Check out photos from Saturday's game against OSU in this slideshow.
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Saturday was a paradox.An impressive showing for all the wrong and right reasons.
The ASU football team lagged out of the gates and fell behind 13-0, but came back to defeat Oregon State 35-20 in front of 57,437 fans at Sun Devil Stadium.
In overcoming a nightmarish start capped by three turnovers in their first three possessions, the No. 25 Sun Devils (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) showed a unique grit that only comes with experience.
“I’ve been around this game a lot of years and sometimes you just come out flat,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “You don’t know how you’re going to react but we played a heck of a lot better [after] the first quarter.”
All three turnovers in the first period came from ASU junior quarterback Brock Osweiler.
He threw two interceptions and fumbled once, leading to 13 points.
“I made some errors I can’t make,” Osweiler said. “They ran their base coverage, but at times they would drop a lineman rather than rushing him. We didn’t see that on film.”
Even when starring down a 13-0 deficit, the Sun Devil signal-caller never lost his cool.
Osweiler ended his night 24-for-37 for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
“He kept his composure really well,” Erickson said. “It’s not going to be sweet all the time. He reacted real well and made some plays. There wasn’t any panic in him.”
In all, the Beavers (0-4, 0-2 Pac-12) forced four ASU turnovers, resulting in every OSU score.
The Sun Devil defense one upped the visitors by garnering five takeaways.
ASU senior safety Clint Floyd and sophomore cornerbacks Osahon Irabor and Alden Darby each had interceptions, with Darby grabbing the first two of his career.
“I went back to the sideline and I was just overwhelmed, smiling with joy,” Darby said. “I have to give a lot of appreciation to my defensive line for putting pressure on the quarterback though.”
Senior Oliver Aaron snagged a fumble recovery off a muffed punt for the fifth turnover.
“As a defense, that’s what we want,” Floyd said. “We want to put our offense in the best position possible. As long as we get those big plays, everything is going to go good for us.”
OSU’s early advantage started with two field goals from freshman kicker Trevor Romaine.
Then 20 seconds into the second quarter, OSU freshman running back Terron Ward ran the ball in from 10 yards out to extend the Beaver lead to 13-0.
The Sun Devils finally broke through two minutes later on a 17 yard touchdown reception from ASU junior wide receiver A.J. Pickens.
After a defensive stop, ASU took the lead for good on a 24 yard scoring catch and run by senior Gerell Robinson.
The Sun Devils capped their 21 point second quarter with a brilliant 78 yard punt return for a touchdown by ASU junior Jamal Miles set off by a side-step move to avoid the first Beaver would-be tacklers.
“We just had a lot of really great blocking down field,” he said. “I had to make two guys miss pretty much, and after that it was open field. It feels great to get a punt return; it was my first one of my career.”
The Beavers got to within a point midway through the third quarter after another Osweiler interception on a five yard touchdown catch from redshirt senior James Rodgers, but it wasn’t enough.
ASU junior running back Cameron Marshall took over from there on out.
With six minutes left in the third period, Marshall took a handoff 37 yards for a touchdown while making multiple OSU defenders miss and running over a few others too.
“That was definitely favorite run I've ever had,” he said. “I kept moving my feet and guys kept bouncing off of me and I was able to put it in the end zone.”
11 seconds into the fourth quarter, Marshall capped off the night with an eight yard scoring run to put ASU ahead by its winning score, 35-20.
The junior finished Saturday with 80 yards on 14 carries.
“Cameron’s a pretty special player,” Osweiler said. “He had this determination that he wasn’t going down. I don’t know how many guys he ran through or lowered his shoulder on.”
Injury notes
ASU redshirt senior center Garth Gerhart severely sprained his ankle Saturday and will in all likelihood miss next week’s game against Utah.
“He tried to go back in but he just couldn’t,” Erickson said.
Sophomore Kody Koebensky replaced Gerhart and will fill in for the Sun Devil captain while he’s out.
ASU sophomore defensive tackle Will Sutton needed help off the field late against OSU, but he’s okay.
Reach the reporter at tyler.emerick@asu.edu
