COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Arizona State Sneaks Past Oregon State, 20-11

It was Arizona State’s second consecutive look at an option offense, but this time the result was far more pleasing for Coach Bruce Snyder.

The Sun Devils, who were trounced, 77-28, at No. 2 Nebraska last week, managed to muster enough big plays Saturday night to beat error-prone Oregon State, 20-11, in a Pacific 10 Conference game.

“Defending that wishbone is not easy. It seems you run 40 yards to the right on one play and 40 yards to the left the next,” Snyder said. “It was a long night, like going to the dentist, but we made enough adjustments to get through it and win the game.”

Jake Plummer scored the decisive touchdown on a five-yard quarterback sneak early in the third quarter for Arizona State (2-2, 1-1), which continued its homefield mastery of the Beavers (1-3, 0-1).

Oregon State had two crucial fumbles and failed to score from the one-yard line in the final three minutes in losing for the 11th consecutive time at Sun Devil Stadium since 1969.

“What happened to ASU last week was not indicative of the team they have,” Beaver Coach Jerry Pettibone said. “I felt good that we were able to move the bal against them, but we were tentative at times and that’s what cost us.”

Plummer’s scoring run 2:14 into the second half put Arizona State ahead, 14-3, and came four plays after safety Mitchell Freedman recovered Don Shanklin’s fumble at the Oregon State 23.

Mark Olford had an 18-yard touchdown run with 10:23 remaining in the third quarter, but the Beavers trailed, 14-9, when quarterback Tim Alexander was stopped shy of the goal line on a two-point conversion try.

Robert Nycz, a sophomore who is five for five on field goals this year, kicked a 48-yarder with 4:35 left in the third quarter and a 35-yarder with 7:40 to play to make it 20-9.

Oregon State, losing its third in a row after a season-opening victory over Idaho, drove to the Arizona State one before turning the ball over on downs with 2:45 remaining.

Sun Devil punter Lance Anderson ran out of his team’s end zone to give the Beavers a safety with 57 seconds to play.

“I think it was the correct call. We practiced it on Friday,” Snyder said. “This was a must-win for us.”