Check out photos from ASU home games in this slideshow.
The circumstances appeared to line up favorably for the ASU football team.Oregon was without two of its highly skilled offensive playmakers in junior running back LaMichael James and junior quarterback Darron Thomas.
James missed the entire game after dislocating his elbow last week while Thomas was sidelined with a leg injury in the second half.
But the No. 24 Sun Devils (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) fell victim to a bevy of debilitating mistakes and were unable to stop the No. 9 Ducks (5-1, 3-0) in what turned out to be a decisive second half.
ASU suffered a 41-27 loss to UO on Saturday in front of a packed Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.
The Sun Devils committed eight penalties for 95 yards including three personal fouls and a rough the passer flag. UO took full advantage of the gifted yards by scoring after several ASU penalties.
“You just can’t have them,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “We haven’t had them. Maybe it’s the venue, maybe it’s the game itself and who we’re playing. Obviously we got to fix them.”
It was a tale of two different halves for the Sun Devils as they started the game with a strong showing.
ASU recovered an early fumble and junior quarterback Brock Osweiler hit Gerell Robinson in the end zone for a 20-yard score. Osweiler struck again when he found Mike Willie for a 26-yard touchdown.
Freshman kicker Alex Garoutte split the uprights on a 47-yard kick to inch ASU ahead 17-14.
It looked as if the Sun Devils would tack onto their lead late in the second quarter when the offense marched downfield.
That’s when things started to turn the Ducks way. Junior cornerback Cliff Harris intercepted Osweiler’s pass and returned it for 50 yards. UO later took a 21-17 lead on a 16-yard pass from Thomas to senior tight end David Paulson.
Junior running back Cameron Marshall bolted for a touchdown run early in the third quarter. That turned out to be ASU’s final touchdown of the game.
ASU mustered just 10 points in the second half while UO tallied 20 points on two touchdown runs and a pair of field goals.
After Marshall’s touchdown, three consecutive Sun Devil drives ended in punts from junior punter Josh Hubner.
“They did a great job of matching our routes,” Osweiler said. “They were really taking away the routes downfield. I would try to get out of the pocket and make something happen with my feet and then I’d get tripped up. That’s a credit to Oregon’s defense and their coaching staff.
“We got to go out there and make plays regardless, and we didn’t do that in the third quarter.”
Meanwhile, the Ducks’ offense was just getting started. When Thomas was knocked from the game, redshirt freshman quarterback Bryan Bennett took over under center.
He added to UO’s ground attack by running for 65 yards on five carries.
Freshman running back De’Anthony Thomas scrambled for a 3-yard score and junior running back Kenjon Barner added a 5-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.
The Ducks finished with 327 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Barner, Thomas, and Bennett combined for 309 yards alone. The majority, 269 of those rushing yards, came in the second half.
“The bottom line with Oregon, you’re talking about one of the better teams in the country,” Erickson said. “You get ahead of them and you let them get the football and start getting that rhythm running the football you got some issues.”
Saturday’s game marked another missed opportunity for the Sun Devils who have now lost seven in a row against the Ducks.
“We really need to diagnose the tape tomorrow and this week and throughout the bye week and see what we missed and get that cleaned up,” Osweiler said. “We’re all hoping for another shot at these guys later in the year. We’ll get things cleaned up and we’ll take of business then.”
Reach the reporter at greg.dillard@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
