Bralon Addison (11) and the Ducks' offense flew high in the win over Arizona State. (Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Versatile quarterback Marcus Mariota threw one touchdown pass, caught another and ran for a third to help No. 3 Oregon steamroll Arizona State 43-21 Thursday in a game matching the Pac-12 division leaders at Sun Devil Stadium.
Kenjon Barner rushed for 143 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Ducks (7-0, 4-0 Pac-12) won their eighth consecutive game in the series. Oregon won its 12th straight road game, the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Mariota, who rushed for 135 yards on 10 carries, threw a touchdown pass midway through the first quarter, caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Bryan Bennett late in the first quarter and scored on an 86-yard option run with 12:26 left in the first half.
The last two scores came when Oregon scored four touchdowns in a 4-minute, 11-second span to open a 43-7 lead with 11:33 remaining in the first half. Barner scored two of his touchdowns in that stretch, during which Arizona State ran only seven plays.
The Ducks have scored at least 42 points in 10 consecutive games.
Arizona State (5-2, 3-1) entered the game giving up an average of 272.7 yards per game, ranked first in the Pac-12, but Oregon had 325 yards total offense midway through the second quarter and finished with 454. The Ducks had 406 rushing yards.
Sun Devils sophomore quarterback Taylor Kelly threw a 28-yard yard touchdown pass four plays into the game but finished only 10-for-18 for 93 yards and a touchdown. Kelly, who entered the game with a conference-leading 175.98 efficiency rating, threw two interceptions and had a streak of 102 passes without an interception broken on the first play of the second quarter, setting up a Barner touchdown.
Arizona scored two touchdowns in the final 9:33, on Anthony Jones’ 36-yard interception return and backup quarterback Michael Eubank’s 23-yard pass to D.J. Foster.
Each team scored early, although only Oregon kept it up.
Arizona State scored on its first play from scrimmage when Kelly threw a 28-yard pass to Kevin Ozier only 49 seconds into the game. Sun Devils defensive end Davon Coleman recovered a fumble on the Ducks’ second play of the game.
Barner ran 71 yards up the middle for a touchdown on the second play of the Ducks’ second possession, and punter Jackson Rice, lined up in the shotgun formation, completed a pass to placekicker Rob Beard for a two-point conversion and an 8-7 lead.
The Ducks went 74 and 78 yards on their next two drives for a 22-7 lead after the first quarter. That sequence began after Arizona State missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt. Mariota threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Bralon Addison with 7:03 left in the quarter, and then caught a short TD pass with 1:11 left.
Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu intercepted a Kelly pass on Arizona State’s next series, and Barner scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard run with 14:04 left in the half. After Arizona State was forced to punt, Mariota ran 86 yards untouched to score on an option play over the right side.
Kelly threw his second interception, and Barner scored from the 1-yard line two plays later. That gave the Ducks a 43-7 lead at halftime.
NOTES: Both Arizona State’s Kelly and Oregon’s Mariota were added to the Manning Award watch list earlier this week. The award goes to the nation’s top quarterback. Kelly and Mariota entered the game Nos. 1 and 2 in passing efficiency in the Pac-12, respectively. … With his first-quarter touchdown, Barner passed Ahmad Rashad and Greg McCallum for fourth place in school history in scoring with 228 points. … Arizona State junior defensive tackle Will Sutton, who forced the fumble that set up Kelly’s first touchdown pass, was helped off the field with an apparent right knee injury and did not return. Sutton had 8 1/2 sacks in the first six games, the third-best total in the FBS.
