Going into a marquee matchup between the Pac-10's two national title contenders, fans knew anything could happen.And it just about did, as the No. 5 Oregon Ducks came away with a 35-23 victory over the No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils in Eugene.
As it stands, the once-unranked Ducks find themselves in the hunt for the No. 1 spot in the country—in a year that has seen contender after contender fall by the wayside.
The Ducks held their ground against ASU despite a late-game injury to star QB and Heisman hopeful Dennis Dixon. By the time Dixon went down, the Sun Devils were in too deep a hole to pull off one of their patented comebacks.
Dixon and the high-octane Oregon offense came out strong, with WR Jaison Williams taking a screen pass 26 yards for a score on the Ducks' opening drive
QB Rudy Carpenter led Arizona State to a field goal on the next drive, with the Oregon D holding Sun Devil running back Dmitri Nance on three consecutive carries to force the kick.
The Ducks stretched their lead to 21-3 early in the second quarter when Dixon found a wide-open Williams for a 27-yard score, capping a seven-play, 75-yard drive. Carpenter responded by hitting receiver Michael Jones on a 26-yard strike to make the score 21-10, then drove the Sun Devils downfield again for a 34-yard field goal.
ASU kicker Thomas Webster subsequently missed a 32-yard try in the waning moments of the first half, but redeemed himself with a 50-yarder early in the second.
That would be as close as the Sun Devils got.
After two punt exchanges, Oregon's Jonathan Stewart capped a long drive by bouncing off defenders for a 33-yard score. Oregon led 28-16 at that point, and tacked on another seven when Dixon found Drew Davis for a 19-yard TD on the final play of third quarter.
Walter Thurmond III intercepted a pass in the final period to kill an impressive ASU drive, and the Sun Devils scored late in the game on a Brent Miller touchdown reception to make it 35-23.
A Tyrice Thompson fumble was later recovered by Oregon's Willie Glasper, ending any hopes for a comeback by Arizona State.
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