PASADENA, Calif. - After the final gun sounded on Saturday, Arizona State players whooped it up at the northeast corner of the Rose Bowl, in front of hundreds of faithful who chanted the team’s next assignment.

ASU beats UCLA, improves to 9-1

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Carpenter’s thumb is a sore point for ASU

Read Blogging with the Devils

“Beat SC! Beat SC!”

At least, that is what the cheer sounded like. For the fans could have been issuing an order to stadium staff and the college football world:

“Save our seats! Save our seats!”

A 24-20 victory against UCLA helped keep the ninth-ranked Sun Devils in position to culminate a dream season with a return trip to the most venerable venue in the sport. On New Year’s Day.

“It would be a dream come true,” quarterback Rudy Carpenter said. “I have watched every Rose Bowl game on television for as long as I can remember.”

That dream nearly became more difficult to attain, as ASU let a banged-up UCLA squad playing with its fourth quarterback of the season and a third-string tailback hang around, thanks primarily to two big special-teams breakdowns.

But the Sun Devils made plays at the end, with safety Josh Barrett denying the Bruins with an end-zone interception with 4:15 remaining, and Carpenter — with a aggravated thumb injury — making a key run on third down to extend a drive that bled the clock and ended an 11-year ASU losing streak in the City of Angels.

“We found a way to win,” coach Dennis Erickson said. “You don’t win nine games without finding ways. We didn’t know which group was going to step up or which person, but we stepped up at the end.

“I’ve been around a lot of teams in my career, but this team is so dang resilient. Do we have a lot of great players? Probably not. But we’re so dang resilient and find ways to get it done. I couldn’t be prouder.”

The Sun Devils (9-1 overall, 6-1 Pac-10) are off until Thanksgiving, when they host Southern California. Carpenter, who can use every minute of the rest, said on Saturday his right (throwing) thumb, sprained two weeks ago against California, “popped.”

Carpenter, who finished 16-of-31 for 200 yards and was the victim on five of UCLA’s six sacks, threw four passes in the fourth quarter, completing none. He sat out a fourth-quarter series that ended when backup Danny Sullivan was sacked and fumbled, with the Bruins (5-5, 4-3) recovering the ball at the ASU 28.

However, two plays later, Barrett made his interception of a pass from Osaar Rasshan, and ASU held on to its four-point cushion.

“We kept our swagger,” defensive end Luis Vasquez said. “We did not want to have a letdown late in the game. That wasn’t an option for us.”

A Sun Devil defense thin at tackle with Michael Marquardt (ankle) out of the game and Jon Hargis (separated shoulder) sidelined for much of the first half, kept the scrambling Rasshan contained. The UCLA sophomore passed for 181 yards and ran for 41.

“He wasn’t comfortable back there,” Barrett said. “He’s a lot faster than that. He did a good job of trying to do something, but we did a better job of collaring him. … We knew that their offense was not doing anything on us.”

The Bruins stayed in the game thanks to special teams. Terrence Austin set up UCLA’s first touchdown with a 68-yard punt return in the first quarter, and Matt Slater brought a kickoff back 89 yards for a score in the third.

“We’ve been good on special teams all year, but we gave them 14 points on returns,” Erickson said. “That can’t happen. And we had to hang on to get a win because it did.”

Illinois’ upset of top-ranked Ohio State on Saturday likely elevates Oregon to No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series standings, behind Louisiana State. If the Ducks win out and advance to the BCS title game, the Rose Bowl would likely select ASU as an at-large team if it is ranked high enough.

Or, the Sun Devils could return to Pasadena as the Pac-10 champions if they win out and Oregon loses one of its three remaining games. Also, the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale remains in play.

The postseason bottom line for ASU is this: If the Sun Devils defeat USC, they would clinch at least second in the conference, meaning that they could do no worse than the Holiday Bowl.

As nice as San Diego is in December, the Sun Devils would much rather play 125 miles to the north in January.

“I’d love to come back,” linebacker Morris Wooten said. “We’re going to win out, and if we do, we’ll be back here. We’re coming back.”