Last week, Justin Herbert fell to the field after a game-ending interception. He was quickly consoled by teammates, but the reality of back-to-back losses appeared to weigh heavily on the true freshman.
Saturday, Herbert departed the field under much different circumstances.
The Sheldon High School graduate hugged fellow freshman Troy Dye, did a postgame interview with Pac-12 Network and left the field to chants of “Justin Herbert” after the Ducks downed ASU 54-35 for a win which snapped a give-game losing streak.

That’s a very happy Justin Herbert. #CampusRush pic.twitter.com/V1YRlJ15cS
— Jonathan Hawthorne (@Jon_Hawthorne) October 30, 2016

It was a historic day for Herbert. He tied Oregon’s Bill Musgrave for the most passing yards in school history with 489. He tossed six touchdowns and didn’t allow an interception.
Afterwards, Herbert deflected attention to the team.
“I think the best part was the win,” he said. “I’m just glad that we got the win. It meant a lot to our team and the coaches.”
Herbert connected with nine different receivers in the win. He threw two touchdown passes to Pharaoh Brown, who finished with a career high 129 yards receiving on seven catches.
“They kind of completely changed their defense in the second half and we didn’t adapt to that great, ” head coach Mark Helfrich said. “He made play after play after play and guys made plays for him.”
Secondary coach John Neal said players in the locker room felt a sense of relief. He added that the team “can take a breath” momentarily before preparations for USC begin.
“It was a great mood,” Neal said. “There was a lot of happy people and excited people. Any win you get in football is something to celebrate. It was fun to see the kids happy and excited.”
Against ASU, Oregon scored on the first possession of a game for the first time in 2016. Herbert found Brown, who raced down the field 72 yards for a touchdown. That drive would set the pace for the rest of the first half. The Ducks built their lead to 16 points, 30-14, at halftime. Aidan Schneider gave the Ducks a boost, clearing three field goals from 36, 37 and 30 yards before halftime.
The second half tightened up when ASU scored first. The Sun Devils cut Oregon’s lead to 40-35 with 6:39 left the game, but consecutive running scores from Tony Brooks-James gave Oregon enough room to breath.
Oregon’s defense forced three turnovers against ASU. Last week against Cal, Oregon did not pick off quarterback Davis Webb in 61 passing attempts.
“Turnovers, they can almost be a defining point of any game,” Neal said. “There’s nothing better than a turnover to change a game.”
Offensive coordinator Matt Lubick said Freeman is “pretty close to 100 percent.” The junior carried it 17 times for 38 yards, but did not look like his old, dominant self. Brooks-James led the team with nine carries and 132 rushing yards.
“I’ll give Arizona State some credit,” Lubick said. “That was one of their deals. They wanted to take away the run, so we had to throw it. I think that was more of them than Royce.”
Quarterbacks coach David Yost said Herbert is taking on more responsibilities because that’s what the team has asked of him.
“It’s what we need him to do,” Yost said. “This week we needed him to throw the way he did. And he did. He just kind of does what we ask him to do. … The more we give him it seems like the more he can do.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne