SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 23, 2013
No. 22 Arizona State 38, No. 14 UCLA 33: Taylor Kelly accounted for 324 yards and two touchdowns as the visiting Sun Devils held off a furious second-half charge by the Bruins to clinch the Pac-12 South.
Kelly threw for 225 yards and ran for a career-high 99 for Arizona State (9-2, 7-1), which clinched a berth in the Pac-12 Championship against Stanford on Dec. 7. Marion Grice rushed for 95 yards and added seven catches for 72 yards for the Sun Devils, who conclude their regular season against Arizona next Saturday.
Brett Hundley threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns to lead UCLA (8-3, 5-3), but was sacked nine times – including twice on the Bruins’ last drive. Freshman Myles Jack ran for 86 yards and a score while Shaquelle Evans recorded six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
After building a 14-10 lead after one quarter, the Sun Devils exploded for 21 points in the second when linebacker Carl Bradford returned an interception 18 yards for a score. Michael Eubank added a 1-yard plunge and Jaelen Strong’s 19-yard TD catch with five seconds remaining countered a late UCLA field goal to send Arizona State into the break with a 35-13 advantage.
The Bruins held the Sun Devils to a field goal in the third quarter and moved within 38-33 after Evans broke loose for a 27-yard score on a second-and-19 play with 11:25 left in the final stanza. UCLA had a chance to cut into the deficit even further, but Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt with 4:38 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The last three games in this series have been decided by a total of eight points. … The Sun Devils have forced a turnover in 25 consecutive games, the third-longest active streak among all FBS schools. … UCLA, which fell short of its first undefeated season at home since 2005, concludes its regular season next Saturday at USC.