Call It Fate, He Had to Wait

Arizona State was one of the schools that USC tailback Sultan McCullough visited when he was being recruited as an All-American at Pasadena Muir High. But the year was 1997 and J.R. Redmond was on his way to being one of the premier tailbacks in the school’s history.

So the Sun Devils had several backs waiting behind him.

“The coach told me that, honestly, I’d be third or fourth in line,” McCullough recalled. “Being kind of bigheaded in high school, I wanted to play right away.”

So he chose USC where, as it turns out, he had to wait in line behind Chad Morton.

“I ended up redshirting my freshman year anyway,” he said.

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These days, the Sun Devil tailback is junior Tom Pace, who has run for more than 100 yards in each of the last two games. The 22-year-old Pace, who played for Idaho and Ricks Junior College in Rexburg, Idaho, was a walk-on who did not join the team until after the season began.

“He just came strolling in one day and wanted to know whether at this late date could he join,” Coach Bruce Snyder said. “He was actually thinking he was going to redshirt or be on the special teams. All of a sudden, he has worked his way up the ladder to being a starter.”

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With Markus Steele injured, Zeke Moreno probably will have to shift back and forth between his normal position at middle linebacker and Steele’s spot on the outside.

Moreno played out there as a sophomore, filling in for the injured Mark Cusano in 1998. With 66 tackles that season, he proved himself to be highly versatile.

“That’s huge,” Coach Paul Hackett said. “We’ve just been trying to get him to play all three positions at once.”

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As expected, Steele remained in Los Angeles to nurse his sprained ankle. Center Eric Denmon and cornerback Darrell Rideaux accompanied the team but probably will not play.

“It’s maybe a week early for that,” Hackett said.

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* Time: 6 p.m. PST.

* Site: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.

* TV: Fox Sports Net.

* Radio: XTRA (690).

* When USC has the ball: Receivers aren’t the only ones who get excited about playing against Arizona State’s injury-racked defensive backfield. Tailback Sultan McCullough has seen, in game films, what happens when running backs break into the secondary. “Either they’re going to stop you at the line or you’re going to bust one,” McCullough said. “If you get through their linebackers, you’re gone.” The Sun Devils doubt that cornerback Machtier Clay will be available today. If not, that puts even more of an onus on the front seven--featuring Butkus Award semifinalist Adam Archuleta at linebacker--to stop the run and pressure quarterback Carson Palmer.

* When Arizona State has the ball: Quarterback Jeff Krohn, who missed part of the season because of mononucleosis, threw for 432 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-55 double-overtime loss to Oregon last week. It was the best performance by a freshman quarterback in school history. “I could see real progress in Jeff,” Arizona State Coach Bruce Snyder said. “But I had no idea that he would perform against Oregon as he did.” The Trojans have not been particularly successful pressuring the quarterback, ranking sixth in the conference with 2.75 sacks a game. Lonnie Ford, one of the team’s best pass rushers, has been nursing a sore back and has practiced only sparingly the last few weeks.

* Key to the game: Last week, Arizona State had 667 yards in offense against an Oregon defense that ranked No. 10 in the nation. USC must find some way to slow the Sun Devils. They might hope for assistance from the weather--rain is in the forecast.

* Fast fact: Arizona State is the only Pac-10 school with a winning record against USC. Since 1978, when the Sun Devils joined the conference, they have won nine of 16 games, including three of the last four.

* Line: Arizona State by 3.

HOW THEY COMPARE

USC and Arizona State

22.3 Scoring 27.6

24.1 Points allowed 22.7

236.1 Passing 285.1

150.8 Rushing 135.1

386.9 Total offense 420.2

206.5 Passing defense 243.9

123.1 Rushing defense 154.9

329.6 Total defense 398.8