No. 4 Arizona State 29, Oregon State 14
November 2, 1996Parker Stadium
Attendance: 21,946
Weather: 50 degrees, sunny
It was a perfect fall afternoon for the Oregon State Beavers. The air was cold, the wishbone was cranking out yard after punishing yard and the fourth-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils were on their collective heels.
For a half, at least. ASU spotted the Beavers a 14-6 lead before rallying in the second half for a hard-fought, 29-14 win before 21,946 at Parker Stadium.
The Sun Devils improved to 9-0, 6-0 in the Pac-10. OSU fell to 1-7, 1-5 in conference play. The victory put Arizona State within one win of its second trip to the Rose Bowl. The Sun Devils could clinch the trip to Pasadena with a win against California in their home finale.
"This was a business-type trip and we treated it like one," ASU head coach Bruce Snyder said. "I knew how tough it was going to be. That's why I'm so proud that we were able to screw it down at halftime and say 'Hey, we're going to win this thing.'"
The first half was a tough pill for the Sun Devils to swallow. ASU headed into the lockerroom down 14-9 after yielding a whopping 245 yards on the ground. The leading offensive juggernaut in the Pac-10 had managed just three Robert Nycz field goals. Somebody had to give ASU a lift.
Oregon State teed the ball up and booted it down the field to start the second stanza. Starting tailback Terry Battle fielded the opening kickoff, thought about downing it, then decided to run.
"When I first caught it, I thought I was in the end zone and I was thinking about taking a knee," Battle said. "Then I looked down and saw I was standing on the goal line so I just took off."
Exactly 100 yards and 14 seconds later, the Sun Devils had the lead back, 15-14. It was Battle's second kickoff return for a score on the season, a new ASU record. The 100 yards also tied a Sun Devil record.
"I knew I had to step it up and change the momentum," Battle said.
Mission accomplished. After Battle gave them the lead, the Sun Devils literally ran away from the Beavers, outgaining OSU 186-64 in the second half despite completing just one pass.
Battle around the left end. Battle around the right end. Fullback Jeff Paulk up the middle. It wasn't the Jake Plummer aerial assault that Sun Devils had grown accustomed to, but it was just as effective against the Beavers.
"We decided we could win it with the run," Snyder said. "I don't know if it's conservative when your tailback is getting 30 yards a run. Heck, that's better than a pass to me."
Battle again lit a fire under ASU at the eight minute mark of the third quarter. The junior tailback rumbled 50 yards around right tackle to the Beaver 13. Two plays later, Marlon Farlow scored from four yards out to give ASU a little breathing room at 22-14.
Meanwhile, a Sun Devil defense that was mauled early made some adjustments and slowed the Beaver rushing attack to a virtual mosey. OSU went three plays and out on five occasions in the second half. The Beavers' longest rush was 18 yards, and that was when they were buried at their own 13. OSU twice ventured into Sun Devil territory but could not get past the 40.
"They run several kinds of options and we weren't sure which one to expect," linebacker Scott Von der Ahe said. "We made some changes at the half and they were pretty much successful."
Once the ASU defense figured the option out, the Beavers had to air it out, a philosophy they do not exactly embrace. OSU, ranked 106 out of 111 Division I teams, completed just five of 16 passes for 20 yards. Strong safety Damien Richardson intercepted a Tim Alexander pass and returned it 51 yards to the OSU 2 late, setting up a Battle scoring run that iced the game.
And ASU kept running. Battle ended the day with a career-high 190 yards on 21 carries, bringing his three-start total to 459 yards. He also broke a school record with 317 all-purpose yards. Paulk (yes, Jeff Paulk the flyback) rushed for a career-high 114 yards, including a 52-yarder and a 35-yard run that helped eat up some more clock late in the game.
"It's exciting to get out in the open field," Paulk said. "I really don't know what to do."
Considering he entered the game with 46 yards on the season, Paulk can be forgiven for his lack of open-field knowledge. But on a day when Plummer completed just 11 passes (for 146 yards) and was sacked four times, ASU welcomed a new offensive weapon.
