Bo Nix, Troy Franklin lead No. 6 Oregon to dominant road win over Arizona State
The No. 6 Oregon Ducks made a statement in Tempe on Saturday and delivered one of their more impressive offensive showings of the season.
The Ducks (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12) topped Arizona State, 49-13, at Mountain American Stadium in their final road game of the regular season. Bo Nix went 24-for-29 with 404 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. Troy Franklin caught eight passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
Gary Bryant Jr. had three receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown, and Tez Johnson caught six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. Junior tight end Patrick Herbert had a career-high 78 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions.
In terms of total offense, Oregon out-gained Arizona State 603 yards to 316.
The Ducks scored on their first five drives of the day — all by way of touchdown passes from Nix.
Oregon opened the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Herbert. On the Ducks’ ensuing drive, Nix linked up with Herbert on a short pass and he took it 49 yards to the house for his second touchdown of the day.
From there, the game devolved into a thrashing.
Nix was clinical throughout the remainder of the afternoon and linked up with Franklin, Johnson, and Bryant Jr. for touchdowns against a Sun Devil’s defense that had no answer for the Ducks’ passing attack.
Arizona State was without its two top quarterbacks, and third-stringer Trenton Bourget finished the day 20-for-37 for 142 yards.
The Sun Devils leaned heavily on a “swinging gate” formation that often featured standout running back Cameron Skattebo and tight end Jaylin Conyers under center.
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But Oregon limited Arizona State to just 205 passing yards on 47 passing attempts. True freshman Cole Martin grabbed his first career interception and led the Ducks with five solo tackles.
Midway through the third quarter Ty Thompson took over at quarterback for the Ducks and produced some bright moments. While working with a group of second- and third-string players, Thompson linked up with Casey Kelly for Oregon’s final touchdown of the day.
The Ducks will now set their sights on next Friday’s rivalry showdown with Oregon State in Eugene. When the two teams met at Reser Stadium in Corvallis last season, the Beavers orchestrated a thrilling comeback win to derail Oregon’s Pac-12 title hopes.
Oregon and Oregon State are slated to kick off at 5:30 p.m. PT at Autzen Stadium. The game will air on FOX.
