Playing on the road for only the second time this season, the Oregon Ducks were confident. But Sun Devil Stadium is no easy place to play.
When the game started, it looked as if Arizona State might be able to pull the upset. Following an Oregon fumble on the first drive of the game, the Sun Devils quickly scored a touchdown and took a 7-0 lead. What happened next seemed almost preordained.
The Ducks came out fast and hard the rest of the way, scoring six straight unanswered touchdowns on the way to a 43-21 victory in Tempe.
"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 to the Associated Press. "We talk about playing a full game, and this team bounced back."
Freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota only had 46 yards passing, but added 135 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Electric running back Kenjon Barner had a big game, rushing for 143 yards and three touchdowns.
"We just came out and did what we have to do," said Barner, who eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the third straight game and fourth time this season. "We came out and executed well. We made big plays, plays that we're supposed to make."
The Ducks had no success in the passing game, but ran the ball like crazy, gaining 406 yards on the night. According to ESPN.com, Oregon has a 12 game road winning streak, the best in the nation.
The Ducks improved to 7-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Pac-12. The team now faces a tough stretch of games, going on the road for three of the next five games, including against ranked opponents USC and Oregon State.
Oregon is ranked at No. 3 in the BCS standings, but after such an impressive win, the team may be able to jump over No. Florida if the Gators stumble this weekend against South Carolina.
Arizona State got the break it wanted at the beginning of the game, but could not stop Oregon once they got moving on the ground.
"We do have a good football team, but we got beat by a really, really good football team tonight," Arizona State coach Todd Graham said. "There's no doubt in my mind, they're one of the best, if not the best team in the country."
Sun Devils quarterback Taylor Kelly, who is the Pac-12 leader in passing efficiency, had a rough game, passing for only 93 yards and giving up two interceptions.
Oregon never let Arizona State keep the game close.
In the second quarter, already up 22-7, Oregon scored three touchdowns in a span of three minutes to go up 43-7. The team shut out the Sun Devils from the beginning of the first quarter until the fourth quarter with nine minutes left when the team scored on an interception return by Anthony Jones.
"We got hit by a hammer," Graham said.
Oregon averages the second most points in the nation and continued that trend on Thursday night. In the past five games against Arizona State, the Ducks have scored at least 41 points.
The Ducks look like the best team in the Pac-12 and are poised for a huge showdown in the last game of the season against Oregon State. The two teams are both undefeated and the outcome of that game could decide who plays in the Pac-12 title game.
