ASU Football notebook: Plans for practice facility accelerated by donations

Substantial donations have accelerated the process for an indoor football practice facility at Arizona State. If approved, the project could be done in time for the 2008 season.

Carpenter looking forward to resting body after UA game

The Arizona Board of Regents is expected to give final approval at a meeting on Dec. 6 and 7. The total cost is expected to be $8.4 million.

The inflatable dome would be 96,750 square feet, 65 feet tall and would include a 120-yard artificial field. The practice field would be built directly south of the current Kajikawa outdoor practice field, where the band and intramural sports teams currently practice.

MOM KNOWS BEST

Arizona State could end up anywhere from the Rose Bowl to the Sun Bowl, depending what happens in the season’s final week. The most likely destinations are the Fiesta Bowl or Holiday Bowl.

Senior wide receiver Mike Jones isn’t one to dissect all the possibilities, but has an expert nearby for weekly updates.

“I don’t look at it, but my mom is a big fan of college football now that I play it,” Jones said. “She tells me every single day, ‘You gotta beat this team to be in a BCS bowl. If you lose this might happen’ and so on and so forth. I don’t look at too much because I get distracted. I just look forward to going out and playing.”

AWARDS TIME

Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson was named Rivals.com’s Pac-10 coach of the year. Robert James and Thomas Weber were named to the Web site’s Pac-10 first team and Rudy Carpenter, Troy Nolan and Dexter Davis garnered second-team honors.

Jon Hargis, Omar Bolden and Weber were named to The Sporting News Pac-10 all-freshman team.

EXTRA POINTS

Offensive linemen Brandon Rodd and Richard Tuitu’u participated in practice on Wednesday and both should be available for Saturday’s contest.

There is a 40 percent chance of rain on Saturday for the game against Arizona, but Erickson said it wouldn’t affect his preparation.