Tempe, AZ – Aloha meant touchdown for Marcus Mariota on Thursday.
The Hawaiian-born Oregon freshman quarterback caught, rushed and threw for a touchdown in the Ducks' 43-21 rout of Arizona State.
Mariota was 9-of-12 through the air for 46 yards and ran for 135 yards on 10 carries for Oregon (7-0, 4-0 Pac-12), which ran all over the Sun Devils in the opening half and took a commanding 43-7 advantage into the break.
The Ducks, who totaled 406 yards on the ground, have defeated Arizona State eight consecutive times.
Kenjon Barner carried the ball 16 times for 143 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
Taylor Kelly was 10-of-18 for 93 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, while freshman Michael Eubank completed 10-of-19 passes for 123 yards with a score and two picks for the Sun Devils (5-2, 3-1), who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
"We do have a good football team, but we got beat by a really, really good football team tonight," Arizona State head coach Todd Graham said. "There's no doubt in my mind, they're one of the best, if not the best team in the country."
Facing its first true road test of the year, Mariota fumbled on Oregon's second play of the game, which led to an Arizona State touchdown on its first offensive snap when Kelly found Kevin Ozier for a 28-yard score down the right sideline.
"They came out and scored, but the one thing I love about this team is that they don't flinch," Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. "We talk about playing a full game and this team bounced back."
Nothing else went wrong for the Ducks.
Oregon quickly countered on the second play of its ensuing trek as Barner exploded through the middle of the line for a 71-yard score. The two-point conversion was successful and gave the Ducks a 8-7 margin.
After Alex Garoutte missed a 43-yard field goal on the Sun Devils' next touch, Mariota, who picked up a 4th-and-3 with a 14-yard scamper earlier in the possession, completed the lengthy 14-play, 74-yard trek with a 6-yard fade pass to Bralon Addison in the back right corner of the end zone.
An Arizona State three-and-out preceded another prolonged march by the Ducks.
On 3rd-and-goal from the Sun Devils' 2-yard line, backup quarterback Bryan Bennett took over under center and scrambled along the left edge. With two Arizona State defenders closing in, Bennett flipped a TD pass to Mariota, who lined up as a wide receiver to cap the 15-play, 78-yard drive.
Oregon's next three scoring drives weren't as elongated.
Boseko Lokombo intercepted Kelly on the third play of Arizona State's ensuing possession and returned it 21 yards before Barner plunged in from a yard out on the third play of the trek.
Following another Arizona State three-and-out, Mariota broke off an 86-yard TD run on the second play of the Ducks' next drive.
Avery Patterson picked off Kelly on the second snap of the Sun Devils' next march and returned it 34 yards down to the Arizona State 1-yard line before Barner found the end zone on the very next play for a 43-7 edge with 11:33 to play in the second quarter.
Anthony Jones brought back an interception 36 yards for a score and Eubank found D.J. Foster for a 23-yard score in the fourth quarter to conclude the scoring.
Game Notes
Oregon has outscored Arizona State 219-102 during its five-game winning streak in Tempe ... Barner has rushed for 460 of his 870 yards in the last three contests.
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