by Justin Gaither, Sun Devil media relations intern
TEMPE, Ariz. - Coming off consecutive losses following a 2-0 start, Herm Edwards got the Sun Devils (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) back on track Saturday night with a 52-24 win over the Oregon State Beavers (1-4, 0-2 Pac-12).
The Devils were led primarily by the effort of sophomore running back Eno Benjamin, who had a monster game rushing for 312 yards and three touchdowns while also hauling in three catches for 27 yards and another score.
The 312-yard mark set a new Arizona State single-game rushing record and placed Benjamin eighth on the all-time Pac-12 single-game rushing list.
"It was a great feeling," Benjamin said of his thoughts on the performance. "Honestly we had a game plan and we knew we were going to run the ball on them. We went through practice and we executed. If you saw the way we practiced this week you would have known it was going to happen and it's just a testament to our offensive line."
The Benjamin-led offense drew first blood in the contest, orchestrating a 15-play, 64-yard drive which resulted in Brandon Ruiz's sixth field goal of the season putting the Devils up 3-0.
After partially blocking an Oregon State punt on the next drive, the Devils started off with great field position which led to a 44-yard Eno Benjamin touchdown, a personal best, that extended the lead to 10-0 just over ten minutes into the game.
The offense didn't stop there, tacking on another touchdown on their next drive in the form of a touchdown pass from Wilkins to Benjamin. The score notched Wilkins' 40th career touchdown pass and gave ASU a 17-0 lead just moments into the second quarter.
.@eno_benjamin5 doing it all tonight ¯\_(?)_/¯
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 30, 2018
?? provided by @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/1IvjqwlnTA
After a field goal from the Beavers to make it a 14-point game, Benjamin once again took matters into his own hands as the Texas native broke another personal record-setting carry, taking it 47 yards to make it 24-3 halfway through the second.
From there, the Devils allowed the Beavers to score two unanswered touchdowns to make it a one score game with just over a minute left to play in the half. However, the Oregon State comeback wouldn't surpass that mark as the Devils marched down field in just 50 seconds to score a touchdown of their own and make the score 31-17 going into the half.
After carrying the offense for the majority of the half, Benjamin ended the second quarter with 185 rushing yards, an Arizona State record for any half of football.
The second half got off to a similar start as the first one, but from another standout Sun Devil, as N'Keal Harry made a 21-yard catch to put ASU in prime position and then ran it in himself from six yards out to extend the lead to 38-17.
Although, somewhat quiet in the first half, Harry was very noticeable in the second half, ending up with 84 receiving yards on five catches and a touchdown. He also nearly made a one-handed snag in the end zone in addition to his rushing touchdown.
The Sparky formation is SOOO back ?? pic.twitter.com/7iRPSY7xAm
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 30, 2018
The following 10 minutes were rather inauspicious for the Devils, allowing another Beaver touchdown to make it 38-24 and then turning the ball over on downs to give Oregon State good field position.
The next defensive drive proved crucial for the Devils as they showed flashes of greatness in the form of a goal line stop on fourth down that turned the tides once again in ASU's favor.
"We had an issue against San Diego State taking the momentum away," redshirt junior linebacker Malik Lawal said when asked about the defense's fourth down stand. "We went out on the field and had a game plan and got it done this time around."
That boost was all they needed to bury the Beavers, as a familiar face, Eno Benjamin, led the offense down the field en route to another rushing touchdown to make it 45-25 ASU.
It was during this series that Benjamin broke the all-time Arizona State school rushing record, eclipsing 250 yards on a 20-yard first down run.
The next series saw the Beavers once again turn the ball over on downs, clearing the way for Benjamin to run his way right into the Pac-12 record books, as he rushed for 28 yards on the drive to finish with 312 and the eighth-spot on the single-game rushing list.
"All of our running backs do a really good job," redshirt senior quarterback Manny Wilkins added. "Eno just reaped the benefits tonight, but really it's just all credit to the offensive line."
The drive was capped off, as so many are, with a Wilkins 41-yard touchdown pass to Harry to move the score to 52-24, where it would stay when the final whistle blew.
Throw it up, and @NkealHarry15 will go get it ?? pic.twitter.com/9B0ioZaFMF
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 30, 2018
The win broke a two-game losing streak and got the Devils back over .500 moving them to 3-2 heading into next week's road game against Colorado.
"Any time you come off two straight losses, it's good to get a win to get some momentum rolling," Wilkins said. "Now what we have to do is go on the road and win versus a really good football team."
Coach Edwards and the Sun Devils will head to Boulder to take on the undefeated Buffaloes with kickoff set for 1:00 pm Arizona time on Pac-12 Network.
For ASU, they will look to beat Colorado for the second straight season, and for Coach Edwards, he will look to get his first Pac-12 South win on the heels of his first ever Pac-12 win.
"We're really good at home," Coach Edwards put it bluntly. "We have to find what we need to do on the road to win a football game."