Oregon vs ASU Review

There were a lot of things that I expected and a lot of things I did not. The score was eerily close to my prediction(38-21), but certainly not in the manner in which I guessed.

Things that went as expected

• The Ducks did struggle early on. For approximately one minute and twelve seconds. 
• The Sun Devils were as blitz happy as ever. Getting to Mariota and causing a fumble on the second play of the game definitely seemed like the realization of our fears for this game, even if just for a moment.
• Kenjon Barner had a monster night. 143 yards and 3 touchdowns.
• The Ducks did utilize the running game and a lot of it. 406 of their 454 yards were on the ground.
• The ball hawking secondary was up to it again. 4 different players with an interception for Oregon against a QB who hadn't had an interception all season.

Things that did not go as expected

• DeAnthony Thomas was held to a puzzling 25 yards on 12 carries. I believe that this knocks him squarely out of the Heisman Race, but that doesn't mean the Ducks should necessarily fret. More on that in a coming post.
• Players who got more yards on less carries than DAT: Marcus Mariota - Byron Marshall - Bryan Bennett.
• Colt Lyerla played virtually no role - walked off at half with a slight limp.
• The Ducks absolutely manhandled the ASU defense, do not let the final score fool you. More on that to come.

MVP

Barner is a strong candidate, but Marcus Mariota just astounds me. After coughing up the ball and the lead, he calmly responds by leading the ducks to 43 unanswered points. He did not have the struggles I thought he would in this game going 9 of 12 passing and rushing for 135 yards. He now holds the longest rushing play all year on an 86 yard TD run. Also, assuming no other QB has a freakishly good weekend, he will now be the #1 rated QB in the conference. On top of that he had 1 passing, 1 rushing, and even 1 receiving touchdown on the night. Can I hear a 2014 Heisman?