| Marcus Mariota didn't throw often, but he didn't need to in the Ducks' 43-21 win at Arizona State. (AP Images) |
Arizona State landed the first blow on Thursday night against Oregon, but the Sun Devils broke their fist in the process.
And with the key cog of the ASU defense sidelined, the Ducks dropped haymaker after haymaker on the Sun Devils in return in a 43-21 win in Tempe.
Oregon scored 28 points in a five-minute span midway through the first quarter, with the Ducks’ running game darting through the interior in the absence of two key Arizona State defensive linemen.
The Sun Devils lost stud defensive tackle Will Sutton on the second play of the game after he forced a fumble that set up ASU’s first score. When defensive end Junior Onyeali left later in the first quarter, Oregon capitalized.
The Ducks rushed for 404 yards, finishing with just 47 passing yards, as Kenjon Barner and Marcus Mariota each had touchdown runs of more than 70 yards. Barner finished with 142 yards on 16 carries with three touchdowns and Mariota added 133 rushing yards and also threw and caught touchdown passes.
Arizona State helped the Oregon cause with four interceptions and only made the final score respectable in the fourth quarter after the Ducks pulled their starters.
Where you DAT? The Oregon running game was off to the races on Thursday night, but De'Anthony Thomas didn't seem to have his shoes tied. Thomas finished with just 27 yards on 12 carries and four Ducks had more rushing yards, including backup quarterback Bryan Bennett. Thomas did add three catches ... for four yards.
Duck plucks: Taylor Kelly entered the game as the highest-rated passer in the Pac-12 -- and he has thrown only two interceptions this season. The opportunistic Oregon defense, though, intercepted him twice early, and both led to scores. The Ducks now have 14 picks this season.
Desert showdown: Some thought the Sun Devils presented the stiffest test for the Ducks so far this season. The spread on the game even moved from Oregon minus-12 to Oregon minus-8.5 during the week. There was even rumbling on Twitter before the game that Arizona State could pull off the upset. So much for that. After what amounts to a scrimmage next week against Colorado, the Ducks get their true make-or-break moment at USC on Nov. 3.
(For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog here)
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