Dixon Leads Ducks Over Sun Devils

Nov 04, 12:15 AM

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Eugene, OR (Sports Network) - Dennis Dixon threw four touchdown passes as the fourth-ranked Oregon Ducks downed sixth-ranked Arizona State, 35-23, in a Pac-10 battle at Autzen Stadium.

Dixon finished the game 13-for-27 with 189 yards and added 57 yards rushing for the Ducks (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10), who have won four straight and now sit atop the conference. Jaison Williams had five catches for 106 yards and two scores.

Dixon left the contest in the fourth quarter with a injury to his left leg.

"I don't think we played a perfect game in any way, shape, or form," said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti. "We had too many penalties, and we weren't in-sync early with our quarterback and running backs. We gave up a lot of yards, but we were able to force turnovers in the red zone that were huge. Our defense has been playing with great pride this year."

Rudy Carpenter went 27-for-36 with 379 yards and two touchdowns, but threw a crucial interception in the fourth quarter for the Sun Devils (8-1, 5-1), who have dropped three straight games to the Ducks.

"I have to give Oregon credit," said Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson. "They came out like wildfires on offense. They're very explosive on offense and they're one of the better offenses that I've seen. We will definitely fight back. This was a hard loss but this is also a tough place to play; we're not going to fake that, they just have a great crowd."

The Ducks wasted no time in taking the lead as on the fourth play after receiving the opening kickoff Dixon hooked up with Williams for a 26-yard catch-and-run for a 7-0 lead.

The Sun Devils answered with a 19-yard field goal from Thomas Weber with eight minutes to play in the first.

In an 11-play, 73-yard drive after the Arizona State field goal, Oregon extended its lead to 14-3 as Dixon and Stewart combined for a 13-yard scoring strike with 4:18 left in the first.

In a drive that spanned the first and second quarters, the Ducks extended their lead as Dixon used the pump-fake and found Williams wide open over the middle for a 27-yard touchdown and a 21-3 lead less than a minute into the second.

Arizona State, though, responded with a pair of scores to cut its deficit.

After Williams' second touchdown, the Sun Devils moved down the field quickly and Carpenter found Michael Jones for a 26-yard score to make it 21-10 a little over three minutes into the second.

After holding Oregon to a three-and-out, Arizona Sate got the ball to the Ducks 17, but stalled and had to settle for a 34-yard Weber field goal to make it a 21-13 game, which was the score heading into halftime.

Weber missed a 32-yard field goal in the final moments of the first half.

The Sun Devils started the second half with the ball and cut its deficit to five points as Weber connected on a 50-yard field goal.

However, that was as close as Arizona State got in the game.

After exchanging punts, Oregon got the ball in Arizona State territory and on the third play of the drive Stewart took a handoff up the middle, bounced it to the left side and bulled past a defender at the goal line for a 33-yard score and a 28-16 Oregon lead with 8:23 left in the third.

The Ducks got the ball back with 2:40 left in the third quarter and used the remainder of that time to increase their lead. With just one second left and the ball on the Sun Devils 19, Dixon took the snap, rolled out to the right and found a diving Drew Davis in the back of the end zone for a 35-16 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Arizona State had an impressive drive in the fourth quarter as the team got the ball to the Oregon 15. However, Carpenter lofted a pass into the end zone, where there were no targets, and Walter Thurmond III had the easy pick to kill the drive.

The Sun Devils did score after stopping Oregon. Brent Miller's 11-yard touchdown reception with 5:17 to play made it a 35-23 contest. The big play of the drive was a 54-yard pass to Jones.

Tyrice Thompson fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Willie Glasper, at the end of a 54-yard reception that would have given the Sun Devils the ball deep in Oregon territory, but instead it sealed the win for the Ducks.

Game Notes

The four touchdown passes tied a career high for Dixon...Stewart finished with 21 carries for 99 yards and also had two catches for 26 yards...Jones had four catches for 121 yards...Arizona State outgained Oregon by 89 yards (489-400) and held the clock for almost 10 more minutes (34:50-25:10).

11/04 00:01:25 ET