With their two biggest stars standing on the sideline, the ninth-ranked Oregon Ducks overcame adversity yet again on Saturday night to defeat a talented Arizona State team.@@http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/_/id/2483/oregon-ducks@@
Reigning Doak Walker Award-winner LaMichael James wasn’t expected to play against the Sun Devils — though the two-deep depth chart listed James or Kenjon Barner as the probable starter — which meant Oregon would have to rely heavily on junior quarterback Darron Thomas and his young supporting cast.@@http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/16/last-years-winner-lamichael-james-highlights-doak-walker-watch-list/@@
The Ducks (5-1, 3-0 Pac-12) had little trouble moving the ball against Arizona State’s defense to the tune of 536 yards of total offense, but for the second week in a row Oregon’s 41-27 victory came at a price. On the first possession of the third quarter Darron Thomas left the game with a left leg injury, though he later said it wasn’t serious while adding that he could have returned to the game if necessary.@@http://pac-12.org/SPORTS/Football/Standings.aspx@@
Instead, redshirt freshman quarterback Bryan Bennett was given his first meaningful action in the third game of his career and led Oregon to a 20-point second half. And though he attempted just five passes for 22 yards, Bennett made the correct read time and again in the role of Oregon’s main distributor.@@http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312882483@@
“The one thing I liked about Bryan is in his first extended playing time and in a significant situation, there was no panic,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. “You don’t have to force the issue; we got a lot of playmakers out there, just distribute the ball, and I thought he did a really nice job.”
By the time Bennett entered the game, Oregon had a 21-17 lead, thanks in large part to Cliff Harris’ 50-yard interception return at the end of the second quarter, which set up a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end David Paulson with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half.@@http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312882483@@
But when Thomas went down to start the third, Oregon went in a similar fashion, going three-and-out. Arizona State (5-2, 3-1) responded with a four-play, 67-yard drive to reclaim the lead at 24-21. That would be the last time the Sun Devils held the advantage, however, as Bennett and Oregon’s stable of running backs came to life on the ensuing possession.@@http://pac-12.org/SPORTS/Football/Standings.aspx@@@@http://espn.go.com/ncf/playbyplay?gameId=312882483&period=3@@
Barner, along with true freshmen De’Anthony Thomas and Tra Carson, carried the ball four straight plays for 52 yards before Bennett completed one of his two passes to junior wide receiver Justin Hoffman to put Oregon in a first-and-goal situation. De’Anthony Thomas took the next snap three yards into the end zone, and Oregon was back on top.
“Bryan Bennett came in and stepped up,” said De’Anthony Thomas, who finished with a team-high 203 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. “He is a great QB. He has a lot to learn, but I thought he did well.”@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205266631@@@@http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=312882483@@
The Ducks forced Arizona State to punt on the ensuing possession, and Bennett led Oregon on a five-play, 88-yard scoring drive that set up a five-yard touchdown run by Barner. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound signal caller showed off his athleticism during that drive with runs of 36 and 18 yards, respectively, to get Oregon across midfield for its final touchdown of the game.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3378&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204971236&Q_SEASON=2011@@
Sophomore placekicker Alejandro Maldonado added a pair of insurance field goals in the fourth quarter — his first field goals of the season — as the Ducks used up the majority of the clock along the way.
According to Barner, who carried the ball 31 times for 171 yards — both career highs — and one touchdown, Saturday was a testament to Oregon’s depth, which hadn’t truly been challenged up to this point in the season.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205266631@@
“We have tremendous depth, a quality that most teams don’t have,” Barner said. “When one player goes down, we always have someone who will step up and not miss a beat.”