Key first quarter stats:
Herbert 9-11 180 yards, 2 tds
Freeman 7 runs for 27
Pharaoh Brown 3 catches 96 yards
ASU 171 yards of offense, Ballage 7 runs for 22 yards, 1 TD. Sterling-Cole 6-9 passing 97 yards.
Out of a commercial break linebacker Koron Crump sacked Justin Herbert to set up third and long. Facing 3rd and 17 Herbert laid a bubble screen pass to Tony Brooks-James out of the slot for 30 yards and first down. Jalen Brown and Brooks-James made nifty moves for first downs. Herbert scrambled to the 16. Freeman hemmed in on second and three for a loss set up 3rd and 7. ASU had to use their third and final timeout, Ducks on the 22.
Herbert missed Carrington, open in the end zone, and Schneider had to come on for a 37-yard field goal, good.
Huskies took a 21-17 lead in Utah after a TD pass from Jake Browning to John Ross.
Malik Lovette made a terrific open field tackle on the kickoff to bring Tim White down at the 18. Jimmie Swain chased down a first-down run, but not until it gained 6 yards. Vic Ralston found easy running room for a first down at the 43. A keeper by Sterling Cole got them to the 47, 2nd and 4.
Troy Dye and Eddie Heard combined for a sack, then TJ Daniel and Henry Mondeaux combined for another. The Sun Devils had to punt.
Sterling-Cole’s inexperience showed on that possession. He looked overwhelmed by the pressure and had trouble finding his outlet.
Leading by six, the Ducks faced a long field, but had an opportunity to take command and gain a two-score lead.
Brooks-James is running so much more effectively than Freeman at this point.
Herbert hit Nelson for a first down, then Jalen Brown with an 18-yard strike to get the ball to ASU’s 47,
Brooks-James took the bubble screen inside the 40, then spun for 18 yards on a run over the left side. Herbert kept for five. Pharaoh Brown caught a short pass.
Freeman got stacked up on third and two. Helfrich opted for another field goal and ever-reliable Schneider nailed it from 30 yards. Ducks led 23-14 with the coach taking the sure points.
The third field goal drive brought Herbert’s first half stats to 16-19, 268 yards, two TDs.
The Ducks stuffed a first down quarterback keep and pressured Sterling-Cole into incompletions on second and third down, Mondeaux applying the money down pressure. ASU punted again, Nelson sliding for a fair catch in great field position at the Oregon 40.
The Ducks drew a holding penalty on first down that negated the great starting position. Kani Benoit ran wide for 8 yards. ASU read a screen to Nelson and broke it up. 3rd and 12, Herbert kept left on the quarterback draw to close with 4th and 2.
A flat pass to Johnny Mundt went for a big gain, but Pharaoh Brown got a penalty for a late hit to pull the ball back to the 50. The Ducks did get their first down, at midfield with 3:24 left. Kani Benoit wriggled for four yards.
Herbert retreated from pressure and took a disastrous sack all the way back to the UO 40, 3rd and 20. Benoit got just 8 on another screen and the Ducks had to punt.
A promising drive sputtered by negative plays and a loss of discipline, another “shoot yourself in the foot” penalty.
Ian Wheeler, maybe the most unreliable punter in Oregon history, pooched one for a paltry 28 yards.
On third and long Sterling-Cole got pressured again and sailed a pass, the Ducks Kaulana Apelu snatching it out of the air for an interception.
Pharaoh Brown snared a Herbert pass for a 22-yard completion over the middle, setting the Ducks up inside the ten. Brooks-James ran inside for four. 2nd and goal at the four, Herbert tosses a lob to Pharaoh Brown for a touchdown and a 30-14 lead.
Herbert 20-24 for 320 yards, 3 TDs. P Brown 7 catches 129 yards, 2 touchdowns–his best day as a Duck.
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