SAN DIEGO - Some Holiday. Arizonans usually come to this beautiful city to get away from triple-digit temperatures. Arizona State went west with more than 100 young men and had the heat turned on by Texas.

The result: A 52-34 loss and an inescapable conclusion.

It’s been a wonderful first year for Dennis Erickson, but the Sun Devils still aren’t ready to tackle college football’s big boys.

ASU had three swings with which to measure itself this season.

Strike one: It lost at Oregon, 35-23.

Strike two: It was trampled by USC, 44-24.

Strike three: Texas’ 52 points were the most ASU has ever allowed in a bowl game.

Now, a little perspective is in order.

Few thought the Sun Devils were good enough to win 10 games and tie USC for first place in the Pac-10 Conference.

When the loss to Texas fades to black, ASU fans will appreciate just how good they had it this season.

But there was a common thread in the Sun Devils’ three losses, a reality that Erickson and his coaching staff will have to address with future recruiting classes.

ASU simply isn’t as talented or as athletic as the country’s top teams.

That’s what defensive coordinator Craig Bray said back in August, and that’s what was evident when the Sun Devils stepped up in class.

Texas’ team speed was too much for ASU, as was Oregon’s and USC’s.

Two plays Thursday told the story.

In the first quarter, Longhorns’ running back Jamaal Charles was so quick to the corner that Sun Devil pursuers Travis Goethel and Troy Nolan couldn’t lay a hand on him.

Later in the drive, backup Texas quarterback John Chiles juked ASU linebacker Robert James at the 2-yard line — James, by the way, is the Sun Devils’ most athletic defender — and ran into the end zone untouched.

That made it 14-0 Texas, and you knew right then and there it was one deficit ASU wouldn’t overcome.

How dominant was the Longhorns’ team speed?

Their first three scoring drives lasted 81 seconds, 13 seconds and 30 seconds.

Their 21 first-quarter points were a Holiday Bowl record.

ASU didn’t do itself any favors by turning the ball over five times, but the truth is the Longhorns were bigger, stronger, faster.

And better.

“They are a very, very, very athletic football team,” Erickson said.

“We thought we had angles on Charles around the corner, and he took those angles away, he said.

It was a bizarre game to say the least.

A defensive tackle scored the game’s first touchdown.

Mack Brown’s stepson cost the Longhorns seven points.

Texas turned two tipped balls into interceptions.

And did you catch Jake Plummer’s tribute to Grizzly Adams as he introduced the Sun Devils’ starting lineups while wearing a Santa Claus hat?

There must not be a barber in the Idaho woods.

But when all the craziness gave way to good, old-fashioned football, ASU couldn’t keep up.

That’s not a surprise or a reflection of Erickson’s coaching ability. He just doesn’t have the horses.

But the Sun Devils surely scored some recruiting points with their five-day stay in Southern California.

And it was an astute move to take out a half-page color ad in Thursday’s San Diego Union-Tribune.

The bonanza of publicity — as well as the 10-win season — will help ASU’s recruiting efforts.

And when Erickson does get the kind of players he needs, look out.

Until then, however, the Sun Devils will have to settle for consolation prizes.