Brock honored, named starter

Brock Osweiler has become a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy season in Tempe, Arizona.

The Flathead High graduate and Arizona State sophomore turned in an impressive performance last Saturday that earned him the starting spot and player of the week honors and also kept the Sun Devils within a slim shot of playing in a postseason bowl game.

Head coach Dennis Erickson named Osweiler the starting quarterback for Thursday's regular-season finale at rival Arizona (7-4 overall, 4-4 in conference) after the 6-foot-8 former Brave standout led the Sun Devils (5-6, 3-5) to a 55-34 come-from-behind victory last weekend against UCLA.

Osweiler, who filled in for injured Steven Threet in the first quarter with ASU down 17 points, passed for 380 yards and combined for five TDs.

He became the first Sun Devil QB to throw four scores in a game since Rudy Carpenter did it against Oregon State on September 22, 2007.

On Monday, Osweiler was named the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week along with teammate Jamal Miles. The duo helped snap the team's two-game losing streak.

A backup with one previous start, Osweiler had thrown for 399 yards and two TDs in nine career games at quarterback heading into last Saturday. Against UCLA, he was 27-for-36 passing, ran for 35 yards on six carries with a TD and earned an almost perfect quarterback rating of 200.34.

Thursday's game is scheduled to be televised on ESPN at 6 p.m. This will be the 84th Duel in the Desert with Arizona leading the all-time series 46-36-1. Last season, the Sun Devils lost 20-17.