Bordow: Opportunity knocks for ASU's Carpenter vs. Georgia

Some of the most interesting discussions I’ve had with Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter have come after my tape recorder was turned off and my note pad was stuffed in my back pocket.

We spent nearly 30 minutes one night last fall debating whether college athletes should be given a monthly stipend.

(He thought so, I didn’t, but he eventually came around to my way of thinking).

We’ve talked boxing and politics and his affinity for the color pink.

One subject that often comes up — whether I’m prodding him or he’s challenging me — is his place in the pecking order of college quarterbacks.

Carpenter feels he doesn’t get as much love as he should in national circles. I’ve told him why.

1. The majority of ASU’s home games start at 10 p.m. on the East Coast. How can sportswriters and broadcasters develop an appreciation for Carpenter when they rarely see him play?

2. When the Sun Devils have played a high-profile game, they’ve flopped. Their last big win on a national stage was Nov. 1, 1997, a 44-31 victory over quarterback Ryan Leaf and undefeated Washington State. Fair or not, Carpenter’s low profile is a product of that inconsistency.

That can all change Saturday.

Georgia is the land of opportunity, a chance for ASU to open some eyes and leave a positive impression in a nationally televised game.

“We haven’t been able to win a big game, which is something I’d love to do more than anything in the world,” Carpenter said. “This game is huge for our confidence. It’s huge for our team.”

It’s also significant for Carpenter. He not only will face one of the nation’s best teams but on the other side of the field will be the quarterback everyone is raving about, Georgia’s Matthew Stafford.

“I don’t get any juice from knowing he’s the No. 1 rated quarterback in the country,” Carpenter said. “I get juice from the fact we have a good team and we’re playing Georgia on ESPN. ... I don’t care about Matthew Stafford. He’s a good player. The No. 1 draft pick? Great. I don’t care.”

Sure he does.

Carpenter wants to be viewed as one of the country’s best quarterbacks. He wants to be seen as the equal of Stafford, Florida’s Tim Tebow and Missouri’s Chase Daniel.

It’s not an obsession as much as it is Carpenter’s competitiveness and combativeness colliding. He simply would like to be appreciated for what he does.

He won’t say that publicly. It sounds selfish. But Carpenter looks at statistics. He wonders.

Take this quarterback comparison, for example.

Last year, Quarterback A completed 55.7 percent of his passes, with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Quarterback B completed 61.8 percent of his passes, with 25 TDs and 10 interceptions.

Quarterback A? Stafford.

Quarterback B? Carpenter.

Does that mean Carpenter is the better player or the better NFL prospect? Not necessarily. Stafford is bigger — he’s 6-foot-3, 237 pounds to Carpenter’s 6-3, 220 — and has a stronger arm.

But the numbers do suggest that Stafford isn’t out of Carpenter’s league, which has been Carpenter’s contention all along.

Carpenter can make a strong case for himself Saturday. If he puts up big numbers and leads ASU to an upset victory, he’ll not only earn some newfound respect, his name could pop up in Heisman Trophy talk.

Then there’s the impact a strong performance would have on NFL scouts. Carpenter currently is rated as a third- or fourth-round selection in next April’s draft.

“You want to look at a player against the best competition possible,” said Baltimore Ravens scout and former Cardinals’ safety Lonnie Young. “You would like to see a quality prospect bring his A game against the best opponents. The bigger the competition, the better he should play.”

I brought this up with Carpenter on Monday. He smiled and changed direction.

“At the end of the day, if I play well and we lose it’s not going to matter,” he said. ... “It’s about wins or losses for me.”

I don’t doubt that for a second. But team goals don’t have to come at the expense of individual glory.

This is Carpenter’s chance.

And you better believe he knows it.

How Rudy Carpenter compares with some of the best QBs in the nation

Name Team Comp.-Att.(Comp%) Yards TDs INTs

Rudy Carpenter ASU 62-87 (71.3) 975 6 2

Matthew Stafford Georgia 46-74 (62.2) 634 4 0

Sam Bradford Oklahoma 64 -81 (79) 882 12 2

Tim Tebow Florida 30-49 (61.2) 393 3 0

Chase Daniel Missouri 65-90 (72.2) 973 10 1

Chat live with Tribune sports columnist Scott Bordow about the ASU-Georgia football game on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon on our ASU home page.

Just go to sundevils.evtrib.com and post your questions or comments in the Get in The Game chat box.

What exactly happened in the UNLV game? Did ASU get too conservative, trying not to show Georgia too much? What will happen this Saturday? Can the offensive line, which has held up so far, give Rudy Carpenter enough time to throw against a solid team like Georgia? Bordow will share his opinions and insight on whatever topics you’d like.

You can even venture away from the Georgia game if you’d like. Are the Cardinals for real? What led to the D-Backs’ collapse. Boxers or briefs? OK, maybe not that last one. But you get the idea.