Is USC Hotter Than ‘Devils? : College football: After early problems, Arizona State has turned it around heading into today’s game.

TEMPE, Ariz. —  Arizona State, rebounding from a 1-3 start, will take a three-game winning streak into today’s game against USC at Sun Devil Stadium.

“I’m not sure I know the reasons for the turnaround,” Coach Bruce Snyder said. “I do believe that we are getting better as a team on a gradual basis.

“Our team has a good self-esteem and work habits and toughness, so (the players) have just kind of hung in there.”

It hasn’t been easy.

Seven football players were among 12 Sun Devil athletes responsible for a variety of crimes--including aggravated assault, burglary and credit-card fraud--during the 16 months before the start of the season.

Arizona State’s starting quarterback, Grady Benton, was suspended for the opener after pleading no contest to charges of using a stolen credit card.

Benton’s backup, Garrick McGee, was suspended for the first two games after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary.

“I’m not sure there would have been many teams that would have been able to withstand the amount of notoriety we’ve received, and the amount of attention in a negative vein,” Snyder said. “It was hard on all of us.”

The Sun Devils plunged ahead, but more problems awaited.

Five Arizona State players are sidelined for the season because of injury or illness, including tailback Mario Bates, fullback George Montgomery, offensive tackle DeMario Vaughn, linebacker Justin Dragoo and safety Jean Boyd.

The Sun Devils are down to their fourth-string tailback.

And yet, Arizona State is 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference after defeating Pacific, Oregon State and UCLA in its last three games. Last Saturday, the Sun Devils shut out UCLA at the Rose Bowl, 20-0, ending the Bruins’ NCAA-record consecutive scoring streak at 245 games.

Benton has come back strongly and leads the Pac-10 in passing efficiency. The freshman from Mesa, Ariz., has completed 72.7% of his 117 passes for 992 yards and five touchdowns, with five interceptions.

Arizona State is second in the Pac-10 in rushing, averaging 205.7 yards, nearly 80 more than USC. The fourth-string tailback, Kevin Galbreath, a senior who had run for only 177 yards in 2 1/2 seasons, ran for 183 against UCLA after Jerone Davison was injured on the first play of the game.

“Their offensive line has really molded into an excellent unit,” USC Coach Larry Smith said. “They just knock people out of there and keep coming at you.”

Wide receiver Eric Guliford, who pleaded no contest last April to charges of staging an accident to collect insurance payments, has rebounded from an early-season arm injury and caught 26 passes for 339 yards in the Sun Devils’ last four games.

“He has played a vital role in the point production that we’re currently experiencing,” said Snyder, whose team has scored 99 points in its last three games after having scored 70 in its first four. “He has added some spark.”

The Sun Devil defense, led by linebacker Brett Wallerstedt, end Shante Carver, free safety Adam Brass and cornerbacks Kevin Miniefield and Lenny McGill, is second in the Pac-10 and seventh in the nation.

Arizona State has given up an average of only 261.7 yards.

Snyder, though, is aware that the Sun Devils’ fortunes have risen as the quality of the competition has declined.

Arizona State’s last three opponents are a combined 6-16-1, and both UCLA and Oregon State are winless in Pac-10 play.

But in each of its last two games, Snyder said, Arizona State has faced a stronger opponent than it faced the week before.

“This is another step up, in terms of how hard it’s going to be for us,” he said of today’s game.

USC, which also has won its last three games, is 4-1-1 and 3-1.

Trojan Notes

After today, USC and Arizona State won’t meet again until 1995. . . . After yielding 502 yards in last Saturday’s 31-21 victory over Washington State, USC is eighth in the Pac-10 in total defense. . . . USC is second in the Pac-10 in rushing defense. . . . Arizona State gave up only 30 yards rushing against UCLA.

Clay Hattabaugh, who has yet to play this season because of a knee injury, is expected to start at offensive guard for USC in place of Joel Crisman, who is sidelined because of a knee injury. Linebacker Lamont Hollinquest, sidelined because of a pinched nerve in his neck, did not make the trip. . . . Arizona State linebacker Brett Wallerstedt, a starter in 29 consecutive games and the Sun Devils’ leading tackler, is listed as questionable after suffering a back injury in practice this week.