The Sun Devils got on the board first with a pair of Nycz field goals for a 6-0 lead. But OSU drove 43 yards on five plays - all runs - on its first possession of the second quarter to grab a 7-6 lead.
The Beavers got the ball back at their own 11 and marched to the ASU 48. From there, Alexander, who had missed the last four games, ran the option left and sprinted all the way to the end zone to give the Beavers an eight-point lead.
But ASU held from there, giving the seniors an opportunity to wrap up the conference crown in their final home game.
"We can lock it up next Saturday," Plummer said.
Game Notes- ASU moved to 9-0 for the first time since 1982.
- Terry Battle broke two school records (all-purpose yards in one game, kickoff returns for a touchdown in one season) and tied another (longest kickoff return).
- Battle (190 yards) and Jeff Paulk (114) set career highs for rushing yardage.
- The Sun Devils trailed at the half for the second time this season.
- ASU remained fourth in the AP Poll and the USA Today/CNN Coaches' Poll.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Arizona State | 3 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 29 |
| Oregon State | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Scoring |
| First Quarter |
| ASU (4:35)- Robert Nycz 27-yard field goal. Drive: 8 plays, 73 yards, 3:03 |
| Second Quarter |
| ASU (14:11)- Robert Nycz 41-yard field goal. Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 1:27 |
| OSU (12:10)- Akili King 6-yard run (Stuckey kick) Drive: 5 plays, 43 yards, 2:01 |
| OSU (5:48)- Tim Alexander 48-yard run (Stuckey kick) Drive: 6 plays, 89 yards, 2:52 |
| ASU (0:48)- Robert Nycz 31-yard field goal. Drive: 7 plays, 37 yards, 1:33 |
| Third Quarter |
| ASU (14:45)- Terry Battle 100-yard kickoff return (pass failed) |
| ASU (6:53)- Marlon Farlow 3-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 4 plays, 79 yards, 1:30 |
| Fourth Quarter |
| ASU (2:20)- Terry Battle 2-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 1 play, 2 yards, 0:02 |
| Rushing | Att | Yards | Average | TD |
| Oregon State | ||||
| Tim Alexander | 21 | 153 | 7.3 | 1 |
| Darron Kirkman | 14 | 82 | 5.9 | |
| Akili King | 10 | 50 | 5.0 | 1 |
| DeShawn Williams | 8 | 24 | 3.0 | |
| Arizona State | ||||
| Terry Battle | 21 | 190 | 9.0 | 1 |
| Jeff Paulk | 11 | 114 | 10.4 | |
| Marlon Farlow | 5 | 11 | 2.2 | 1 |
| Ricky Boyer | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | |
| Jake Plummer | 8 | -28 | -3.5 |
| Passing | Comp | Att | Yards | Int | TD |
| Oregon State | |||||
| Tim Alexander | 5 | 16 | 20 | 1 | |
| Arizona State | |||||
| Jake Plummer | 11 | 22 | 146 |
| Receiving | Rec | Yards | TD |
| Oregon State | |||
| DeShawn Williams | 3 | 6 | |
| Joe Kuykendall | 1 | 10 | |
| Darron Kirkman | 1 | 4 | |
| Arizona State | |||
| Lenzie Jackson | 5 | 55 | |
| Terry Battle | 2 | 22 | |
| Keith Poole | 2 | 22 | |
| Devin Kendall | 1 | 11 | |
| Steve Bush | 1 | 36 |
| ASU | Oregon State | |
| Total First Downs |
17 | 16 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 3-15 (20%) | 2-14 (14%) |
| Total Net Yards | 443 | 329 |
| Total Offensive Plays | 68 | 69 |
| Net Yards Rushing | 297 | 309 |
| Total Yards Passing | 146 | 20 |
| Punts- Number and Average | 6-34.0 | 9-33.8 |
| Penalties- Number and Yards | 2-19 | 5-36 |
| Fumbles- Number and Lost | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Time of Possession | 27:36 | 32:24 |