Rebel hell for Devils; ASU loses to UNLV

It is the most sure thing Arizona State's football program has, the Sun Devils' Lou Groza Award-winning kicker preparing to put his toe on the ball.

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SLIDESHOW: ASU vs. UNLV football

Rebels control Devils in 2nd half

However, an unlikely scenario - Thomas Weber not putting one between the uprights, as his 35-yard attempt in overtime was blocked - resulted in an even more improbable finish, as Nevada-Las Vegas upset the 15th-ranked Sun Devils, 23-20, on Saturday night.

With one fell swoop, the announced crowd of 59,852 at Sun Devil Stadium went into stunned silence, a dreadful day for the Pac-10 reached its nadir, the ESPN "College GameDay" crew was possibly diverted to Louisiana State-Auburn next week, and ASU's upcoming matchup against second-ranked Georgia has lost a lot of luster.

"We didn't tackle well, and we didn't make plays on defense. On offense, we didn't convert on third down, and we made some mistakes," coach Dennis Erickson said. "It's a nightmare. You have to give them the credit. Who'd have thought we would have a field goal blocked? It shouldn't have come to that, though.

"It's not... it's just not good."

After UNLV (2-1) opened the overtime period with a field goal, defensive lineman Malo Taumua came up the middle and batted down Weber's 35-yard attempt, and the Rebels flooded the field in ecstasy.

"It's an unbelievable credit to our team," said UNLV coach Mike Sanford, fighting back tears. "We really kept it together. I'm so proud of them. We made plays when we had to make plays. It's the best win of my life."

The Rebels trailed 20-10 in the third quarter but dominated the possession time in the second half and forced overtime on an outstanding one-handed touchdown grab by freshman receiver Philip Payne with 18 seconds left.

Last week, UNLV was worn down by Utah, so conventional wisdom dictated that a more physical ASU offense could do the same. However, the opposite happened, as running lanes that were clogged for running back Frank Summers in the first half opened up after intermission.

The Rebels controlled the ball for 19:33 of the second half.

Summers had 100 of his 105 yards rushing after halftime, doing much of the damage on an 18-play, nine-minute drive in the fourth quarter that culminated in a field goal. His success is a bad omen for a Sun Devil defense that must contend with Georgia and star running back Knowshon Moreno next week.

Was ASU (2-1) looking ahead to the Bulldogs?

"You have to give all of the credit to them," said quarterback Rudy Carpenter, who was 13-for-23 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. "They were the reason we lost. We didn't do well in all aspects of the game, and you lose when you don't do that....

"I will say this: The character on this team is good. I think we'll take our aggression and anger and apply it in practice, and hopefully, we'll come out next week and play a great game."

For the first time, an Erickson-coached Sun Devil team failed to beat an opponent it was supposed to.

"That starts with me," Erickson said. "I'll take the blame. I didn't have us ready to play."

ASU controlled the first half but had just a three-point halftime lead to show for it, thanks in big part to a Carpenter interception that set up a UNLV touchdown.

With the Sun Devils at their own 10 and 1:36 left in the second quarter, Rebels linebacker Beau Orth, a true freshman, stepped in front of receiver Kerry Taylor and picked off the pass. Three plays later, UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton hit Payne for a 2-yard touchdown to make the score 10-10.

After the ensuing kickoff, 26 seconds remained. A 24-yard catch by Kyle Williams brought ASU to the Rebels 32 with four seconds on the clock. Weber ended the half with a 49-yard field goal.

ASU, a 23-point favorite, joined the Pac-10's roll call of shame for the week.

No.23 California was physically dominated in a loss against a Maryland team that previously lost to Middle Tennessee State. UCLA was drilled at Brigham Young, as was Washington at home against Oklahoma. Arizona, Stanford and Washington State were also beaten.

However, the biggest egg laid on Saturday was colored maroon and gold.

"They are not at our level," safety Troy Nolan said. "That is no disrespect to them. They beat us. But we let them hang around, and look what happened."

GAME AT A GLANCE

UNLV 23, ASU 20, OT
Did you see that? Malo Taumua’s block in overtime ended a string of 14 consecutive field goals for ASU’s Thomas Weber, the reigning Lou Groza Award winner. It was Weber’s second miss in 33 career attempts.

Thumbs up: Receiver Kyle Williams had 115 yards and a touchdown on three catches and returned four kickoffs for 90 yards.

Thumbs down: The Sun Devils were just 2-of-9 on third down and — once again — struggled in the red zone. They had a field goal blocked on Saturday, and have just six touchdowns in 13 trips this season.

Injury report: Running back Keegan Herring (hamstring) and tight end Andrew Pettes (groin), who were both game-time decisions, did not play. Outside linebacker Travis Goethel left the game in the second half with an undisclosed ailment.

Quotable: “We have to get together as a team (today) and look at what happened and talk about what we need to do to get ready for Georgia. We have to get over this thing first, and then, we’ll approach the other thing after that.” — ASU coach Dennis Erickson
Dan Zeiger, Tribune