Recap: No. 6 Oregon wins fifth straight in rout over ASU

The last road game of the season was arguably the least challenging for Oregon. The crowd in Tempe featured plenty of green and yellow in support of the No. 6-ranked Ducks in their 49-13 victory over the Sun Devils.

Oregon (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12) had a lot to focus in this matchup against former Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham. Arizona State (3-8, 2-6 Pac-12) is a team that has improved in the latter part of the season, picking up two victories in its last three games. Nobody on the home sideline wanted to pull off the upset more than Dillingham, but doing so was quite the task.

Bo Nix has been a different player since reuniting with Dillingham in Oregon last year. He’s found a new home and is well on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. Troy Franklin and Tez Johnson have emerged as his favorite targets during his campaign, but distributing the ball all over the field was on full display Saturday.

The Ducks' dominant offensive showing started with Patrick Herbert having the best game of his career all in the span of the first couple of drives. He scored the game's first two touchdowns and Franklin hauled in the third and fourth all while Oregon’s defense continued its impressive run.

Arizona State couldn’t move the ball down the field. It isn't the only team that has struggled to do so this season. The Ducks came into this game as the 13th-best scoring defense in the country, and it showed. The Sun Devils were held scoreless for the entire first half while Bo Nix threw for a career-high 6 touchdowns in the same amount of time.

Nix got one more chance in the second half to try and break both the school record for touchdowns in a game but came up short and saw the rest of the game from the sideline. Ty Thompson added a score and the backups on both sides of the ball kept up the pace. Arizona State managed to find its first touchdown and outscored Oregon in the second half, but by the end of things, Oregon left Arizona rested and ready for the quick turnaround on Friday.

First Quarter

11:34, Bo Nix 23-yard pass to Patrick Herbert (Camden Lewis PAT), 7-0 Oregon

6:53, Bo Nix 49-yard pass to Patrick Herbert (Camden Lewis PAT), 14-0 Oregon

0:27, Bo Nix 16-yard pass to Troy Franklin (Camden Lewis PAT), 21-0 Oregon

Second Quarter

9:40, Bo Nix 45-yard pass to Troy Franklin (Camden Lewis PAT), 28-0 Oregon

7:22, Bo Nix 71-yard pass to Gary Bryant Jr. (Camden Lewis PAT), 35-0 Oregon

0.10, Bo Nix 16-yard pass to Tez Johnson (Camden Lewis PAT), 42-0 Oregon

Third Quarter

5:33, Dario Longhetto 38-yard field goal, 42-3 Oregon

Fourth Quarter

14:20, Ty Thompson 19-yard pass to Casey Kelly (Camden Lewis PAT), 49-3 Oregon

8:39, Melquan Stovall 15-yard run (Dario Longhetto PAT), 49-10 Oregon

5:09, Dario Longhetto 34-yard field goal, 49-13 Oregon

This might have well been the final blow on the beat-down in Tempe, yet it happened in the second quarter. Bo Nix dropped back on second-and-long, already holding onto a 21-point lead. In this scenario, Troy Franklin is the last person you would want in 1-on-1 coverage if you’re an opposing defense. That’s exactly what Arizona State went with. Franklin reeled in the 45-yard ball over the defender draped over him. Franklin’s size and skill were too much, as that catch landed him in the school record book, now tied for most receiving touchdowns in school history (24).

He only needed one half to put up yet another Heisman-caliber performance. Nix continued his dominant final collegiate season with 6 touchdown passes (career-high) on 6 first-half drives and only had 5 incompletions. He played his best game of the season in front of his long-time coach Kenny Dillingham on the opposing sideline. Nix finished the game with 411 total yards of offense and will need just 54 passing yards next week to pass his mark of 3,594 last season.

Defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin may be harder on Cole than any other player on the team and for obvious reason. The true freshman has been hearing it from his dad all his life and put up the best performance of his young career on Saturday. He finished the game with an interception, 5 tackles (tied for team-high), and a pass breakup that was nearly his second pick of the game. Arizona State was blanketed on offense, and Martin’s impressive game was a big reason why.

Wow. This might actually have been the play of the season, let alone the game. Gary Bryant Jr. took a ball behind the line of scrimmage on the designed WR screen. What he did after was magical to watch. One incredibly timed spin move and a few shifty moves got him past four different Sun Devils defenders in reach. After getting past them, Bryant had the speed to go 71 yards for Nix’s 5th touchdown of the game. The score made it 35-0 with over 7 minutes left in the first half as Oregon played one of its best games of the season.

Oregon won the game simply because it played near-perfect football. The defense pitched a shutout in the first half despite the Sun Devils getting into scoring range twice. An interception at the goal line and a missed field goal meant all Oregon needed to do was score. And score they did. The Ducks scored touchdowns on all of their 6 first-half drives. The second half was quickly turned into an experience opportunity for some of the younger players, while the starters got some crucial rest this late in the season.

Passing

Bo Nix: 24-29, 404 yards, 6 TD’s

Ty Thompson: 4-6, 59 yards, 1 TD 1 INT

Ross James: 0-1, 1 INT

Rushing

Bucky Irving: 11 carries, 63 yards

Jordan James: 9 carries, 48 yards

Dante Dowdell: 3 carries, 16 yards

Jayden Limar: 2 carries, 13 yards

Bo Nix: 3 carries, 7 yards

Ty Thompson: 2 carries, -1 yard

Receiving

Troy Franklin: 8 receptions, 128 yards, 2 TD’s

Tez Johnson: 6 receptions, 80 yards, 1 TD

Gary Bryant Jr.: 3 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD

Patrick Herbert: 3 receptions, 78 yards, 2 TD’s

Bucky Irving: 3 receptions, 33 yards

Traeshon Holden: 2 receptions, 22 yards

Casey Kelly: 1 reception, 19 yards, 1 TD

Darrian Anderson: 1 reception, 16 yardsKyler Kasper: 1 reception, 5 yards