Oregon Football: Three Things We Learned Against Arizona State
The #3 Oregon Ducks blew out the Arizona State Sun Devils last night by a score of 43-21 in Tempe. The Ducks improved to 7-0 on the season and 4-0 in conference. Arizona State is now 5-2 and 3-1 in the Pac-12. The Ducks won’t play again until next Saturday, October 27th when they host the Colorado Buffaloes.
We learned that freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota can not only play in a big road game but he can excel. Mariota lost a fumble on the second play of the game but was flawless after that. He hit the trifecta in the first half by throwing for a touchdown, rushing for a touchdown and catching a touchdown pass from Bryan Bennett.
Mariota ran wild on Arizona State last night. He rushed for 135 yards on ten carries including an 86-yard run in the second quarter which made the score 36-7. He only attempted twelve passes but hit on nine of those for 46 yards and a score. His touchdown throw was to fellow freshman Bralon Addison in the first quarter on a six-yard pass.
Kenjon Barner should now get serious consideration for the Heisman Trophy. Geno Smith has arguably been the favorite so far this season but Barner is having a huge year for an undefeated team that still has a chance to play in the BCS National Championship Game. Barner ran for 143 yards on 16 carries with three scores last night.
Arizona State took a 7-0 lead three plays into the game but Barner broke off a 71-yard touchdown run twenty-three seconds later. Barner’s run started a run of 43 straight Duck points until the Sun Devils would score in the fourth quarter. Barner has rushed for 870 yards and twelve touchdowns on the year. H is eighth in the NCAA in rushing and tied for third in scoring.
Matt Kartozian/US PRESSWIRE
This Duck team is putting teams away early. Earlier in the season we would see the Ducks jump out to early leads but let the teams inch a little closer in the second half. This game was over sixteen minutes in and if Chip Kelly didn’t reign in the offense they would have put up 100 points easily.
The defense is just as formidable as the offense. They collected four interceptions on the night and Avery Patterson narrowly missed another touchdown on his pick. It would have been his third consecutive game with an interception return. The defense added five sacks on the night as well and the two interceptions in the second quarter helped bury Arizona State.
Check out Raymond Mencke’s blog at www.sportissue.com. Also follow him on Twitter @RaymondMenckeJr,
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