Clobbered in Corvallis

Oregon State, following its win over USC, had a much bigger reason to have a letdown this weekend than their opponent Arizona State. Alas, it was the visitors from Tempe who came out flat out of the gates and never recovered, falling 44-10 on Saturday afternoon in Corvallis.

The writing was on the wall early. Oregon State (6-3, 4-2 Pac-10) scored on its first five possessions, and rattled off 17 straight points before Arizona State (5-4, 2-4) answered with a 40-yard touchdown run by Keegan Herring. The Beavers scored twice more in the half, taking advantage of two Rudy Carpenter interceptions, and ended the first thirty minutes with a commanding 31-10 margin.

ASU started the half with a 60-yard drive that ended with a Jesse Ainsworth field goal miss from 32 yards out. Ultimately, this is as close as the maroon and gold would come to scoring threat, as they were shut out in the second half. The Beavers on the other hand scored 13 points during this period, with their only touchdown coming following a fumble by ASU punter Jonathan Johnson, which gave them possession on the Sun Devils’ 7-yard line.

Carpenter was 9-27 and passed for 124 yards and two interceptions. Keegan Herring led all players on the field with 69 yards on 15 carries. Zach Miller was ASU’s leading receiver with 57 yards on four catches. The Sun Devil defense had a day they would like to quickly forget, as they gave up 403 total yards, and saw OSU score on all of their seven red zone opportunities and convert 9-17 third down attempts. On the bright side, the Sun Devils cut down on the high number of penalties that has plagued them the last few weeks. ASU was flagged six times for 45 yards.

The Sun Devils play their next two games at home, and will host Washington State this coming weekend. The Cougars are ranked no. 25, but will lose that ranking as they visit Tempe, following a loss to at home to Arizona. ASU is still seeking to be bowl eligible and could do so with a victory over the visitors from Pullman. But more importantly, they will need a win to show that this latest defeat hasn’t in effect started an unstoppable downward spiral for the rest of the 2006 campaign.