[slideshow_deploy id='151415']
It was a battle for the Pac-12 South, and the better quarterback won.
No. 15 ASU football, without redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly, couldn't stop redshirt junior Brett Hundley and the No. 11 UCLA Bruins, who routed the Sun Devils 62-27.
Hundley threw for 355 yards and ran for 72 more. Yet, the difference between he and redshirt junior Mike Bercovici was hardly the deciding factor.
The Sun Devil defense was torched for more than 500 yards for the second consecutive game and allowed the most points it has in the Todd Graham era. Bercovici's two interceptions were crucial, especially his pick-six at the end of the first half, but it was exactly what Graham stresses the most that killed the Sun Devils in the end.
Discipline.
"Well, obviously that was embarrassing," Graham said to open his post-game press conference.
The Sun Devils committed six penalties totaling 59 yards (though that pales in comparison to UCLA's eight for 78) and gave up five plays of 80 or more yards, a sliver of the plays that went for 20 or more. They spent 58 plays on defense and 105 on offense. Yet, UCLA outscored the Sun Devils by 35 and gained only 46 fewer yards than them.
The Sun Devils were on the verge of entering halftime at least tied at 20-20, if not ahead 24-20. They had put together an 11-play drive to get from their 25-yard-line to the Bruins' 17 with less than a minute left in the half. It was all but certain ASU was going to score, yet it was the Bruins scoring the points that proved to be "catastrophic," as Graham put it. Bercovici tried to hit sophomore Cam Smith — whom hit had connected with for a 29-yard touchdown earlier — over the middle, and UCLA junior cornerback Ishmael Adams picked it off and ran it 95 yards into ASU's end zone.
It wouldn't take long for ASU to allow more catastrophic and embarrassing plays. The Bruins led 27-17 going into halftime. By six minutes into the second half, they were up 41-20. At that point, the stadium began to empty and it seemed as though hope was lost. For good reason, too, as UCLA would outscore ASU 21-7 from that point on to seal its first-place standing in the Pac-12 South.
Graham was clearly disappointed after the game. At times, he seemed shocked. Nonetheless, he continued to instill confidence in his first-time starting quarterback and the rest of his team. He blamed the scheme, preparation, game plan, tackling, discipline and exhaustion for the way his team played Thursday night. But one thing remained constant: the outcomes on the field don't matter as much to him as the way his team performs off the field, now and in the future.
Bercovici was thrown into the fire, making his first start at quarterback against the No. 11 team in the nation. He made mistakes, throwing two interceptions and a few passes that could have been more. While Graham recognized those mistakes, he was more proud of how Bercovici handled the situation and how that foreshadows him and his teammates after they graduate.
"It's pretty easy when you're winning," Graham said. "Pretty tough tonight."
The road doesn't get any easier for the Sun Devils. They might face more tough nights in the near future. With Kelly still on crutches, Bercovici remains the likely starter against USC next week. But his 488 yards passing aren't what cost ASU on Thursday. It was nearly every other facet of the game that did.
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter
