As Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert kneeled away the final seconds of the Ducks’ 31-29 victory over Arizona State, time finally ran out on the Sun Devils’ pursuit of a Pac-12 championship.
In one sense, the feeling was surreal. It didn’t seem right that a second-half flurry, where the defense gave up three points and Manny Wilkins had a chance to win the game late, fell short in the fifth one-score loss of the season.
On the other hand, the outcome felt deserved. The Sun Devils came up empty in several of their chances, rekindling a theme familiar to each defeat.