CORVALLIS, Ore. -- As expected, Saturday night's game between No. 18 ASU and Oregon State was an old-fashioned western shootout.
In the end, the Sun Devils were able to dodge more bullets and pull out a 42-24 victory in front of 41,374 fans at Reser Stadium.
"We played pretty bad," ASU senior quarterback Sam Keller said. "But to know that we played bad and we can still come out with a win like this is awesome."
ASU (3-1, 1-0 Pac-10) gained 475 yards of total offense, which is more than 100 yards shy of its season average. Oregon State was able to tally 525 total yards on the ASU defense but also had six turnovers that led to 28 points.
"[The defense] played opportunistic," ASU coach Dirk Koetter said. "We felt like we could pressure their quarterback and that eventually we would get some balls that we could get after."
Senior linebacker Jamar Williams made the first interception of the game late in the second quarter, which led to a 1-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Rudy Burgess, giving ASU a 14-0 advantage.
"The quarterback kind of under threw it, so I tipped it to myself and was lucky enough to catch it," said Williams, who returned to action after a one-game team suspension.
After a late second-quarter field goal by Oregon State (2-2, 0-1), the Sun Devils went into the locker room up by 11.
When the two teams came back to the field, the ASU offense and defense came alive.
Keller threw two touchdowns to senior wide receiver Derek Hagan and another to senior wide receiver Matt Miller, while freshman tailback Keegan Herring ran for another, as the Sun Devil offense erupted for 28 third quarter points.
"You can always expect that from our offense," Keller said. "We're always going to explode at some point."
On the defensive side of the ball, Williams and junior cornerback Keno Walter-White each forced a fumble, and ASU recovered both. Meanwhile, senior cornerback Josh Golden intercepted a ball off Oregon State junior quarterback Matt Moore, as the Sun Devils forced three third-quarter turnovers.
"[Oregon State] did a great job of moving the ball on us," Golden said. "But we did a good job of getting the ball out and making turnovers, and that's what let us get a big lead like we did."
ASU scored first, when Keller found a streaking Burgess in the middle of the field for a 49-yard touchdown on the Sun Devils first possession of the game.
"The one to Rudy we game-planned all week," Keller said. "With their safeties flying out, they just leave the middle of the field wide open."
Oregon State scored its first touchdown of the game in the third quarter after senior wide receiver Mike Hass caught a 49-yard pass followed by a 28-yard reception, bringing the ball to the ASU 2-yard line. Sophomore tailback Yvenson Bernard crossed the goal line on the next play, shrinking the Sun Devils' lead to 21-10.
ASU then rattled off 21 unanswered points and went into the final period with a comfortable 32- point lead.
Moore ran for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Oregon State sophomore backup quarterback Ryan Gunderson threw a touchdown with under two minutes remaining to bring the final score to 42-24.
Reach the reporter at thomas.j.kelley@asu.edu.
