Jamal Miles was hard to overshadow, but Cameron Marshall nearly pulled it off.

The Arizona State duo fueled the No. 25 Sun Devils on a night that started miserably, with little emotion and too many turnovers. The Sun Devils broke away with the help of their playmakers, Miles and Marshall producing one big play after the next in Saturday's 35-20 win over Oregon State at Sun Devil Stadium.

With the win, ASU improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Pac-12 play, taking an early South Division lead into next week's showdown at Utah. Oregon State dropped to 0-4, the first time the Beavers have started the season with four consecutive losses since 1996 when they opened 0-5.

Put simply, this one could've ended badly for the Sun Devils. Quarterback Brock Osweiler might have played his worst game, throwing the ball into coverage and committing four turnovers, including three in the first half.

Miles and Marshall were the difference. Miles, a junior from Peoria, again proved he is one of the Pac-12's more-versatile players. Entering the contest, Miles had caught three touchdown passes, returned a kickoff for a touchdown and thrown for another score. Against Oregon State, he returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown. He also caught eight passes for 62 yards and rushed six times for 45 more.

"We feel like that one's of the keys to our success, getting our playmakers the ball in space," Osweiler said.

Marshall might have been better, just for one play. With 6:17 left in the third quarter, the powerful junior bolted through the line, twisted and turned though traffic, breaking four tackles before breaking into the clear, his crowd-raising 37-yard run giving the Sun Devils a 28-20 lead.

"Pretty dog-gone good run," ASU coach Dennis Erickson said.

Marshall then added an 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter - his fifth touchdown in two games - giving ASU a cushion. He finished with 14 carries for 80 yards, all on a bad ankle. All of it was needed.

Coming off last week's big win over USC, and with contests at Utah and Oregon approaching, ASU coach Dennis Erickson tried to prevent a letdown, ripping the Sun Devils after a sloppy mid-week practice.

Still, his team came out disinterested, giving life to an Oregon State, which has waited a month for just an opportunity.

The Sun Devils' first possession ended with an Osweiler interception. Their second ended with an Osweiler fumble (after a sack) and their third ended with an interception. Three possessions, three turnovers.

"Obviously, we can't play like this every week," Osweiler said.

Making matters worse: ASU lost another key player to injury. Garth Gerhart, considered one of the Pac-12's top centers, left because of an ankle injury and didn't return. His status for next week's game at Utah is unknown.

Given short fields, Oregon State managed just two Trevor Romaine field goals - the first from 34 yards, the second from 21 - to take a 6-0 lead, but the Beavers cashed in on the third ASU turnover.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Sean Mannion played with poise during an eight-play drive that covered 71 yards.

A Terron Ward 10-yard touchdown run capped it off, giving Oregon State a 13-0 advantage.

ASU finally woke up.

After a miserable first quarter, Osweiler started the second by hitting 5 of 6 for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

The first scoring strike was a nifty 17-yard catch-and-run by A.J. Pickens.