The last time Arizona State hosted a top-10 team at Tempe?
That would have been the greatest night in Sun Devil history, last year's stunning 19-0 victory over No. 1 Nebraska.
That launched Arizona State's run to the Rose Bowl and Jake "the Snake" Plummer's drive to cult status.
Saturday night, No. 20 Arizona State hosts No. 10 Washington State with almost as much at stake.
A victory puts the Sun Devils right back in the Rose Bowl race. The Cougars are still dreaming of an undefeated season and a Nov. 22 Apple Cup showdown against Washington.
Because of Pac-10 scheduling, Arizona State and Washington State haven't met since 1994. For what it's worth, the Cougars have won four in a row.
"I don't think it really means anything," Cougar Coach Mike Price said. "It's been so long since we've played them, most of our team has never played down there. It won't be a factor."
Washington State (7-0, 5-0) is calling last week's 35-34 overtime victory over Arizona a character builder.
"The alarm sounded, and we did get out of bed," Price said.
Arizona State (5-2, 3-1) was written off after early-season losses to Washington and Brigham Young, but has clobbered USC and Stanford in consecutive conference games and is rested after a bye week.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Kealy is doing a pretty good Plummer impression for the Sun Devils, although Coach Bruce Snyder does not understand why his team is favored against the nation's No. 10 team.
"How does that figure?" Snyder said. "I was stunned when I heard that. Here we are, we don't score nearly as many points as they do, they're ranked 10th, undefeated. I don't know where that came from. But it did blow my cover as far as going to the team and saying we don't get any respect."
* The Line: Arizona State by 3 1/2.
ON TV
* Penn State (6-0, 3-0) at Northwestern (3-6, 1-4), ESPN, 9:30 a.m: Joe Paterno's team had a bye week to stew about losing the No. 1 ranking after a 16-15 home win over Minnesota. A couple more close shaves like that and Penn State might get bounced out of the top 10. Watch out: Northwestern shocked Michigan State two weeks ago and is 3-2 at home.
The Line: Penn State by 16.
* Purdue (6-1, 4-0) at Iowa (5-2, 2-2), ESPN2, 9:30 a.m.: The most underrated passing combination in the country may be Purdue's Billy Dicken to Brian Alford. The Boilermakers, not the Hawkeyes, are still in the Rose Bowl hunt.
The Line: Iowa by 11.
* Navy (3-3) at Notre Dame (3-5), Channel 4, 10:30 a.m.: Now here's a service academy the Irish can handle. Notre Dame has won the last 33 games against Navy. The last Navy win was engineered in 1963 by Roger Staubach.
The Line: Notre Dame by 17.
* Georgia (6-1, 4-1) at Florida (6-1, 4-1), Channel 2, 12:30 p.m.: Steve Spurrier goes for his 100th collegiate win in this key SEC Eastern Division game at Jacksonville. This used to be a big rivalry when Spurrier played quarterback at Florida, but the Gators have won seven in a row in the series.
The Line: Florida by 19 1/2.
* Southern Mississippi (5-2, 3-0) at Cincinnati (6-2, 1-2) FSW, 12:30 p.m.: Southern Miss is coming off a key conference victory over Tulane, while Cincinnati eked out a double-overtime win against Miami of Ohio.
The Line: Southern Mississippi by 4 1/2.
* Louisiana State (5-2, 3-2) at Kentucky (4-4, 1-4), ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.: The Tigers are fifth nationally in rushing at 259 yards per game. Kevin Faulk and Rondell Mealey should run wild against Kentucky's 66th-ranked rush defense.
The Line: Louisiana State by 6 1/2.
* Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1) at Texas A&M (5-2, 3-2), FSW, 4 p.m.: Three weeks ago, both teams were undefeated. Since, Texas A&M has lost to Kansas State and Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State lost in double OT last week to Missouri.
The Line: Texas A&M by 9.
* West Virginia (6-1, 3-1) at Syracuse (5-3, 2-1), ESPN, 4:30 p.m.: The Orangemen, notorious slow starters, have won four in a row. Quarterback Donovan McNabb is hot again after falling off the Heisman map in September. West Virginia beat Virginia Tech last week.
The Line: Syracuse by 10 1/2.
* Air Force (7-2, 4-2) at Hawaii (3-5, 1-5), FSW2, 10 p.m.: Falcon Coach Fisher DeBerry was quoting ancient Chinese proverbs this week to snap his team from its two-game losing streak. Hawaii isn't very good but did beat Minnesota, which almost beat Penn State.
The Line: Air Force by 11 1/2.
5 Things to Look For
1. If Penn State keeps winning, Coach Joe Paterno will be going for career win No. 300 against Michigan State at East Lansing on Nov. 29. Penn State plays at Northwestern on Saturday, then faces Michigan, Purdue and Wisconsin in consecutive weeks, schools with a 20-3 record before the weekend.
2. Illinois (0-7) and Rutgers (0-8), two of four winless Division I-A schools, won't get a better chance to crack the win column. Illinois is at 1-7 Indiana, and Rutgers will have to deal with those rowdy two or three hundred fans who regularly cheer for 2-6 Temple.
