TEMPE, Ariz. — Disregard the final 41 minutes, 33 seconds.

Oregon took care of business in impressive fashion in the first 18 minutes, 27 seconds Thursday, running up a shocking 36-point lead en route to pasting Arizona State 43-21, furthering its reputation as the No. 2-ranked team in the country with the rout of the Pac-12 upstart.

The Sun Devils had a 5-1 record (3-0 Pac-12) going into the game. Good offense, good defense. The ASU folks sold almost all the tickets at 71,000-seat Sun Devil Stadium, with many fans wearing black to mirror the players in their black uniforms on the trendy "black-out night." It was a big, ESPN-televised game in Tempe for Todd Graham's first Sun Devil team.

But, it was Oregon, now 7-0 and 4-0 in Pac-12 play, that delivered blow after blow until the Sun Devils had been knocked out with 11:33 left in the second quarter. It was 43-7.

A test? Yeah, it was a test for the Ducks, playing a road game with redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota, against seemingly one of the Pac-12's better teams. And, they had two mistakes — a first-drive Mariota lost fumble that led to Taylor Kelly's 28-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Ozier.

Then, it was lights out. Test passed.

"That was a solid team," said running back Kenjon Barner, who had three touchdowns and 143 yards rushing on 16 carries; the Ducks had 406 yards rushing in the game. "We need to take care of business — no matter what kind of team, good, bad or whatever.

"Not so much a statement," he added. "We know who we are and what we can do. The media, it's their job to build games up. We just needed to come out and play football."

Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton, maybe the Pac-12's best defensive player through the first half of the season, blew up the first play on which Mariota coughed up the ball. He also blew out his knee, likely done for the season. It deflated the ASU sideline.

The Sun Devils scored, but the Ducks started making plays on offense and defense, and ASU's deflation turned into UO's elation. Barner ripped off a 71-yard run and UO went ahead 8-7 on a two-point conversion. Long drives of 14 and 15 plays followed (Bralon Addison and Mariota had TD receptions; yes, Mariota a TD reception from backup Bryan Bennett). A Boseko Lokombo interception led to another Barner TD. Mariota ripped off an 86-yard TD run on an option keep. And, Avery Patterson's third interception in three games set up Barner's third TD run.

Certain plays in certain games tell the story.

Losing Sutton, who had 13 tackles for loss and 8 1/2 sacks entering the game, really hurt the home team.

"Losing Will was very disruptive," Graham said. "We did a poor job of being prepared for that (type of loss) as a staff. So much of what we had planned was around him, and you have to have a plan B. It took us well into the game to figure out what to do there. Making no excuses. We got beat by a team tonight that's a lot better than us. But, we made them look a lot better by making a lot of mistakes."

The Oregon offensive line created a big hole for Barner on his 71-yard run; Barner said the ASU defense surely missed Sutton, but he believes that Sutton wouldn't have stopped him on the run, either. A routine two-point conversion pass, Jackson Rice to Rob Beard, made it 8-7, and UO wouldn't trail again.

After Barner's long run, the Sun Devils drove downfield and had third-and-3 at the UO 21. Defensive end Dion Jordan beat an offensive tackle and sacked Kelly; the Sun Devils missed a field-goal attempt.

"That's Dion for you," linebacker Michael Clay said. "He's going to work 110 percent. It was a huge play for us. Everybody had their man (in the secondary), and it gave him time to get to the quarterback. 'Praying Mantis' went and got a sack.'"

Known for their quick-strike scores, the Ducks stretched the lead with their long TD drives of 74 and 78 yards.

"Just to muscle our way down there was good," said Mariota, who had 135 yards rushing on 10 carries and went 9-of-12 passing (for only 46 yards, believe it or not). "Give the defense time to rest and get our feet under us, get it all going and get comfortable again."

Mariota threw a perfect pass to Addison for a 6-yard score.

