falling to Wake Forest 23-3 in 1999 and Boston College 31-17 in 2000.

Arizona State owns a 5-1 advantage against Hawaii, but the schools haven't met since 1979.

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