CORVALLIS, Ore. – Arizona State looks to end its first three-game losing streak of the Herm Edwards era on Saturday against host Oregon State, which is two wins away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2013. The Sun Devils opened the season with a 5-1 mark before falling out of the Pac-12 title race with losses to Utah, UCLA and USC.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Arizona State -3
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Quarterback Joey Yellen started in place of fellow freshman Jayden Daniels last week and finished 28-of-44 for 292 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions in the Sun Devils’ 31-26 loss to USC. Daniels suffered a knee injury two weeks ago against UCLA and is listed as day-to-day for Arizona State, whose trend of falling behind early continued last Saturday when USC scored on its first four possessions. “We’ve got to stop doing this to ourselves,” Edwards told reporters. “We’re getting behind in games too early and it becomes very, very difficult to play uphill. And we’ve done that the last two games we’ve played.” Oregon State saw its two-game winning streak come to an end with last week’s 19-7 loss to Washington and could struggle to move the ball again versus the Sun Devils, who are allowing 22.2 points per game.
ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12)
Wide receiver Kyle Williams extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 37 in last week’s loss to USC while fellow senior Brandon Aiyuk finished with 220 all-purpose yards. The offense also boasts one of the most reliable running backs in the country in 5-10 junior Eno Benjamin, who is fourth in the Pac-12 with seven rushing touchdowns and ranks eighth in the league with 109.22 all-purpose yards per game. Safety Evan Fields has 55 tackles and an interception to lead the defense, which has allowed just one fourth-quarter touchdown over the past six games.
ABOUT OREGON STATE (4-5, 3-3)
The Beavers are eager to erase the memory of last week, when they finished with 119 total yards of offense against Washington and had the ball for only 9:35 in the second half. Quarterback Jake Luton threw for 88 yards and was sacked four times as the Huskies dominated the line of scrimmage and held the Beavers to 1-for-13 on third down. The few bright spots came on defense, where freshman Omar Speights posted 18 tackles and fellow linebacker Hamilcar Rashed Jr. continued to impress with six tackles.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Arizona State has won four of the last six meetings against the Beavers and holds a 28-13-1 lead in the all-time series.
2. Oregon State is the only team in the nation not to lose a fumble this season.
3. Arizona State has played eight total games decided by four points or less since the start of last season.
PREDICTION: Oregon State 31, Arizona State 28