For a night that was supposed to be dedicated to one of the most iconic defensive players in Pac-12 history, Thursday's game saw none of it.
That was, until the game's final play.
A play that in all likelihood should not have happened.
Yet, as ASU redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici dropped back in triple overtime in an attempt a pass to redshirt junior Tim White, he met another target — Oregon sophomore cornerback Arrion Springs.
INTERCEPTION. OREGON WINS! pic.twitter.com/FgmwwkgU0w
— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) October 30, 2015
The fateful interception sealed a 61-55 triple overtime win for Oregon (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) over the Sun Devils (4-4, 2-3 Pac-12) Thursday night, souring the mood on a night intended to honor ASU great Pat Tillman.
It was all too predictable in the chain of bizarre events that have shaped ASU's nightmare season thus far. The running game, which had dominated en route to 344 total yards behind two 100-yard rushers, fell quiet in overtime. In its place came a play eerily similar to the end of another dramatic game played in the state of Arizona this year — Super Bowl XLIX.
ASU sophomore running back Demario Richard, who had 135 rushing yards and two total touchdowns to that point, could only watch as Bercovici's pass found the wrong team's hands.
Springs jumped the route by a combination of instinct and studying the ASU calls, Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said.
"At that point you have four downs, and they are going to go with their best play," Helfrich said. "Had two on two coverage and we made two great plays on the ball and they are probably saying that their X is going to be our O on that one on one situation and proud of the Os."
Bercovici said he had no problems with the call — just the execution.
"As a quarterback you need to make sure a ball gets completed or thrown away," Bercovici said. "It's on me at the end of the game, putting the ball in jeopardy like that.
"It was man coverage. The play was a simple slant and a fade and I decided to throw the slant. I can't make that mistake."
For some, including offensive coordinator Mike Norvell — whose offense performed the best it had all season — the choice was to put the ball in the hands of the program's face in Bercovici.
With not Richard nor Ballage seeing a single touch in the three overtime sessions — 23 plays — several critics may beg to differ that it was the right call.
Hindsight is, of course, crystal clear.
By all accounts the game was exciting — from its final play to the 1,243 total yards of offense and 111 points by the two teams.
Thursday night came at a cost for ASU, a stark departure from the disciplined defensive front it had prided itself on.
"Man, that was a heck of a football game," ASU head coach Todd Graham said. "But at the end of the day, we made too many mistakes to win."
You could say that again.
The offense rattled off a 742 total yards and ran 108 plays, but it lost the turnover battle two to one, with a pair of close calls mixed in.
The defense brought less pressure than usual and struggled to bring down Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.
"We had the quarterback dead to rights and couldn't get him down," Graham said. "I mean, you got them fourth and whatever it was, 12, 11. We got him dead to rights in the backfield. Guy scrambles around, bounces off of us, throws up a prayer. One guy comes off his man. Got to stay on your man, you know. So that was pretty disheartening."
The special teams unit followed up one of its best performances with one of its worst, with junior kicker Zane Gonzalez missing a career-high three field goals and the Sun Devil kickoff coverage team allowing a 100-yard return by sophomore Charles Nelson.
Discipline was an issue, with the team putting together a season-high 10 penalties.
"We had, I think, 10 penalties," Graham said. "I think nine were recorded but we had 10, they declined one, and penalties cost us. Undisciplined things. Punching somebody after the whistle. We've never gotten one penalty like that since I've been here."
Thursday was filled with what Graham calls "critical errors," plays that flip the game on its head. They're internal, correctable issues that one should fix with self-reflection and hard work.
Against the Ducks, they just had one too many.
As Tillman once said, it is on the individual to move forward once they have been knocked down.
"A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of your sick or the return of your absent friend, or some other favorable event raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you," Tillman said. "Do not believe it. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.”
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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