Justin Herbert guides Oregon Ducks over Arizona State for first Pac-12 win
Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert was treated to fans chanting his name when he left the field on Saturday.
Welcome to the win column, kid.
The poised true freshman threw for 489 yards and four touchdowns and Oregon snapped a five-game losing streak with a 54-35 victory over Arizona State.
“I think the best part was the win,” Herbert said afterward. “I’m just glad that we got the win. It meant a lot to our team and a lot to our coaches.”
Pharaoh Brown caught seven passes for a career-best 129 yards and two touchdowns as the Ducks (3-5, 1-4 Pac-12) finally got a conference win and appeared to snap out of their prolonged funk.
Herbert, making his third career start after taking over the job from graduate transfer Dakota Prukop, has scored 12 touchdowns over that span. Herbert’s passing yards against the Sun Devils matched Bill Musgrave’s record of 489 set against BYU in 1989.
Herbert tossed a short pass to Brown, who took off down the sidelines and stiff-armed the last defender for a 75-yard touchdown on the Ducks’ first series of the game. It was his ninth touchdown pass: Last weekend he tied the school record with six TD passes in a 49-52 overtime loss at California.
“He’s just going out there and having fun,” coach Mark Helfrich said. “And the guys are certainly rallying around him.”
Herbert said afterward his progress has been a matter of feeling more comfortable with his receivers.
“I think a lot of it was timing with the receivers,” he said. “I hadn’t practiced with the No. 1 guys as much as I would have liked to.”
The Sun Devils (5-4, 2-4) also started a freshman at quarterback. Dillon Sterling-Cole was pressed into service in last weekend’s 37-32 loss to Washington State after Manny Wilkins was injured.
Sterling-Cole passed for 302 yards and his first career touchdown, but he also threw three interceptions. Kalen Ballage ran for 62 yards and two scores, including a 15-yard run that got the Sun Devils within 30-22 in the third quarter.
Sterling-Cole’s first career TD pass was a 9-yarder to fellow freshman N’Keal Harry that drew the Sun Devils closer at 33-28 early in the fourth quarter. But Herbert hit Johnny Mundt with a 53-yard scoring pass.
After Arizona State capitalized on an Oregon fumble, returning it 45 yards, Ballage tossed a 3-yard scoring pass to Kody Kohl with 6:39 left. The Ducks again answered with Tony Brooks-James’ 58-yard scoring run. Royce Freeman added a late 10-yard rushing TD for the final margin.