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ASU Football: ASU vs. Oregon Rapid Reaction

By Hunter Robinson

Oct 29, 2016; Eugene, OR, USA; Puddles the Oregon Ducks mascot celebrates during the first quarter against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cole Elsasser-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; Eugene, OR, USA; Puddles the Oregon Ducks mascot celebrates during the first quarter against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cole Elsasser-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Arizona State Sun Devils were unable to shake off their road reputation as they dropped to 1-3 on the road and 5-4 overall.

The Sun Devils looked like they never found their footing in Eugene as they lost to the Ducks 54-35. While the game was mostly negative for the Sun Devils, there were some positives. Here are my takeaways from the game.

1. The secondary doesn’t look like they have improved any since the first game of the season

A lot of starters were out today and multiple secondary starters were on that list. Even with that being a plausible excuse for the horrible performance today, there should be at least a little improvement in their overall performance since the game against NAU. The secondary not only had a ton of missed tackles, but they also allowed huge gains by simply leaving a receiver wide open down field. If the Sun Devils will want to have a chance at winning either game against Utah or Washington then the secondary will need to step up and show more discipline.

2. Dillon Sterling-Cole looks to be constantly improving

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From last week’s game against the Cougars to this week’s game against the Ducks, Sterling-Cole looked like a completely different quarterback. He went from being very timid in the pocket and taking few chances downfield to maneuvering through the pocket with poise and taking chances downfield. While he did have a few throws that were head-scratchers, most of his throws were on-point and he looked like the leader of the offense. With a bye week coming up for ASU, Sterling-Cole could take even more steps forward before their game against Utah.

3. ASU seems to play up to the level of their opponents

This is a double-edged sword. On the positive side, ASU will fare well against competition that probably should have no issue rolling over the Sun Devils. On the other side, ASU has games like today where they play one of their worst games of the season because they were up against bad competition. ASU should have had no problem winning today’s game but instead they struggled against the Ducks even though they were able to pull out the win.

Next: ASU MBB: Kimani Lawrence Verbally Commits

ASU will now be on a bye week as they get ready to host Utah on November 10 in their final home game of the season.

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