TUCSON, Ariz. -- As improbable as was Arizona State's rise, so too was its fall. In a matter of three weeks, the Sun Devils went from darlings in the driver's seat to duds with an also-ran finish.
No. 13 ASU on Friday bookended its fall from grace with a 42-35 loss to rival and No. 11 Arizona in Tucson, a loss that gave the Wildcats their first Pac-12 South title and a second date with No. 2 Oregon in next week's Pac-12 championship game.
"They were the better team today," said ASU quarterback Mike Bercovici, who relieved Taylor Kelly in the third quarter. "I mean, 9-3, at the end of the day, we have more in the wins column than losses so it's a winning season, but our expectations are 15-0.
"I'm not going to say (the season) is a letdown, but we know we could have achieved more."
Added coach Todd Graham: "Our program is about winning championships. So we're very disappointed today, especially in this game."
Two weeks ago, a night before ASU prepared to play a struggling Oregon State team in Corvallis, the Sun Devils were in the College Football Playoff conversation. They were 8-1, ranked No. 6 in the country and in control of the Pac-12 South with a manageable path back to the conference title game. Late the next night, all that was gone.
"The Oregon State game, that's one you'd like to have back," Graham said. "But either way you've got to win this game to win the Pac-12 championship, and we knew that."
ASU (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) rebounded after the Oregon State loss to beat Washington State and set up a potential winner-take-all game in Tucson. All either team needed was for Stanford to upset Pac-12 South front runner UCLA and the division crown would remain in the state of Arizona.
Stanford did its part and beat UCLA 31-10 at the Rose Bowl before the game in Tucson ended. ASU couldn't deliver on its end, falling 40 yards shy of tying the game and at minimum sending it to overtime -- though Graham said he already had a two-point play drawn up.
"It hurts because obviously I wanted to be in San Francisco next week," Graham said. "We fell seven points short, but I wish them the best. They won, and they were the better team today."
With ASU's reign as Pac-12 South champions over, the Sun Devils have little choice but to look forward. They will play in a third straight bowl game, though where remains unclear. They also have a shot at winning a 10th game to give them back-to-back seasons of at least 10 wins for the first time since 1972 and 1973.
"We're going to rise up," Bercovici said. "We're going to go get that 10th win for the seniors."
Bercovici stepped in after ASU benched three-year senior starter Taylor Kelly in his final Pac-12 game. Kelly completed 13 of 22 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns and was sacked five times when Bercovici took over with three and a half minutes left in the third and ASU trailing 35-21.
Bercovici, who was 2-1 as ASU's starter when Kelly was sidelined by a broken foot, completed 2 of 4 passes on his first series, which went just 11 yards. But on his second series, Bercovici led ASU 65 yards to the end zone to pull within a touchdown.
"We felt like we needed a spark," Graham said. "Being behind, we felt that Mike's ability to throw the ball would help us, so we were trying anything. Whether that was a mistake or not, I don't know, but I know we just had to do something to generate some offense."
ASU hadn't scored since Arizona (10-2, 7-2) muffed a punt late in the second quarter. Perhaps worse, though, was the Sun Devils left at least 10 points on the field in the first half. After driving within inches of the end zone on its third offensive series, ASU couldn't punch the ball in and turned it over on downs.
Jaelen Strong is putting on a SHOW. @drpepper #oneofakindplays http://t.co/MId1UQwmsi
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 28, 2014
"That killed us," Graham said. "That's really bad."
Zane Gonzalez missed also a 45-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Bercovici, who finished 14 of 22 for 123 yards and a touchdown, threw a fourth-quarter interception that set up the Wildcats for a quick score.
But ASU's issues were not limited to offense. The defense gave up touchdowns of 69 yards and 72 yards. Arizona running back Nick Wilson scored three times and finished with 178 yards to win MVP honors.
Hampering the defense: the absence of safety Jordan Simone, who was ruled out before the game with lingering issues related to a Stinger.
"That was somewhat of a shock," Graham said. "That hurt us."
Redshirt freshman James Johnson started in Simone's place, but Simone had become nearly irreplaceable on ASU's defense.
"James played very well, but Jordan and his leadership, that's just something totally different," senior safety Damarious Randall said.
Making matters worse, spur linebacker Laiu Moeakiola -- considered the quarterback of the defense -- left at halftime with a leg injury and spent the rest of the game on crutches.
"That killed us," Graham said.
It proved a perfect storm of problems for the Sun Devils, yet they remained in the game until taking their last breath on an incompletion from Bercovici to receiver Jaelen Strong. In the end, they left to return to Tempe with a bitter taste in their mouths, having lost to Arizona for the first time under Graham.
ASU should be able to take pride in having overachieved this season. This was a team that lost nine defensive starters on defense and five on offense, a perfect candidate to take a step back in Graham's third season. Yet here they were in the final week of the regular season in position to repeat as Pac-12 South champions.
But after losing to their in-state rival and falling short when they got so close to playing for the Pac-12 title again, perspective is a bitter pill for the Sun Devils to swallow.
"Those guys are hurting in that locker room," Graham said. "We didn't get it done today, and this one hurts worse than any of 'em."
-- Graham said Kelly remains ASU's starting quarterback and will start in the to-be-determined bowl game.
-- With his first catch of the game, which went for 21 yards, Jaelen Strong went over 1,000 yards receiving this season. He has 1,056, which ranks 10th all time in ASU history. He also caught his 10th touchdown of the season, accomplishing the feat for just the 10th time in program history.
Follow Tyler Lockman on Twitter
