Sophomore cornerback Ishmael Adams takes the ball up the field against the Sun Devils in Pasadena, Calif. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 38-35 Saturday, Nov. 23. (Photo by Dominic Valente)PASADENA, Calif. – No. 14 UCLA had hopes of winning a third straight Pac-12 South title. Those hopes came crashing down in a 38-33 loss to No. 17 ASU Saturday night.
“We got ourselves into a hole in the first half and were not able to recover,” coach Jim Mora said.“They fought tooth and nail for that thing and it was just a little too much to overcome. The loss is bitterly disappointing.”
After giving up a touchdown on the Sun Devils‘ opening drive, the Bruins would strike back quickly when redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley found redshirt sophomore Devin Lucien for a 42-yard touchdown on UCLA’s opening play.
UCLA would take a 10-7 lead after a field goal from sophomore kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn but the Bruins lead wouldn’t last long. UCLA would surrender 21 straight points to make the score 28-10 with 2:24 remaining in the half.
Down 35-13 at the half, things looked bleak. The Bruins couldn’t stop the Sun Devils’ ground attack that ran for 223 yards on the night. In particular, the rushing ability of ASU redshirt junior quarterback Taylor Kelly proved difficult to contain.
“We struggled containing the quarterback,” Mora said. “He kept drives alive. He frustrated us, we couldn’t find the ball, we got caught out of position on some things. That’s what was frustrating to me. Not being able to handle the quarterback defensively.”
The Bruins would roar back in the second half, outscoring ASU 20-3 in the half.
“The first half we got shut down,” said Hundley who finished 18-of-26 for 253 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. “Second half we went in, we made adjustments to what they were doing. We came out on fire.”
The Bruins would score 14 straight points on a three-yard touchdown run from freshman linebacker/running back Myles jack and a 1-yard rushing score from redshirt freshman running back Paul Perkins.
After an ASU field goal, Hundley would find redshirt senior Shaquelle Evans to make the score 38-33 with 3:21 to go. The Bruins would have one last gasp.
After completing a fourth-and-5 on a 15-yard pass to Evans, UCLA had first-and-10 on the ASU 45-yard line, but a pair of costly holding penalties would move the Bruins back to their own 35-yard line, forcing UCLA to take shots downfield.
“We were moving the ball, those penalties hurt…but at the end of the day you’ve gotta find a way to make it,” Hundley said. “We gotta make it work. It was first-and-30 but we gotta make it work.”
A pair of incompletions, a sack and a 16-yard pass to sophomore Jordan Payton later, the Bruins would turn the ball over on downs to ASU with only five seconds remaining.
Hopes of a three-peat were dashed.
Senior linebacker Anthony Barr compared the loss to losing in the Pac-12 championship game last year.
“It’s similar, this was basically a championship game” Barr said. “It sucks man. I’m not going to sugar coat it, it sucks to lose any game especially this one.”
At 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the Pac-12, with hopes of a Pac-12 championship berth went up in smoke. The only game left in the regular season for the Bruins is a matchup with archrival USC.
For Barr, there’s only one thing to do against the Trojans: “Win.”
Reach the reporter at ejsmith7@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EricSmith_SP
