Oregon 35, Arizona State 23

Now, I didn't know tonight's game was over at 13-0. But I did know the Devils had dodged a couple of bullets and were gaining confidence. They gave Cal a quarter-and-a-half. Not much. But the Bears needed to take it, and they didn't.

Well, Oregon took it. What was a cute affectation through eight games--the Devils' notoriously slow starts--finally came back to haunt them.

More experienced viewers of the Devils than I will have to explain why the Devils' defense seems not only overmatched but--as with Cal last week--positively flummoxed for the first three or so possessions for so many games. The only difference was that Oregon cashed in where Cal didn't, and Oregon's first three possessions all ended in touchdowns for a score of 21-3. The Devils outscored the Ducks 20-14 thereafter, to no avail.

Also: what in the world was Rudi Carpenter doing at the end of the first half? With the momentum ready to shift, with ASU ready to cut the lead to less than seven with any score at all, and thereby prepared to go on offense to start the second half with a chance to take the lead, Carpenter . . . well, he didn't do any one thing, save run a play into the line with zero time-outs and the clock under thirty seconds. In a situation like that, you either spike the ball or run a set play with a spread offense. In any case, you give yourself a minimum of two real snaps, and each time you look first for the end zone, second for the sideline, and if the D gives you nothing, you heave the ball into the tenth row. Coaches who understand clock management--the Bill Parcells, Bill Belichiks, Mike Shanahans, and Jeff Fishers of this world--usually have a play in place for just such an eventuality (first-down, field goal range, no time outs, half a minute left); QBs can either run their play or spike the ball to stop the clock. The hash that Carpenter made of things had to contribute (of this I am sure) to the missed field goal. Things were sliding.

ASU could not even take solace in the BCS fall-out. With LSU winning a game it had no business winning (thank you, Nick Saban) the Tiggers are poised to run out the table with walkovers against La Tech and Ole Miss and a mere trifle with Arkansas. Had Alabama won (and I can't think of that game, or the SEC in general, without hearing that loathsome CBS trumpet blast--DAH, dah-deh-dah, dah-deh-deh-dah! Duhduhduhduhduh, DAH!--or Verne Lundquist's unctiousness, in my head), Oregon would be poised to go to the BCS championship game, with the Rose Bowl grabbing the Pac-10 runner-up (which suddenly made the ASU-USC game three weeks hence glisten with possibility).

Now? La Tech. Ole Miss. Soo-Piggie. SEC championship game. Hold that Tiger, indeed.

Ohio State v. LSU for the National Championship? Excuse me while I go throw up.