We just witnessed one of the wildest college football games, we will ever see.
Advertisement
Two teams clinging to hopes in their respective divisions, the Sun Devils and Ducks traded explosive plays in a game that featured 1,243 total yards and 177 combined plays.
Key returners: Senior guard Gerry Blakes was one of ASU’s top scorers last season and will be a veteran presence for the Sun Devils’ seven newcomers.
Oregon jumped out to an easy 10-point lead in the first quarter, initially scoring a field goal before an easy touchdown shortly after. ASU gives up about 80 yards and nine less points per game than Oregon, and that’ll give them a victory in a tightly-contested match. The opportunities were there for Arizona State, but the team just could not take advantage. Numerous defensive breakdowns, Bercovici’s two interceptions and the three missed field goals. The score remains 10-0.
“If we take care of the football, we’re going to win”, he said. Pat Tillman, a former Sun Devil, Arizona Cardinal and Army Ranger, was killed in 2004 while serving his country in Afghanistan. Oregon led 17-14 at halftime, after touchdowns by Freeman (64-yard run) and Carrington (39-yard pass from Adams). The Sun Devils made it a three point difference when Mike Bercovici hit Devin Lucien for a three yard score.
There is no guarantee that the Ducks would not have scored anyway on that possession, and the ASU defender on the play was woefully outmatched. Game time starts 7:30pm on ESPN. Demario Richard gets in the end zone to add 6 more. Zane Gonzalez PAT is good and ASU is up 31-20.
The Sun Devil’s double digit lead was short lived, as their special teams unit faltered on the kick return.
Oregon’s Charles Nelson is considered one of the best athletes in the country, and it’s always fun when he reminds us why that’s the case. Oregon cut Arizona State’s lead back to only 4, as the Devils lead 31-27. He also ran for a touchdown as well.
A touchdown that nearly wasn’t gave the Ducks the victory. The Ducks beat Arizona State in triple overtime, 61-55, to improve to 5-3 on the season. Oregon is at its best when it can strike for a positive play then quickly follow up with another and then another.
On first glance the officials called the play a touchdown.
After Oregon (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) failed on the mandatory 2-point conversion, Springs sealed it with an interception, sending the Ducks racing onto the field. In addition to the game coming up against Stanford, Washington State has to play Arizona State, UCLA, Colorado, and Washington (Huskies) in the month of November.
Oregon came up with the game-winning interception, but its defensive issues under coordinator Don Pellum are well-known.
In overtime, Oregon had the ball first and scored.
Double OT, Arizona State has the ball first. We made a few adjustments, but they were still able to get a few yardage.
Advertisement
The Ducks were facing fourth-and-the-game from the 8-yard line when Vernon Adams Jr. backpedaled under pressure, scrambled around and threw to the back of the end zone, where Dwayne Stanford hauled in the game-tying touchdown pass. The call was confirmed by video review, and the game went to overtime. “It doesn’t matter how long this game was going to be, we were going to finish and be the stronger team at the end”. A win for either team keeps them in contention in the Pac-12 and whoever loses will drop below. Unfortunately, this all could have been avoided.
