Arizona State raced to a huge early lead, withstood a couple of Oregon State rallies, and pulled away to 52-24 win Saturday night, led by Eno Benjamin, who ran for 312 yards and 3 touchdowns, and caught 3 passes for 27 more yards, and another score.
Oregon State was uncompetitive until the middle of the second quarter in the 98 degree heat at kickoff in Tempe (which was still in the mid 90s at game’s end). Arizona State scored on their first 3 possessions, facing only token isolated resistance, and built a 17-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter, on Benjamin’s second score of the night, below. Meanwhile, Oregon State quarterback Conor Blount fumbled on 2 first quarter possessions, and was taking a pounding.
The Sun Devils extended the lead to 24-3 by midway in the second period, on a 47 yard Benjamin scoring run, before the Beavers finally got going.