ATHENS, Ga. — ASU football fans have become quite used to seeing the Sun Devils come up short in the marquee games that could have served as the springboard that turned the program from a middle-of-the-road one into an elite one.

But it doesn’t usually happen like this.

The Sun Devils went down to Georgia and almost stole the victory in SEC country, but a botched chance to capitalize on a drive that started on the Bulldogs’ 20-yard line with 5:30 to go and a UGA 37-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Blair Walsh as time expired propelled the No. 21 Bulldogs to a 20-17 win on Saturday night at Sanford Stadium.

“It’s just heartbreaking to come this far and play like we did and not win the football game,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “I think of all the games I’ve coached at Arizona State, even the big losses, this is the hardest to take.”

After ASU senior safety Jarrell Holman’s second interception of UGA senior quarterback Joe Cox gave the Sun Devils (2-1) possession in the red zone with the score tied at 17, ASU lost a yard on three plays on a rush by senior running back Dimitri Nance and two incomplete passes from senior quarterback Danny Sullivan.

That forced the Sun Devils to rely on freshman walk-on kicker Bobby Wenzig, who was filling in for an injured junior Thomas Weber for the second consecutive game and had already made a 43-yard field goal, to try a 37-yard attempt.

But the kick was blocked by UGA sophomore wide receiver A.J. Green, giving the Bulldogs (3-1) their own chance to stage a game-winning drive.

“It was just kicked low,” Erickson said. “It wasn’t anybody that came through free. It was just kicked low, and [Green] reached up and hit it, but it should have never [gotten] to that.”

Green topped his block on the ensuing Bulldog drive with what he’s better known for —his receiving skills. He made an outstanding 36-yard catch on a streak route down the sideline where he had to come back to the ball, which put UGA in field-goal range in one fell swoop.

“We just gave up the big play at the end that we needed to stop,” Holman said. “I feel the guys fought hard … it’s a tough one.”

Walsh’s kick sailed through the uprights four plays later, sending the 90,000-plus Bulldog fans that braved heavy rain all game long into a frenzy, dashing the hopes of the Sun Devils’ bid for an upset win on the road.

The Sun Devils clawed back from a 14-3 halftime deficit, and as usual, it was the defense that provided the spark with three second-half turnovers.

ASU senior linebacker Mike Nixon forced a fumble from UGA sophomore running back Caleb King on the Bulldogs’ first possession of the second half, which was recovered by Holman at the UGA 37-yard line and set up the Sun Devils’ only offensive touchdown of the game.

Sullivan completed four out of five passes on the drive, including one in the flat to Nance for a six-yard score to cut UGA’s lead to 14-10 at the 6:39 mark of the third quarter. It was Nance’s first career receiving touchdown.

The Sun Devils then snatched the advantage less than two minutes later when Holman picked off Cox and weaved through a slew of Bulldogs on his way to a 47-yard trip to the end zone.

“They were trying to do a seam route…and I was over the top of the safety,” Holman said. “[ASU senior safety] Ryan McFoy did a good job of coverage underneath and [made] the quarterback air the ball out. The play was presented to me, and I made it.”

The ASU defense continued to hold a Bulldog offense that had been averaging 34 points per game in check for the rest of the contest, but the offense couldn’t take advantage of a UGA pass defense ranked 112th in the nation because it was virtually unable to sustain a drive all night.

The Sun Devils came up with a goal-line stand on UGA’s next possession when a near-touchdown catch by Green was ruled out of bounds.

ASU held the Bulldogs to a 22-yard field goal from Walsh that tied the game at 17, but offensive facemask and delay of game penalties stalled the Sun Devils’ next drive and forced them to punt from their own end zone.

ASU then came up with a fourth-and-one stop at its own 28-yard line on UGA’s next drive, but the Sun Devils went three-and-out on their next possession.

“I feel so bad for this team, because the defense played so well,” Sullivan said. “There were some plays that I should have made that I didn’t make, and it sucks.”

Sullivan completed just 10 of his 32 passes for 116 yards and overthrew numerous receivers throughout the game.

UGA jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first half on a 56-yard bomb from Cox to Green where Green beat ASU junior cornerback Omar Bolden, who fell down on the play, and then broke a Holman tackle when he cut back to the inside and took the ball into the end zone.

That was Green’s longest career reception and a sign of things to come as he finished with eight catches for 153 yards, a year removed from an eight-catch, 159-yard performance in last year’s matchup in Tempe.

The Bulldogs’ advantage was then extended to 14-3 when junior fullback Fred Munzenmaier scored from two yards out with under a minute to go in the period.
The ASU offense was mostly anemic in the first half with the exception of Nance, who gained 69 yards on the ground before intermission en route to a tying a career high with 92 rushing yards on 25 carries.

“The [offensive line was] blocking great today, so I just followed them,” Nance said. ”There were some big holes out there. The more I get the ball, the more I can read the defense and how they’re playing, so I think that helps out a lot.”

The already injury-plagued Sun Devil offensive line got even more banged up on Saturday, as three starters, sophomore guard Matt Hustad (knee), junior guard Jon Hargis (shoulder) and senior center Thomas Altieri (knee) and redshirt freshman reserve Mike Marcisz (shoulder) all left the game because of injuries. Hargis and Altieri did return.

Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu.