Arizona State Sun Devils Football: ASU Fails To Pull Off Upset Over No. 6 Stanford

It seems that every game Arizona State plays turns out the same: the Sun Devils make a few big plays and are competitive early, only to falter at the end.

ASU’s (4-6, 2-5 Pac-10) 17-13 loss to the sixth ranked Stanford Cardinal (9-1, 6-1 Pac-10) was the Sun Devils’ fourth loss by four points or less.

The Sun Devil defense played phenomenal all night and set the stage for the upset. They held Heisman-hopeful quarterback Andrew Luck without a touchdown pass for the first time all season and also forced him into throwing a key interception.

However, after performing well all night, the ASU defense was unable to get Luck off the field when it truly mattered.

ASU held a 17-13 lead until Owen Marecic put the Cardinal on top with 5:14 left in the game. After the Sun Devils punted with four minutes left, the ASU defense just needed to get the ball back to Steven Threet and the offense.

Unfortunately for Sun Devil fans, Luck was able to lead one final drive as the Cardinal offense held onto the football until the clock expired.

The Sun Devils played well and actually played well enough to win, but costly mistakes at inopportune times continued to derail this football team.

Turnovers and penalties plagued the Sun Devils once again. Although he only threw one interception, Threet also fumbled the ball away inside the Stanford five-yard line.

ASU was penalized eight times for 67 yards, but were really hurt when linebacker Vontaze Burfict committed two personal fouls on the same play.

After being called for a facemask, that replays showed was actually a legal tackle, Burfict argued the call and was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Although Burfict was right, in saying that he did not grab the facemask, the sophomore linebacker needs to learn to control his emotions.

The loss was ASU’s 11th straight against a ranked opponent and was Stanford’s first win in Tempe since 1999.

This weekend’s loss also eliminated ASU from bowl contention although they can still apply for an NCAA waiver if they win their last two games and not enough teams are bowl eligible.

However, this team has a tendency to lose close games and with games against UCLA and Arizona remaining, it is hard to imagine ASU finishing with six wins.

While this team has shown promise all year, it appears as if the fans in Tempe will be treated to their third straight losing season.