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For the third straight week, the Sun Devils started fast and built and early lead, and for the third straight week ASU comes out on the losing end. The Sun Devils built a 14-3 lead in the first quarter, but the Oregon State Beavers chipped away and eventually tied the game at 19 by halftime.
The second half belonged to Oregon State, as the Sun Devils got outscored 17-7 in the final 30 minutes and succumbed to the Beavers by a final score of 36-26. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Saturday night's game.
The Good
The Fast Start
The Sun Devils got an early turnover and touchdown on defense, and on their first offensive possession, went nine plays and punched the ball into the endzone. ASU led 14-3 at one point and everything was going right for the Sun Devils.
Arizona State now has a history of starting fast, as they have scored on their first offensive possession in their past three games. It was important for the Sun Devils to gain some confidence early and they did that.
The Defensive Line
The defensive line was constantly penetrating the Oregon State backfield. Will Sutton showed little rust in his return and Carl Bradford had another solid game.
Freshman DT Jaxon Hood played what might have been his best game of the season. When ASU had its starting unit in, the OSU offensive line had a hard time defending them.
The Bad
Kelly played his worst game of the 2012 season. Kelly was surprisingly inaccurate against Oregon State, posting a 54% completion percentage and throwing an interception. Kelly missed open receivers all night and made questionable decision, trying to force the ball into tight spaces.
Kelly averaged just 3.7 yards per completion against Oregon State, as the Sun Devils struggled to get the ball down field. Kelly did have 80 rushing yards and made some plays with his feet, however Kelly tried to force things too many times.
The Running Game
The three Sun Devil running backs totaled just 78 rushing yards. The running backs were not utilized as much as we are used to, as Taylor Kelly led the Sun Devils in rushing and tied for the most carries.
It seemed like ASU went away from the running game in the second half as the Sun Devils only attempted 32 rushes all night, 13 of them from the quarterbacks. D.J. Foster only mustered 22 rushing yards and Cameron Marshall only got 10 carries.
The Ugly
The ASU Secondary
The Sun Devils allowed touchdown passes of 50 and 49 yards against Oregon State as junior Cody Vaz threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Two Oregon State wide receivers had over 100 yards receiving Markus Wheaton with 108 and Brandin Cooks with 116.
The Second Half
After Arizona State kicked a field goal with 12:56 to play in the second quarter, Oregon State rattled off 26 consecutive points in the second half. The Beavers led 36-19, before ASU scored a meaningless touchdown with 22 seconds left.
On their first seven drives of the second half, the ASU offense punted five times, along with an interception and a missed field goal. Meanwhile, Oregon State had two touchdowns and a field goal in their first five second half possessions.