TEMPE, Ariz. -- After Arizona State's 45-43 loss to UCLA on a last-second field goal Saturday, fans' minds will naturally turn to the team's late-season collapse a year ago. A heartbreaking loss to the Bruins and the tailspin that ensued left the Sun Devils 6-7 after a season that began with so much promise.
These Devils insist they are different. They have four games to prove it.
"I don't even think about that," ASU coach Todd Graham said. "I know our fans do. I know our fans (might say), 'Oh, it's the same old deal.' No, it isn't. It isn't the same old deal."
The coaching staff is different and the on-field personnel changed, but beyond that, fans have little to reassure them their Sun Devils (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) will bounce back and save the season. That's not an indictment of the players or coaches, just the natural reaction of a fan base raised on disappointment.
After a strong 5-1 start, the Sun Devils looked poised to far exceed the low expectations for a team that lost significant talent and underwent a coaching change. But then Oregon swept them aside and UCLA kept them on their heels.
With a tough slate ahead -- road games against Oregon State, USC and Arizona and a home game against Washington State -- it won't be easy for ASU to finish the way it hopes to just two weeks ago, but the Sun Devils are determined to show they will not crumble in the face of adversity.
"It's a tough one to swallow, but we have to stick together as a team," ASU junior cornerback Osahon Irabor said. "We can't listen to people on the outside talking about what's going on with us. We have to stay together as a family. We have to move on to the next game. That's all we can really do."
UCLA thrived Saturday against an ASU defense without its cornerstone, defensive tackle Will Sutton, who missed the game with a bone bruise in his knee. UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin made Sutton's absence obvious, rushing 26 times for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
ASU's secondary, which entered the day ranked first in the nation in passing yards allowed, was also exposed. Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley finished with 274 yards passing and four touchdowns, marking the first time this season an opposing quarterback reached the 200-yard mark against ASU's defense.
"We just didn't show up and play defensively today," Graham said. "You can't win football games playing defense like that."
Added Irabor: "We made some critical errors on defense that we hadn't been doing all year. It really cost us at the end. One or two big plays will catch up to you at the end of the game."
So, too, will key mistakes. ASU committed many Saturday, but quarterback Taylor Kelly's interception just before halftime stands out. On ASU's own 4-yard line, Kelly drifted back while being pressured and threw a leaning-back pass that was picked off by UCLA safety Dalton Hilliard. The Bruins scored on the next play to go up 21-17.
"We gave them seven points there," Graham said.
ASU also made coverage mistakes on defense and committed penalties that gave UCLA second chances -- and the Bruins capitalized on them. A holding penalty in the third quarter also took a touchdown off the board for the Sun Devils, and they had to settle for a field goal, a four-point difference that proved to be significant.
Despite it all, ASU found itself ahead with a minute and a half to play after Kelly found freshman running back D.J. Foster for a touchdown.
But again, the defense could not hold, and UCLA freshman kickier Ka'imi Fairbairn nailed the 33-yard game winner on the final play.
"It came down to one drive and play, and we didn't play very well," Graham said. "It was 1:33 (on the game clock), and all you have to do is hold them."
Graham and the players seemed to understand Saturday why the loss might make disappointed fans fear the worst, but that doesn't mean they listen to any of the noise about the same ol' Sun Devils.
"Make any comparison you want to," senior linebacker Brandon Magee said. "We can't pay attention to what people say on the outside. We have a tough game against Oregon State coming up, and we are focused on that now. Then we play USC, Washington State and Arizona, and we have to run the table and really step it up the next few weeks. We are a completely different team (from last year)."
Given the challenge the upcoming road games at Oregon State and USC the next two weeks, it's entirely possible ASU could return to Sun Devil Stadium a .500 team on a four-game losing streak and still seeking bowl eligibility.
That's probably the scenario most fans expect, but it's also one the Sun Devils refuse to accept.
"We're not giving up on nothing," Graham said. "We have to go to Corvallis and we have to win. I believe in this team, I believe in these guys, and I believe in how they're going to finish and what they're going to do.
