Seven turnovers forced, two defensive touchdowns and a stellar night by punter Jackson Rice added up to a 42-31 Oregon victory over Arizona State Saturday night in Tempe.

The Sun Devils struck first in a see-saw first half, after missing a 47-yard field goal attempt on their opening drive, ASU held Oregon to a three-and-out.  Six plays into their next possession, running back Deantre Williams broke free for a 53-yard touchdown scamper to put the Ducks in an early 7-0 hole.

The Ducks answered immediately. Darron Thomas connected with receiver Jeff Maehl for five yards to get things started. Josh Huff moved the Ducks into ASU territory taking an end around for 14, then LaMichael James bolted through the Sun Devil defense untouched for 40 yards and a score.

Three plays into ASU's next possession, safety John Boyett stepped in front of the receiver to intercept Steve Threet's pass at the 39 for a pick six and a 14-7 Oregon lead.

After an exchange of punts to open the second quarter, Threet crafted a 12 play, 85-yard drive capped by a 10-yard scoring strike to Mike Willie to knot the score at 14.

The Sun Devils added a field goal, then intercepted a Thomas pass to set up shop deep in Oregon territory. Threet immediately cashed in, finding Kerry Taylor for a 28-yard score to give Arizona State a 24-14 advantage with 3:36 remaining in the opening half.

Oregon's resilient, quick strike offense scored twice in those last three minutes and change. James gained 16 yards to open the drive then Thomas connected with Drew Davis four straight times for gains of 11, 9, 15 and 17 yards to get Oregon to the ASU 12-yard line. Thomas then found Maehl in the end zone to cut the margin to 24-21.

Oregon's defense held to force a punt with 1:12 left, Trevor Hankins 63-yard bomb for a touchback gave the Ducks the ball on their own 20.

A 15-yard personal foul penalty - there were 17 combined penalties for 172 yards on the night - moved the Ducks out to the 35. After throwing incomplete on first down, Thomas found TE David Paulson behind the Arizona State defense for 61 yards, giving Oregon a first and goal on the four.

Coming out of an ASU timeout, the Sun Devil defense was slow to line up and Thomas burned them with a quick snap and a keeper around the left side for a 28-24 halftime lead.

Disaster almost struck in the opening seconds of the second half, Cliff Harris fumbled on the kick return and ASU recovered on the Oregon 19-yard line.

ASU advanced the ball to the Oregon two but Nick Aliotti's bend-but-don't-break defense lived up to their reputation, forcing and recovering a fumble to end the threat. It was a theme that would resonate throughout the second half.

Thomas and Josh Huff took quick advantage of the good defensive work, combining for a 54-yard touchdown at the 10 minute mark to push the Oregon advantage to 35-24.

After an exchange of punts, Oregon's defense struck again. Threet's pass attempt - which was ruled and later confirmed to be a lateral - to Cameron Marshall fell to the turf and Boseko Lokombo picked up the loose ball and ran 31 yards for the touchdown completing a 28-0 Oregon scoring streak.

Threet and Willie teamed up for another 15-yard touchdown with just under five minutes left in the third quarter to end the scoring for the night.

Not that the ASU didn't threaten. Three times in the fourth quarter the Sun Devils advanced into Oregon territory, but each drive ended with an Oregon interception.

At the Oregon 20 and in the face of an Oregon blitz, Threet's pass attempt was off his back foot, allowing Talmadge Jackson to step in front of the intended receiver for the interception, ending the threat.

With their next possession, the Sun Devils advanced to the Oregon 26 before Casey Matthews dropped back into a zone read and picked off Threet once again midway through the final quarter.

Oregon was able to burn nearly five minutes of clock before a punt gave ASU another possession. But on first and ten on his own 26, Threet's pass attempt was picked off near the sideline by Cliff Harris, effectively sealing the Duck's fourth win of the season.

Had it not been for the turnovers the outcome would likely have more closely resembled the lop-sided stat sheet. ASU rolled up 597 total yards on Oregon's defense and had possession of the ball for nearly 10 minutes more than the Ducks.

Threet completed 30 of 53 pass attempts for 387 yards.

Oregon punter Jackson Rice punted 11 times for 508 total yards, an average of 46.2 per kick, and downed the ball inside the 20 on five of those attempts. More importantly he successfully kicked the ball away from Arizona State's dangerous returners, limiting the Sun Devils to one return of three yards.

Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas again showed poise and leadership in rallying his team late in the second quarter and in managing the game after Oregon took the lead. He completed 19 of 33 attempts for 260 yards and two scores.

The Sun Devil defense earned high praise from running back LaMichael James who allowed his 28 carries came with a physical price. "I had a hundred yards?" James asked. "I didn't know I had a hundred yards, it felt like a hundred carries ... They are good - you can't take anything away from them ... they kept coming."

Head coach Chip Kelly was pleased to get a tough win on the road. "I hadn't seen Threet personally, he's very tough to bring down," Kelly said. "He threw some great balls, he put the ball in the right spot - he is obviously a very talented kid.

"That team could easily be 4-0 right now, but that's what this league is all about. There is a lot of parity and when all things are said and done it's can you win on the road ... this league is going to be a dog fight - we knew we would have to battle. Can we get better - yeah we can get a lot better, but we'll take it."

The win sets up a showdown against Stanford next Saturday at Autzen to get an early leg up in the conference race.