A 9-1 Playoff contender met a floundering 5-5 team that had lost four straight games in Tempe, Arizona. But you couldn’t tell which was which on Saturday night.
True freshman Jayden Daniels torched the Ducks’ helpless secondary to the tune of 408 yards and three touchdowns, downing the Ducks 31-28. Meanwhile, Oregon’s offense sputtered early, eventually finding a rhythm only to run out of time in the end.
On the first play from scrimmage Juwan Johnson caught a 25-yard pass, barrelling through opposing defensive backs in what seemed to be a tone-setting play. While the Ducks would go three-and-out, their next drive proved to be much more successful. A ground-heavy attack featuring CJ Verdell and Travis Dye propelled Oregon into red zone. Then Cyrus Habibi-Likio powered in a bruising touchdown run to give the Ducks a 7-0 lead.
It only took four plays for Daniels and the Sun Devils offense to respond.
On second-and-11, Daniels exploited a miscommunication in the Ducks’ secondary, finding receiver Frank Darby for a 57-yard touchdown — the longest play the Oregon defense has allowed all season.
Oregon run game was clicking on all cylinders as they effortlessly marched down the field against the Pac-12’s third leading rush defense. Given their success, the Ducks elected to go for it on a fourth-and-1 on the Arizona State 6-yard line. They failed to convert, and ASU looked to take control.
Despite solid starts offensively from both teams, though, the remainder of the first half lacked excitement.
ASU’s inexperienced offensive line repetitively cost the Sun Devils yardage with false start penalties as Daniels and his backfield counterpart, running back Eno Benjamin — who had been severely struggling over their four game losing streak — only mustered three more points despite Daniels connecting on nearly every one of his throws in a pressure-free pocket.
Meanwhile, Oregon inexplicably abandoned the run game in favor of a more pass heavy approach, which failed miserably as the Ducks racked up a mere 17 yards in the second quarter, trailing 10-7 at half.
Daniels was the better quarterback on the field Saturday and he made his presence known.
The Sun Devils knocked in a field goal on the first drive of the second half, but the next four drives resulted in two punts for each team.
Then Justin Herbert, who had been inaccurate all night, threw back-to-back interceptions, crippling the Ducks’ offense and gifting ASU 10 points.
First, Daniels found Darby for a 26-yard score and then kicker Christian Zendejas knocked in his second field goal.
All of a sudden the Ducks were up against a wall, facing a 17-point deficit with nine minutes to go and Herbert seemingly lost, in the midst of his career-worst game. All season this Oregon team had dealt with adversity well, but things were slipping away with no hope in sight.
Suddenly, though, Herbert and the Ducks offense hit their stride. Herbert found Arizona native Johnny Johnson III near the sideline for 11 of his career-high 207 yards. Then after a roughing the passer penalty, he found Johnson again, this time for 39 yards, setting up Habibi-Likio’s 10-yard touchdown run.
Three plays. One minute. The Ducks had life, but the clock was not in their favor.
The Ducks defense, which had been on the field for nearly the entire half, came up with a huge three-and-out stop, ASU’s first of the half, and Herbert had the ball in his hands again with 5:50 to go.
A stellar outing from the Sun Devils looked to be in jeopardy as no one could man up with Johnson. Again, in just three plays, Oregon scored. 19 yards to Johnson III, then 23, followed by a 24-yard touchdown snag. The Ducks were feeling themselves again. They had found their rhythm.
The Ducks defense again looked stout, forcing Daniels and his offense into a third and long. On third-and-16, the poised true freshman dropped back and delivered the ball perfectly into the hands of Brandon Aiyuk for an 81-yard touchdown.
Head coach Herm Edwards and his Sun Devils were playing to win.
Herbert again responded, finding Johnsonin the end zone to cap off a nine-play drive.
After an onside kick recovered by the Sun Devils, ASU just needed a first down. And on the back of Benjamin, it got one, as he capped off his 114-yard day.
All year this Ducks team has been defined by their ability to overcome adversity. After losing to Auburn, they put their heads down and vowed to work harder, rattling off nine straight wins. They overcame early struggles at home versus Cal, came back from 14 down to beat Washington in Seattle and engineered a game-winning drive against in the waning moments of the Washington State game.
But on Saturday, when they needed it most, they were simply outplayed.
