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Carpenter gives it a go on broken ankle
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LOS ANGELES - Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter didn’t want to talk about his injured left ankle after the Sun Devils’ 28-0 loss to the USC Trojans Saturday. But it was hard to ignore.
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Carpenter walked into the post-game press conference with a boot on his ankle. Later, two sources said the ankle is broken, and that ASU is calling it a sprain because it’s a nonweight bearing bone.
Whatever the extent of the injury, it clearly hampered Carpenter. He was 11 of 20 for 126 yards, with one interception that was returned for a touchdown. It was the first time since 2006 that Carpenter failed to throw a touchdown pass.
“I tried to put it (the ankle) out of my mind all week and stay positive,” Carpenter said.
Coach Dennis Erickson said he made the decision to start Carpenter when the senior was able to practice on Thursday and move around well before kickoff.
The Trojans would have been shocked only if Carpenter didn’t make his 37th straight start.
“Rudy’s a really competitive guy,” defensive tackle Fili Moala said. “He’s a tough guy, really gung-ho. I’ve known him for a while, so it’s not surprising to see him out there hobbled on one ankle.”
Although Erickson said Carpenter “looked ready to roll,” it appeared Carpenter was favoring the ankle. He threw off his back foot on several occasions rather than planting his left foot then throwing. Most notably, he underthrew wide-open receiver Chris McGaha on ASU’s first play, turning what might have been a touchdown into a 39-yard gain.
“I know I didn’t have as much as I needed to on a lot of my throws,” Carpenter said.
As the game wore on and he absorbed more hits, Carpenter’s ankle worsened. He finally left the game midway through the third quarter after a vicious hit by USC linebacker Rey Maualuga.
“I couldn’t even really walk that well,” Carpenter said.
“He started limping, and I was not going to leave him in like that,” Erickson added.
Junior Danny Sullivan replaced Carpenter but struggled as well, completing just 4 of 17 passes for 28 yards, with two interceptions.
“He came out and had some opportunities,” Erickson said of Sullivan. “He had a couple of throws he should have made.”
The Sun Devils have a bye this week, so Carpenter will have two weeks to rest before ASU’s Oct. 25 game against Oregon at Sun Devil Stadium.
That was of little consolation Saturday as he limped to the team bus, another Saturday lost.
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