Arizona State unable to repeat 2019's home upset in blowout loss to Oregon
Arizona State didn’t get the same fate as the last time a No. 6 Oregon football team came to Tempe.
Four years ago, ASU completed one of its biggest upsets in recent memory, ending No. 6 Oregon’s College Football Playoff hopes and nine-game winning streak.
Instead of upsetting the Ducks in a spoiler, ASU fell quickly and succumbed to Bo Nix and the high-powered Oregon offense, 49-13 on Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
“That team right there, that team was better than us point blank. We’ve got to get better in the offseason. That’s what I told them,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “I’m like, you guys shouldn’t hang your head, we gave everything we got and that’s a better football team.”
Unlike last time, Oregon didn’t even come close to losing any ground with ASU. The Ducks scored on all six drives in the first half, shutting out ASU 42-0 on 444 yards of total offense. ASU managed 147 yards of total offense in the first half.
ASU’s offense lacked the stability at quarterback that was there the last time. The Sun Devils were gifted a gem from then-true freshman Jayden Daniels with three touchdowns on 408 yards that helped him outduel phenom Justin Herbert.
Injuries this season have taken a toll on the quarterback position and six different players have gone under center, including running back Cameron Skattebo and tight end Jalin Conyers. The quarterback issues persisted against Oregon as ASU did a rotation of three quarterbacks throughout the game and managed 316 yards of total offense to Oregon’s 603.
ASU didn’t see the run game make a difference against Oregon's stout defensive line. With Skattebo playing at quarterback and punting, he didn’t get a lot of reps at running back and rushed for 49 yards.
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Oregon didn’t utilize the run game as much as its lethal passing attack, but what stood out was how hard it was for ASU to tackle its players. ASU’s consistently been a good tackling team but either missed Oregon’s wideouts and running backs or bounced off them.
"There were a lot of times when you felt like they were going down to the ground with you and you look up and they’re still getting yards after their carry,” ASU defensive lineman Dashaun Mallory said. “Defense didn’t execute tackling and we spoke about that all week. We did not get as many hands on the ball as we had liked and that got exposed tonight.”
Aside from Daniels, ASU’s defense was equally as impressive in that 2019 game and forced an inconsistent performance from Herbert. This year’s defense found trouble from a different Herbert as Patrick Herbert, Justin’s brother, caught two touchdown passes within the first eight minutes of the game.
“There’s nothing you can take away (from Oregon’s offense),” Dillingham said. “Take away the run and alright, you have to play man coverage and you have to cover three wideouts that are going to play on Sundays and one could be a first-round pick with a quarterback that could win the Heisman. Take away the pass and alright, they lead the country in yards per carry.”
ASU’s defense has faced many great quarterbacks in the conference this season, but couldn’t clamp down on Nix’s performance. Nix and Oregon sailed through ASU’s defense with 404 yards and six touchdowns on 24-for-29 passing before backup Ty Thompson came in for relief near the end of the third quarter.
“He came out hitting all his reads and it felt like he was making calls on his own. It didn’t seem like he was necessarily looking toward the sideline and I just think it was his ability to truly be a mastermind out there,” Mallory said. “He’s a field general out there and I’ve got nothing but respect for the guy. He was controlling the entire game from the first snap from the last snap.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Unlike in 2019, Oregon got the better of ASU in Tempe
