No. 4 Oregon Defeats No. 6 Arizona State

Nov 04, 01:50 AM

Current Headlines: EUGENE, Ore. _ In the days before his team's game at Oregon, coach Dennis Erickson suggested that it would be more difficult for Arizona State to win at Autzen Stadium than in the Bowl Championship Series title contest.

On Saturday night, Erickson was proven right.

The Sun Devils _ their ears still ringing, no doubt _ left the undefeated ranks after a 35-23 loss against the Ducks in Eugene's sound machine. As for the BCS championship game, ASU will likely not have to concern itself with how hard it is to win. Not this season, at least.

"We are still 8-1," Erickson said. "We still have a lot to play for, but (a loss) is not something we have had to deal with this year. You don't know how we will react until it happens, but there's no question in my mind we'll respond in a positive way."

The Pac-10 championship and Rose Bowl are attainable for ASU, though Oregon is in the conference's driver's seat. And if the fourth-ranked Ducks wind up in Pasadena, the No. 6 Sun Devils have a chance to spend the holidays at home and play in the Fiesta Bowl.

There are still lofty goals to pursue, but the first objective for ASU is rebounding from a loss in which their vices, some of which have plagued the team all year, sprung up again in front of a crowd of 59,379, a stadium record.

The Sun Devils got off to a slow start, trailing 21-3 in the second quarter. They had trouble picking up blitzes, as quarterback Rudy Carpenter was sacked nine times. And without star running back Ryan Torain (foot), ASU struggled to get the tough yards, especially in the red zone.

"We have a lot of guys who have been through (adversity) before and know how to come back," center Mike Pollak said. "We'll come in (Sunday), look at the film and correct the mistakes we made. When we play next, we'll have things fixed."

At least ASU, which dropped to 5-1 in the Pac-10, can say that it took nine games to find a team that made it pay for its mistakes.

The Ducks (8-1, 5-1) have two players in the Heisman Trophy conversation, and both had a big game. Quarterback Dennis Dixon threw for 189 yards and four touchdowns, and running back Jonathan Stewart ran for 99 yards and a score.

"The statistics show for themselves," ASU linebacker Mike Nixon said. "We felt we had a good game plan going in, but there is a big difference between executing against the scout team and executing against Dixon and Stewart. With the speed that they come at you with, they exploit your weaknesses if you aren't perfect on every play."

As they have before this season, the Sun Devils managed to come back, closing the deficit to 21-16 in the third quarter.

Then, Oregon pinned ASU on its own 4-yard line on a punt, and after a three-and-out, took possession at midfield. Three plays later, Stewart went off left tackle and into the clear for a 33-yard touchdown.

Stewart and fellow running back Andre Crenshaw wore down the defense on a nine-play, 80-yard drive that ended when Dixon found receiver Drew Davis for a 19-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the third quarter. That gave the Ducks a 35-16 lead.

"I challenged our team at halftime to be the better second-half team, and I was pleased with how they responded," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "Arizona State is a very good football team. They were deserving of their ranking."

Carpenter, playing with a sore right thumb, was 22-for-36 for 379 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Running backs Keegan Herring and Dimitri Nance combined to rush for 126 yards. But Nance was unable to reach the end zone on three carries inside the 3 on ASU's first possession of the game, and he was stopped short on fourth-and-1 at the Ducks' 36 at the third quarter.

In seven trips to the red zone, the Sun Devils had two touchdowns, two field goals, a missed field goal _ Thomas Weber's first in 18 attempts this season _ a fumble and an interception.

"We moved the ball but couldn't reach the end zone," Carpenter said. "In a game like this, that's going to cause you to lose."

Though the Sun Devils' role in the postgame scene was that of trudging off the field in defeat, the events around them were significant.

Fans stormed the field. Blue-jacketed security guards formed a chain around each goalpost to ensure that they would remain standing.

Perhaps the moment served as proof of ASU's new presence on the national college football stage. After all, when was the last time a school outside of Tucson celebrated a victory over the Sun Devils with such intensity?

"The atmosphere here was great," receiver Chris McGaha said. "The crowd was into it, and that made it a lot of fun for us. It was a big game to play in, and we'll play in a lot more.

"But in a big game, you're playing a good team. And they capitalized on our mistakes. You can't do that against a good football team."

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(c) 2007, East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Arizona)

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