There was a moment Thursday when Arizona State’s magic carpet ride seemed like it would float all the way to the Rose Bowl.

USC punishes Arizona State, 44-24

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ASU defense unable to slow Booty, USC

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After USC scored on its opening drive, the Sun Devils’ Rudy Burgess took the ensuing kickoff at his 2-yard line. Ninety-eight yards later, he dove into the end zone to tie the score at 7-7.

The sellout crowd at Sun Devil Stadium erupted.

ASU’s players and coaches jumped for joy on the sideline.

Was this the night the Sun Devils would finally beat the big, bad Trojans?

Was this the night they’d show off to a national television audience and punch their ticket to Pasadena?

Uh, no.

But we did learn two things from ASU’s 44-24 loss.

USC is still USC.

And the Sun Devils still aren’t in the Trojans’ class.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but the truth was all over the field Thursday.

It was in the blood spurting from quarterback Rudy Carpenter’s lip, courtesy of one of four sacks by USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson.

It was in the ridiculous numbers put up by Trojans quarterback John David Booty — 375 yards, four touchdowns — and the season-low 16 rushing yards by ASU.

It was in every big hit by a USC defender, every broken tackle by a USC receiver or running back and, by the start of the fourth quarter, the thousands of empty seats.

“Tonight I think we were a little overmatched,” Carpenter said.

That’s really no surprise, when you think about it.

ASU’s No. 7 ranking and 9-1 record was built on a favorable schedule. The suspicion all along was that the Sun Devils weren’t as good as their lofty perch in the polls.

That was confirmed at Oregon and reaffirmed Thursday.

“We got whupped,” Carpenter said.

ASU has had a wonderful season, and in no way does the loss to USC diminish that. It just puts the Sun Devils where they belong — looking up at the Ducks and Trojans.

“In my opinion watching them play live, they’re one of the best teams in the country,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said.

“And we just happened to catch them when they played like one of the best teams in the country.”

It could have been a special night for ASU.

Win, and the Rose Bowl was in its grasp.

Win, and the BCS national championship game was still a sweet dream.

Win, and Erickson would be the biggest thing to hit the Valley sports scene since Charles Barkley.

(By the way, did you catch Barkley referring to the Sun Devils as “we” in his sideline interview with ESPN? I could have sworn he went to Auburn).

Anyway, the stars were out and the anticipation was delicious.

Then the game started.

It was evident from USC’s first possession that the Trojans simply were too athletic for the Sun Devils.

Defensive coordinator Craig Bray said before the season that ASU would need two strong recruiting classes to compete for a Pac-10 title, and 508 total yards later, USC made him look like a prophet.

Oh, and it might have been nice if someone on ASU’s offensive line actually laid a hand on Jackson. He was in the Sun Devils’ backfield so often he should have been charged rent.

“Their defensive line kind of outpowered our offensive line,” Burgess said.

Kind of?

What’s important now is that ASU doesn’t lose track of the bigger picture. Sure, the heady talk has given way to a sober reality.

But there’s still plenty to play for.

If the Sun Devils beat Arizona on Dec. 1, they could land an at-large bid in the Fiesta Bowl.

It may not be where they wanted to end up, given their 8-0 start, but let’s not forget ASU’s lowly stature back in August.

A Fiesta Bowl berth then would have been considered laughable.

“We’re still a good team,” running back Keegan Herring said.

Yes, they are.

They’re just not a great team.