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Impact: Pac-12 play kicks off and ASU takes it to the house against Oregon

ASU's offense took off in the first quarter and never looked back

JK2_2290 (2)

ASU senior runningback Kalen Ballage (7) celebrates the Sun Devils victory against the Oregon Ducks 37-35 with a hug on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.


An expected upset is exactly what ASU football needed after a recent losing streak, and that is precisely what the Sun Devils (2-2) delivered in their 37-35 win over the University of Oregon (3-1).

Going into Saturday’s game, it was expected that there would be a shootout where Oregon’s senior running back Royce Freeman raced to the end zone more times than not.

In a conscious effort to stop the run, ASU managed to slow down one of the FBS's leading rushers.

On the flip side, the Sun Devils’ offense clearly took advantage of duck hunting season by picking apart a seemingly nonexistent Oregon secondary.

Redshirt junior quarterback Manny Wilkins threw for 347 yards and a touchdown. Although his passing numbers don’t jump off the page, Wilkins demonstrated his dual-threat abilities by rushing for 35 yards and two touchdowns.

Wilkins continues to maintain ASU's position as the only Pac-12 team without an interception.

Ultimately, the win over Oregon knocked the Ducks out of the top 25. 

However, the Pac-12 remains a strong presence as four of the 12 teams are ranked: No. 5 USC Trojans, No. 6 Washington Huskies, No. 16 Washington State Cougars and No. 20 Utah Utes. 

ASU will travel to Stanford, California to attempt another conference win against the Stanford Cardinal (2-2). Likely facing another week as the underdog, the Sun Devils will need to harness the offensive firepower they have showcased the last two weeks to pull off back-to-back upsets.



Penn State Juwan again

A showdown between the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions and the Iowa Hawkeyes ended in dramatic fashion as Penn State pulled off a last-minute comeback to win 21-19.

The Hawkeyes led 19-15 with 1:42 on the clock in the fourth quarter.

Penn State senior quarterback Trace McSorley was on the road, trailing with less than two minutes in the game. Yet, he got the job done when it mattered most.

McSorley and company were in the middle of an 11-play, 58-yard drive. 

However, the Lions faced a fourth and goal with :07 ticks left in the thriller.

With the game on the line, McSorley took the snap from the shotgun. 

As the crowd cheered in opposition, he dropped back three steps, planted and rifled a bullet through the arms of two Iowa defenders to find junior wide receiver Juwan Johnson in the back of the end zone as time expired. 

Commodores get steamrolled 

The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0) will return home from their trip to Nashville, Tennessee sleeping easy after a 59-0 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-1).

Despite the fresh hometown cooking, it was the Crimson Tide’s ground game that was the sweetest plate served. 

Junior running backs Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris ran wild for a combined 230 yards and five touchdowns.

Scarbrough and Harris’ performance was only a fraction of Alabama’s 496 rushing yards and six rushing scores.

Alabama has not rushed for less than 150 yards in any of its first four games. 

It is no surprise the Crimson Tide handled the Commodores, however, the final score did raise some eyebrows.

Vanderbilt gave up a little more than 4.5 times the points they have all season.    

Another week of the forceful ground-and-pound attack that is Alabama football seems to keep the Crimson Tide as favorites to cruise into the college football playoff. 

Coming soon

ASU football will travel west to Stanford, California for the Sun Devils’ (2-2) next Pac-12 contest with the Stanford Cardinal (2-2) on Saturday, Sept. 30. 

*All statistics were retrieved from espn.com


Reach the reporter at atotri@asu.edu or follow @Anthony_Totri on Twitter.   

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