Oregon (8-2, 6-1 Pac-10) came storming out of the gates and behind two first quarter rushing touchdowns by LaMichael James jumped to a 14-0 lead. Arizona State (4-6, 2-5) answered with an early second quarter touchdown by Dimitri Nance, but saw the Ducks score 17 unanswered points the rest of the half to take a commanding 31-7 lead.
Brock Osweiler suffered his injury midway through the second quarter and when Samson Szakacsy entered the game he struggled to move the chains for the rest of the stanza.
The third quarter was a whole different story for the sophomore.
Szakacsy started the second half completing 5-6 passes for 47 yards, and along with some solid running by Dimitri Nance the Sun Devil drive culminated with a keeper by the signal caller to make 31-14.
Things were starting to look up for the visitors, when Oregon fumbled the ASU kickoff and in the ensuing drive a scrambling Szakacsy found Kyle Williams for a 15-yard score to make it a 10-point game.
Unfortunately that’s as close the maroon and gold would get to erasing the deficit.
The Oregon defense clamped down on ASU allowing just two first downs in the last 18 minutes, while the Ducks’ offense tacked on 13 points to its lead and kept itself in the driver’s seat for a Rose Bowl appearance.
Osweiler was 5-10 for 15 yards and one interception, while Szakacsy 13-22 for 113 yards and a touchdown. Nance paced ASU with 77 yards on the ground, while McGaha led his squad with five catches and 46 receiving yards. ASU surrendered 266 yards on the ground and had just 212 yards of total offense.
Up next for the Sun Devils is their last road game of the season, as they visit UCLA. A win by the Sun Devils will give them a chance to avoid a losing season, while a loss on Saturday will give ASU its first back to back sub .500 seasons since 1946-47.