Battered and seasoned.

Byline: BOB CLARK The Register-Guard

ANYBODY AT ARIZONA STATE recall that last trip to Autzen Stadium?

As if a Sun Devil defender could forget.

`I remember it being loud, and that (Oregon) pretty much put a whuppin' on us,' ASU safety Riccardo Stewart said.

Specifics?

`We didn't make any plays as a defensive unit,' Sun Devils cornerback R.J. Oliver said of that November night last season. `We didn't put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. When the ball was in the air we didn't make any plays. We had no big hits as a unit. We let them dictate the game.'

That Oregon did, beating ASU 42-24 as Joey Harrington threw six touchdown passes, four to Keenan Howry. After the Sun Devils took an early 7-0 lead, the Ducks scored 42 of the next 45 points, with Onterrio Smith rushing for 152 yards and Harrington throwing for 319 yards on 19 completions.

It's another season, another trip to Autzen Stadium for ASU, and though much of the personnel remains the same, it's with a different perspective on playing the Ducks.

`We'll come after them,' Oliver said. `Last year we went in hoping to win. This time we're expecting to win.'

It might seem like a subtle difference, but it doesn't take much to change the fortunes of a college football team. The Devils do understand the system better, in the second season with Dirk Koetter and his staff. There are some players added to the lineup. But mostly, the defensive success of ASU might be tied to an altered attitude.

`In my first season here, we didn't always compete,' Koetter said. `We're competing at a much higher (level).'

The ASU defensive unit has ability. Up front, end Terrell Suggs leads the nation in quarterback sacks with 13, and junior tackle Shane Jones, a transfer from Sacramento City College, is living up to his recruiting billing and will move into the starting lineup Saturday after a standout performance against Oregon State.

`He's shown these flashes all along,' ASU defensive line coach Ted Monachino said. `He just wasn't doing it on a consistent basis. ... Shane's been more productive in the last two weeks.'

Of the linebackers, Mason Unck leads the Pac-10 in fumbles forced and Josh Amobi tops the league in fumble recoveries. Amobi was the Pac-10 defensive player of the week and credited his standout game to the return of Solomon Bates, another linebacker.

Oliver, a sophomore cornerback who leads the Pac-10 in `passes defended' with four interceptions and 13 broken up, said the Sun Devils are `playing with more confidence,' particularly in the secondary.

Again, what a contrast.

`A lot of us were first-year players last year,' said Stewart, like Oliver a sophomore this season. `And even for the older players, everyone was getting used to playing a new system. It wasn't tricky, but it was like you'd think you knew something but you really didn't ... then we'd get rattled when bad things started happening.'

A year ago, opposing quarterbacks completed 56 percent of their passes against the Sun Devils; this year it's down to 47 percent. Last year, the Sun Devils had a total of nine interceptions; they have 14 through seven games of '02.

`We're making receivers actually beat us, we're not beating ourselves,' Oliver said. `Last year, we didn't play with a lot of confidence, and a lot of times we were just beating ourselves.'

Oliver is certainly in the forefront of the improvement made by ASU defenders. He could list all the usual reasons, like adjusting to a new system and having some better players around him. But there's also him.

`I feel like I learned a lot last year, and grew up as a player,' Oliver said. `I'm having more fun this year, I'm more relaxed. I think it's because I'm letting the game come to me.'

It also helps that he doesn't face a receiver in a game who is any more of a challenge than what he faces regularly from the ASU offense. Who else spent last spring covering Shaun McDonald, the ASU receiver who this fall has eight touchdowns among his 43 catches?

`That helps, doing that every day,' Oliver said. `With Shaun, most teams can't cover him one on one.'

The Sun Devils do present some special problems with their 4-2-5 alignment that puts an extra safety on the field instead of a linebacker. Or will they? Against Oregon State last week, the Sun Devils switched to a standard 4-3 when they expected a running play.

`I would not be surprised to see more of that against us,' UO coach Mike Bellotti said.

The other question about ASU is the health of Stewart, the safety who leads the Sun Devils in tackles with 8.7 per game. He didn't play against OSU because of an ankle injury - also a reason for the use of three linebackers instead of three safeties - but has worked out this week.

Koetter said the return of Stewart `would be huge' to the Devils.

`He's a very good football player,' Bellotti said. `I can understand why they want to get him back.'

There's no want, or doubt, Stewart said: `I feel fine. It's a big game for us, and I know no one around here is taking Oregon lightly. They're a really good team, and it's fun playing up there with the way the crowd gets into the game. I'm looking forward to it.'

No sense in looking back. That wasn't a good experience.

OREGON UPDATE

ENDING UP: Roderkus Wright, a sophomore defensive end, has been suspended indefinitely for an undisclosed violation of team rules, UO coach Mike Bellotti said Thursday.

Though he missed the first two games of the season due to another suspension, Wright is second on the UO team in quarterback sacks with three.

Unrelated to the suspension, there is also a question about Oregon's starter at one of the defensive end positions. Senior Seth McEwen is set to open on the left side, but the Ducks are still undecided on whether senior Darrell Wright or sophomore Igor Olshansky will start at right end, Bellotti said.

McEwen's backup will be senior Ed Wangler, a two-game starter who missed the previous two games with a separated shoulder.

Bellotti also said that senior offensive lineman Corey Chambers `can play if needed' against Arizona State. He suffered a strained knee ligament against UCLA.

MOST FANS: Oregon should set a season home attendance record Saturday, needing a turnout of 51,561 to surpass last season's total of 275,556, set in six home games.

In the expanded Autzen Stadium, Oregon's lowest attendance in four home games this season was 55,187. Oregon's average home attendance of 55,999 puts the Ducks fourth in the Pac-10, behind Washington (71,094), UCLA (63,613) and USC (60,933).

All tickets have been sold for Saturday's game, including standing room and the returns from Arizona State. A UO official said the school anticipates no returned tickets from USC's allotment for the Oct. 26 game at Autzen Stadium.

ELITE GROUP: Sixth-ranked Oregon (6-0) enters Saturday as one of only 10 unbeaten teams in Division I-A, and that number will be reduced by at least one as No. 7 Notre Dame (6-0) plays at No. 18 Air Force (6-0).

The other Saturday games involving unbeaten teams are Duke at No. 13 North Carolina State (7-0), No. 4 Ohio State (7-0) at Wisconsin, Vanderbilt at No. 5 Georgia (6-0), Rutgers at No. 3 Virginia Tech (6-0), Iowa State at No. 2 Oklahoma (6-0) and Western Michigan at No. 25 Bowling Green (5-0). Top-ranked Miami (6-0) is off this week.

NEXT GAME: Saturday against Arizona State at Autzen Stadium at 12:30 p.m. TV: No live telecast; delayed on Oregon Sports Network at 11:30 p.m.

CAPTION(S):

Arizona State cornerback R.J. Oliver defends Oregon receiver Keenan Howry during last season's game in which Howry caught four touchdown passes from Joey Harrington in the Ducks' 42-24 rout of the Sun Devils.