Bennett and tight end Colt Lyerla played in UO's version of the red-zone wildcat formation, this time with Mariota in the game also. Bennett scrambled away from defenders and, as he was about to be tackled, flipped the ball to Mariota for a 2-yard TD pass.

"I tried to bounce it outside and a guy bit on me," Bennett said. "I saw (Marcus) out of the corner of my eye. He did a great job getting into the end zone." Pretty crafty ball play by two QBs — "maybe it's the three-man weave (drill) we do before the game (that helped)," Bennett added, jokingly.

Lokombo had scored his first career defensive touchdown at Arizona State in 2010. He vowed to get another TD this season, and came up six yards short after reading Kelly's pass and picking him off. Frustratingly, Lokombo got stopped short of the end zone. "The quarterback tricked me," he said. "I tried to juke him, and the momentum spun me, and the running back was there to tackle me." Barner rushed a yard for his second TD.

On Mariota's option play, he faked a handoff to a running back, who got smashed by a defender, and displayed his very good speed in going 86 yards to paydirt.

"They came out in a (defensive) front that allowed me to do it," Mariota said. "I have to read the guy who was my read key, and he bit down on the run and I had to take it outside. The receivers did a good job blocking downfield."

Then, Patterson finished the series of big plays with another pick. He came up a yard short of his third pick-six in three games. "I got a pretty easy one," he said. "Credit to my roommate Tyson (Coleman) for tipping it up to me. We work on that drill in practice. It helped today." Barner scored his third TD on a 1-yard run.

Oregon pretty much took the heat off, offensively, as Mariota exited the game early in the third quarter. There was no epic comeback for ASU, which lost another defensive lineman, Junior Anyeali, early in the game.

The Ducks added a couple more interceptions, and the defense kept ASU from scoring again until late in the game.

"Our defense is playing outstanding right now," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. "It's the key to being a good football team."

The QB Kelly went 10 of 18 for only 93 yards, and the Sun Devils had just 139 yards offense in the first half.

Arizona State regained some positive feel late, knocking on the door of UO's end zone four times, scoring one offensive touchdown, and the Sun Devils scored another TD on a return of a Bennett interception.

So, the Ducks routed their seventh consecutive opponent, and it'll be eight after playing Colorado at noon Saturday, Oct. 27 at Autzen Stadium. The biggest game of the year, at least on paper, looms on Nov. 3 against USC in Los Angeles.

Coach Kelly said he was happy with how the Ducks responded after the early fumble and ASU touchdown. "One thing I love about this team: doesn't flinch," he said.

Graham left Thursday's game impressed with the Ducks.

"We were overmatched and had some things happen that can't happen," he said. "There's no doubt that they're one of the best two teams in the country, and they showed that tonight."

Oregon has played in three consecutive BCS games, and it could be in a fourth in January 2013. The Sun Devils?

"I think the hype got to a lot of guys," safety Keelan Johnson said.

Another safety, Alden Darby, wasn't conceding anything to the Ducks.

"(Their points) came from mistakes," he said. "Once you get the wrong gap or wrong assignment, they're going to take it all the way."

OREGON 22,21,0,9,43

ASU 7,0,0,14, 21

ASU: 1st, 14:11, Kevin Ozier 28 pass from Taylor Kelly (Alex Garoutte kick)

OREGON: 1st, 13:48, Kenjon Barner 71 run (Rob Beard pass from Jackson Rice)

OREGON: 1st, 7:03, Bralon Addison 6 pass from Marcus Mariota (Beard kick)

OREGON: 1st, 1:11, Mariota 2 pass from Bryan Bennett (Beard kick)

OREGON: 2nd, 14:04, Barner 1 run (Beard kick)

OREGON: 2nd, 12:26, Mariota 86 run (Beard kick)

OREGON: 2nd, 11:33, Barner 1 run (Beard kick)

ASU: 4th, 9:33, Anthony Jones 36 interception return (Garoutte kick)

ASU: 4th, 4:47, D.J. Foster 23 pass from Michael Eubank (Garoutte kick)