Disappointment the norm for Devils

Danny Sullivan and Cameron Marshall sat in front of the microphones, waiting for a question.

The room was silent.

Five seconds passed. Then 10. Finally, Sullivan was asked about the final play in Arizona State’s 23-21 loss to California Saturday.

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Less than five minutes later, both players were headed back to the locker room.

That’s what ASU’s season has become. There’s nothing left to ask, nothing left to talk about.

The Sun Devils are the gerbil in the wheel. They’re going nowhere.

“This is a tough loss, one of the hardest I’ve been around,” coach Dennis Erickson said. “To lose it at the end is very difficult. We’re all drained.”

It was a devastating way to lose. ASU failed to get a first down that would have secured the victory. California then drove 74 yards on 11 plays and won on a 24-yard field goal from Georgio Tavecchio with 21 seconds left.

But those are just the facts. Here’s the bigger picture: ASU was playing at home. California fumbled the ball four times, losing two of them. It missed two field goal attempts and had 12 penalties for 115 yards.

Finally, coach Jeff Tedford called a terrible game, including a pass from tailback Shane Vereen with less than one minute left that was nearly intercepted and stopped the clock long enough for ASU to get one final chance on offense.

All that, and the Sun Devils still lost.

The realities of those three paragraphs are even more disturbing than last week’s 33-14 drubbing by Stanford.

If ASU can’t win at home when the opponent tries to give the game away, when will it win again?

In 2010?

“We’ll fight through it,” Erickson said.

But what is there to fight for anymore? USC and Oregon are up next, and it’s pretty easy to figure out what will happen in those games. At that point, ASU will have lost four straight.

Resignation won’t have just settled in, it will have taken over the locker room.

“It’s pretty tough to take right now,” Sullivan said.

All of the usual suspects lined up Saturday. ASU’s offense produced only 329 yards and one sustained drive: A 7-play, 61-yard march that gave it a 21-20 lead with 10:21 left. The Sun Devils’ other scores came after a Cal turnover at its 2-yard line and on an 80-yard bomb from Sullivan to Kyle Williams.

ASU couldn’t even put points on the board when California fumbled on its opening possession and the Sun Devils took over at the Bears’ 39-yard line following a stupid unsportsmanlike conduct on defensive tackle Lawrence Guy.

“We have to be more accountable offensively,” Erickson said. “We have to get something. We have to get points. We haven’t been able to do that.”

And that’s somehow going to change now, eight games into the season?

The offense’s limitations have placed an almost unfair burden on the defense. Yes, the defense needed to rise up and stop California on its final drive, particularly when the Bears faced a first-and-25 after a face mask penalty.

But ASU’s margin of error is so small that even on a day when the defense held Jahvid Best to 63 yards on 18 carries and California to 57 rushing yards overall, it wasn’t enough.

“It’s like a broken record,” linebacker Mike Nixon said.

If there’s a way to get the needle moving, it’s hard to see from here.

Erickson apparently will ride Sullivan all the way to the finish line, so fans can’t even anxiously await Brock Osweiler’s first start.

All that’s left to look forward to is Arizona coming to town on Nov. 28. And given the way the Wildcats are playing, that likely won’t be a satisfying day either.

Sadly, ASU fans probably won’t even be angry about what transpired Saturday.

They’re used to it by now.