Kenjon Barner ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns, Marcus Mariota added 135 yards, and No. 2 Oregon manhandled Arizona State in a 43-21 Pacific-12 Conference victory Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Facing its first true road test, Oregon (7-0 overall, 4-0 Pac-12) turned what was supposed to be a duel in the desert into another we’ve-seen-this-before rout by running over the Sun Devils in the first half.
The Ducks pounded what had been the Pac-12’s best defense, racing to a 36-point halftime lead and rushing for 406 yards to win their nation-leading 12th straight road game.
Arizona State (5-2, 3-1) got the start it wanted, forcing a fumble on Oregon’s second play and scoring a touchdown on its first.
The Sun Devils wilted after that, unable to make up for the early loss of star defensive tackle Will Sutton or find a way to slow down the Ducks as they raced past.
“They came out and scored, but the one thing I love about this team is that they don’t flinch,” Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. “We talk about playing a full game and this team bounced back.”
Taylor Kelly, the Pac-12’s pass efficiency leader, threw two interceptions that set up Oregon touchdowns in the first half and had 93 yards on 10-of-18 passing while being chased by the Ducks most of the game.
Arizona State’s defense, its anchor through the first six games, allowed 454 total yards, including 48 more rushing than it had the previous four games combined.
Mariota threw for one touchdown, ran for another and had one receiving
GOING GREEN
An overnight prank forced an Arizona State University landmark to go green.
The Arizona Republic reported the giant A on “A” Mountain in Tempe, Ariz., near Sun Devil Stadium was painted green sometime early Thursday morning.
Students attributed the prank to University of Oregon fans, who were in town for a Pac-12 Conference game between the two schools.
ASU students had painted the A black ahead of the game and say as of 3 a.m. Thursday, the letter was still black.
EXTRA POINTS
South Carolina starting defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles was suspended for Saturday’s game against Florida for throwing a punch at LSU center P.J. Lonergan after a play during last week’s loss to the Tigers. … On the same day Vanderbilt dumped a series with Northwestern in 2013 and ’14, the Southeastern Conference school also notified Ohio State that it was canceling their scheduled game on Aug. 31, 2013, at Ohio Stadium.
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