Bordow: Sun Devils bowl hopes running away

BERKELEY, Calif. - It's not a real complicated thing, this Arizona State season that is fading into oblivion.

The Sun Devils are 2-3 and losers of three straight because they can't run the ball.

That's it. Period. End of story.

Arizona State falls at Cal, 24-14

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Oh, quarterback Rudy Carpenter didn't have the best of days in ASU's 24-14 loss to California on Saturday, throwing for just 165 yards with two interceptions.

And the defense gave up too many plays in the first half, when the Golden Bears had 210 total yards.

But that's window dressing.

So is the notion, by the way, that the Sun Devils are too young to win a big game on the road.

"Oh my God, it's like being at a nursery school," coach Dennis Erickson said.

Sorry, not buying it.

ASU started just six underclassmen - two on offense, four on defense.

That's not a young team.

But the Sun Devils are an underachieving team, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

ASU had 236 total yards Saturday. It had 212 yards against Georgia. Those 448 yards are fewer than the Sun Devils collected in either of their first two games, against NAU and Stanford.

The reason?

Like we said: They can't run the ball.

ASU attempted 13 running plays on first down Saturday. Its average gain was 2.92 yards.

That futility - and it's been the case all season - has placed Carpenter and the passing attack into too many difficult situations.

Against California, ASU needed an average of 6.8 yards on its 17 third downs. No team is going to win if it's constantly facing third-and-long.

"We're just not good enough offensively right now to have to depend on throwing the ball," Erickson said. "We've got to be able to commit to the running game."

ASU tried running backs Keegan Herring, Dimitri Nance and Shaun DeWitty, getting a combined 28 carries. But all that effort got them a pedestrian 92 yards, an average of 3.28 yards per carry.

"It is a problem," wide receiver Kyle Williams said. "We have to fix it internally."

But can they?

ASU's offensive line, which has three new starters, is getting manhandled. How many times this season has a running back been stonewalled at the line of scrimmage?

But it's not all on the big bellies up front. Truth be told, ASU doesn't have a No. 1 running back.

When Herring is healthy - and that's rarely the case these days - he's a good change-of-pace back. Nance isn't quick enough to avoid tackles. DeWitty never has panned out.

"It's a combination of blocking and backs seeing things and making good decisions," offensive coordinator Rich Olson said. "It's frustrating because we're not coming up with big plays."

Big? At this point, the Devils would take moderately successful. Their longest run from scrimmage this year is 20 yards.

Does the lack of a running game completely absolve Carpenter?

Of course not.

He made his share of mistakes Saturday, including underthrowing Williams on a potential fourth-quarter touchdown.

But it's hard to put up big numbers when defenses, unconcerned about the running game, are rushing three and dropping eight into coverage, as California often did.

"I don't know what to do," Carpenter said. "We're just not playing the game the way we should."

Here's a scary thought:

Maybe they are.

Maybe this is who ASU is and what it will be the next two months.

If so, the season has to be redefined.

It's no longer a question of what bowl game the Sun Devils will play in.

It's whether they'll play in a bowl game at all.