Sun Devils fall short in matchup against UCLA
Brock Osweiler passed for 264 yards and moved the Sun Devils 47 yards in 38 seconds to set up the Sun Devils' final attempt, but the field goal was wide and No. 20 Arizona State fell just short to the Bruins, 29-28, Saturday night in Pasadena.
Derrick Coleman scored the go-ahead touchdown for UCLA on a 1-yard run with 49 seconds to play, and Alex Garoutte missed a 46-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the Bruins' victory.
Coleman's drive capped a perilous 79-yard drive featuring a fumble by Coleman, an offensive pass-interference penalty and a third-and-29 conversion by the Bruins (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12), who improbably moved into first place in the Pac-12 South for the first time since early last season.
Brock Osweiler passed for 264 yards and moved the Sun Devils 47 yards in 38 seconds to set up Garoutte's final attempt, but the freshman pushed it wide right - his second miss of the half.
Osweiler rallied Arizona State from a nine-point deficit in the second half, capping a 93-yard drive with a 1-yard TD dive with 7:48 left.
"We hurt ourselves and killed ourselves more than they stopped us, and it starts with me," said Osweiler, who went 22 for 38. "I missed a few reads. ... Alex has a big leg. My goal was to get him to 50 yards. At least we gave him a shot."
The Sun Devils outgained UCLA by 49 yards and didn't commit a turnover, but they've lost the tiebreaker advantage in the Pac-12 South standings - although Cal is the toughest opponent among their final three, while UCLA still must play Utah and Southern California.
"It's a gut-wrenching loss for this football team," Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson said. "You have to give UCLA credit, but we had so many opportunities in the second half to either put it away or win it."
Cameron Marshall rushed for a season-high 168 yards and a touchdown for the Sun Devils, who fell behind 23-14 on Kevin Prince's 76-yard TD pass to Nelson Rosario on the second play after halftime. Arizona State rallied with TDs from Jamal Miles and Osweiler, but the Bruins mounted a dramatic drive - and then barely avoided giving up a last-minute field goal.
Johnathan Franklin rushed for an early TD for the Bruins, while Prince had his second straight impressive game, going 11 of 17 for 196 yards passing along with 61 yards rushing.
Garoutte missed a 48-yard attempt late in the first half, and he missed from 36 yards with 5:49 to play after UCLA's Josh Smith fumbled a kickoff return.
UCLA led 16-14 at halftime after Coleman's sixth TD in four games, even with Arizona State outgaining them by 91 yards. Prince's pump-fake and a mix-up in coverage left Rosario alone 20 yards behind Arizona State's secondary, allowing him to jog in with his first TD of the season - but Miles caught a short pass for a 9-yard score moments later.
The final minutes were frantic. Arizona State got the ball back at its 7 early in the fourth quarter, and Osweiler marched the Sun Devils in 10 plays for his short go-ahead score.
Coleman's 41-yard run put the Bruins in scoring position until UCLA fumbled and committed pass interference to drop back to third-and-29 - but Prince found Rosario with a 33-yard pass to the Arizona State 6.
Coleman scored moments later, but Prince threw an incomplete pass on UCLA's 2-point attempt when tight end Joseph Fauria ran the wrong route.
Arizona State moved to its 44 with 21 seconds left after a lengthy video review of an illegal forward pass, and UCLA's Aaron Hester was called for pass interference on the next play, eventually setting up Garoutte's final miss.