EUGENE, Ore.—Arizona State head football coach Todd Graham said it himself. He’s never experienced anything like the injury problems this year’s team is going through.

ASU played without 10 of its starters for the most part during Saturday’s 54-35 loss at Oregon. Quarterback Manny Wilkins, defensive backs Kareem Orr and Armand Perry, linebackers Salamo Fiso and Christian Sam and offensive lineman Sam Jones all dressed in street clothes. Additionally, running back Demario Richard and Center AJ McCollum (missed last week for “personal reasons”) both dressed for the game, but did not play.

And to boot, ASU lost Stephon McCray to injury early in the first quarter, and wide receiver Tim White was relegated to just kick returns and did not see any time on offense.

Graham said he had a pretty good idea entering the game that many of those players would be out on because they had not practiced much during the week.

“I was pretty hopeful that we’d have a few of them back today, but we got to do what’s best for their well-being,” he said. “It’s a head-scratcher for me. I’ve never had that many (injuries at one time)…But that’s football. (Oregon) probably has injuries too.”

Just like last week, a banged up ASU team failed to fully overcome the injuries. The Sun Devils never led in Saturday’s loss, but they kept it relatively close throughout and trailed by as little as five points in the fourth quarter.

True freshman quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole made his first career start after playing for all but one series last week. Graham said he has never needed to field his fourth-string quarterback in his entire career, which perhaps best highlights the injury big hitting the Sun Devils.

Sterling-Cole completed 21 of 38 passes for 302 yards and even added a rushing touchdown, but had three interceptions. Graham noted turnovers being a large difference-maker, but seemed to imply that ASU’s poor defensive play was the bigger story.

“It was very difficult not having key guys on defense,” he said. “We couldn’t communicate. We had key errors and things like that. We tackled poorly.

“We never could get in a rhythm defensively with our communication (issues).”

Oregon true freshman quarterback Justin Herbert tied the school record for passing yards in a game with 489 on 31 of 42 passing, also throwing four touchdowns with no interceptions. Wide receiver Pharaoh Brown caught seven passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

“I was very impressed with him on film, we knew they’d throw the football,” Graham said. “He was really good. He’s going to be a really good player. We tried to get after him, we hit him quite a bit.”

Oregon gained 297 yards on the ground led by Tony Brooks-James, who carried nine times for 132 yards and a touchdown. Graham said the explosive plays in the running game were due to ASU’s poor tackling, which has been a recurring issue all season.

ASU’s defense played well in spots, totaling 11 tackles for loss and four sacks. But the unit reared an ugly head too, giving up big plays like allowing Oregon to convert a screen pass on 3rd and 20 that eventually led to points, or giving up a 53-yard touchdown on 3rd and 10.

Its lone punch back was when redshirt senior linebacker Carlos Mendoza, who played more than usual because of the injuries, forced a fumble that was recovered by redshirt junior Bandit (strong) safety Marcus Ball and returned to Oregon’s 10-yard line.

The turnover led to running back Kalen Ballage throwing a touchdown pass out of the Sparky formation to tight end Kody Kohl to bring the Sun Devils within five points with 6:39 remaining. Ballage carried 18 times for 62 yards and a touchdown, and also led ASU with six receptions for 105 yards.

However, the defense came back out and allowed a 58-yard rushing touchdown to Brooks-James, deflating the comeback effort.

“We didn’t execute as well as we should have to get the win,” said Ball, who also had 14 tackles (seven solo) to go along with the fumble recovery. “I believe that our offense, even with the turnovers they had, did a great job. They kept us in the game.”

Graham credited offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey for his play-calling efforts as he has had a difficult task the past few weeks with the quarterback injuries and missing other key personnel. It seemed he opened up the playbook, a reverse flea-flicker, a double pass and Ballage’s touchdown pass serving as the three biggest examples.

ASU needs just one more win to be bowl eligible, but its schedule only gets tougher. Following a bye week, the Sun Devils host No. 17 Utah before traveling to play No. 4 Washington, then finish on the road in Tucson for a Territorial Cup matchup with Arizona.

“I got my faith in my team,” Ballage said. “The concerns are your guys’ not mine. I have full faith in my team that we can turn this thing around and play good football. I don’t have any concerns.”

It seems bye weeks are always much-needed in football, but there may not be a bigger need for one than there is in ASU’s situation.

Fortunately for the team, Graham said he believes it can get some of its players back healthy for senior night against Utah 12 days from now.

“We won’t do a lot (during the bye week),” Graham said. “We will do a lot of trying to do healthy. We will practice, but we probably won’t put any pads on or do much with our veteran guys. We might do some things with our younger guys. At this point, it’s vital that we get some guys back healthy.”