In their continued pursuit of the Pac-12 South title,ASU footballheads into hostile territory to face a slumping Oregon Ducks team.
Raise your hand if, on the penultimate weekend of the college football regular season, you had Arizona State controlling their own destiny to win the Pac-12 South?
Don’t think many foresaw this being the case but with the chaos and wackiness the division has encountered this year, that’s where we stand.
Arizona State (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) is coming off a tight 31-28 win over UCLA in a game where running backEno Benjaminbroke the school’s Pac-10/12 single-season rushing record.
Benjamin rushed for 182 yards and one touchdown on 34 carries raising his season numbers to 1,295 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
Last Saturday’s performance marked his seventh 100-yard rushing game including his sixth in the last seven games.
QuarterbackManny Wilkinsdid just enough on Senior Day combining for 259 total yards and two total touchdown in his final home game.
The defense really stood out for the Sun Devils as they limited UCLA running backJoshua Kelleyto 79 yards on 21 carries averaging only 3.8 yards per carry.
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While Bruins quarterbackWilton Speightthrew for 335 yards and two touchdowns, Arizona State’s defense was able to record one interception, two sacks and five tackles for loss.
Next up for the Sun Devils is a trip to Autzen Stadium to face the struggling Oregon Ducks.
Oregon (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12) have lost three of their last four games after their big overtime home win against Washington.
Since then, the Ducks have lose games versus Washington State, Arizona and most recently, Utah.
The Utes, without starting quarterbackTyler Huntleyand running backZack Mossfor the rest of the regular season, stunned the Ducks 32-25 last week in Salt Lake City.
Utah totaled 494 yards of total offense with quarterbackJason Shelleythrowing for 262 yards and running backArmand Shynerushing for 174 yards.
The Utes defense was stellar limiting Oregon to 117 rushing yards and finished with 12 tackles for loss and four sacks.
Oregon tried to spike the ball with a second remaining to take one chance at the end zone to tie the game, but review showed that there was no time left on the clock after the ball was spiked.
The Ducks, who seemingly was in control of the Pac-12 North after their win over the Huskies, have faltered significantly.
QuarterbackJustin Herbertis coming off one of his best games of the season throwing for 288 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
Saturday’s home game could be Herbert’s last as a Duck as he’ll contemplate about declaring for the 2019 NFL Draft at season’s end. Recent reports have indicated that Herbert will return for his senior season.
Keys for Arizona State will be limiting Oregon’s rushing attack. You know Herbert is going to throw the ball at least 30 times but if they can stop the run, that will allow them to pressure the Herbert.
Last season, the Sun Devils held Ducks running backRoyce Freemanto 15 carries, 81 yards and a touchdown. They’ll need to replicate that performance against Oregon’s stable of tailbacks.
For Arizona State, they must hold on to the ball. Oregon feeds off takeaways to get their crowd into the game. To avoid the crowd getting into the game, it’s essential ASU starts fast.
With a win, the Sun Devils will move one step closer to a Pac-12 South division title with everything to play for in next week’s Territorial Cup.
Broadcast Information:
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. MT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Stream:Pac-12.comand Pac-12 Now app
Broadcast Team: Roxy Bernstein, Anthony Herron and Lewis Johnson
This will be Arizona State’s three straight game on Pac-12 Network and their fifth appearance overall sporting a 3-1 record.
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