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Dixon, Stewart lead Oregon to rout of Arizona State

Sep 30, 2006 - 11:05 PM TEMPE, Arizona (Ticker) -- There was nothing controversial about Oregon's latest win.

Dennis Dixon threw three touchdowns and Jonathan Stewart rushed for 142 yards as No. 14 Oregon cruised to a 48-13 victory over Arizona State in what turned into a Pac-10 Conference mismatch.

Two weeks ago, Oregon scored twice in the final 72 seconds to rally for a dramatic and disputed 34-33 victory over then-No. 15 Oklahoma. However, the Ducks were aided by a controversial onside kick they recovered, leading to a one-game suspension for the Pac-10 game officials.

Behind an efficient offense led by Dixon and Stewart and a swarming defense, the Ducks (4-0, 2-0 Pac-10) took all the suspense out of this one quickly as they built a 24-3 halftime lead.

Dixon threw touchdown passes of 13 and 33 yards to Jaison Williams in the first quarter to get the Ducks off to the early lead in the sweltry conditions, where the game-time temperature was 102 degrees.

In the first half, the Ducks held a 327-119 advantage in total yards. Defensively, they sacked Rudy Carpenter five times and held the Sun Devils without a conversion on third down in eight attempts.

The Ducks finished with a 574-175 cushion in total yards and had 28 first downs, compared to nine for the Sun Devils.

Dixon added a two-yard TD pass to Jordan Kent early in the fourth quarter to push the advantage to 38-13. The junior departed shortly thereafter and finished 19-of-30 for 215 yards without a turnover.

"We threw it a lot, really more than we thought we would," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "That gives credit to our offensive line, because I don't think he was pressured hardly at all. They are doing a tremendous job of allowing us to run our offense."

Stewart did his damage on just 12 carries en route to his third straight 100-yard game of the season. He was coming off a 144-yard effort in the win over Oklahoma.

Williams had 10 catches for 137 yards for Oregon, which should receive a stern test next week at No. 20 California.

"They (ASU) are a really good team," Williams said. "They have had some tough breaks, but we have to capitalize on that. Right now I feel like all our facets of our offense are coming together, because it took us three games to get there and I think we finally got it."

One of the few bright spots for the Sun Devils (3-2, 0-2) was Terry Richardson, who returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

After allowing a total of 38 points in their 3-0 start, the Sun Devils have given up 97 in two conference losses. They were coming off last week's 49-21 destruction at California.

"I apologize to our fans. We should be paying them to make them sit through that, that's embarrassing," Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter said. "It's the second-worst game I've been involved with in my life, and I apologize."

Carpenter, who won the starting job over junior Sam Keller, who has since transferred to Nebraska, endured a miserable afternoon under the blazing sunshine. The sophomore completed just 6-of-19 passes for 33 yards and an interception.

"If I can put my finger on it, it wouldn't happen," Carpenter said. "I do not know what is going on. I do know that we are not playing well as a team right now. I do know that we need to start practicing better. There is no one to blame, except us."