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So yeah. That was rough. Is it really just because of Sutton and Onyeali going out? I guess it's hard to gameplan for them not being out there.
Rich Gray, Bold Saguaros: Yes, the injuries to Sutton and Onyeali certainly hurt, but anyone thinking that their presence in the lineup would have changed the outcome of last week's game is fooling themselves. Tackling has been one of ASU's biggest problems on defense all season, and the Ducks exposed that weakness in a big way. The Sun Devils linebackers (Chris Young, Carl Bradford and Brandon Magee) were nowhere to be found on Thursday, which contributed to huge running lanes for Marcus Mariota, Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas.
Brad Denny, House of Sparky: No way. Regardless of who was in their for ASU, the Ducks would have still run away with the game. Sure, it may have been "more competitive", but Oregon is so far above everyone else in the Pac-12 that the end result would have been the same.
Was there anything encouraging to take from that game?
Rich Gray, Bold Saguaros: Look, I can sit here and try to lie and say there was, but that would be rude. ASU has a long way to go to compete with Oregon. I do believe in what Todd Graham is doing, so I guess that's encouraging. I think it's just better the flush to loss from memory and focus on the remaining schedule and becoming bowl eligible. The worst thing would be for the Sun Devils fall apart down the stretch like last season.
Brad Denny, House of Sparky: The major positive is that the Sun Devils fought hard the entire game and didn't take a play off. In previous seasons, that would not have been the case. So there's that ... and ... that's about it.