Rosy victory for ASU

PASADENA, Calif. — Arizona State's Rudy Carpenter, who grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs, was happy the Sun Devils finally won a game in the Rose Bowl.

After ninth-ranked ASU held off UCLA 24-20 on Saturday, Carpenter said he wouldn't mind playing another game in Pasadena sometime soon.

"This win is huge for our team. We hadn't won here since 1996," the Sun Devils quarterback said. "It feels really good to hear our crowd in [the Bruins' stadium]."

There are many possible scenarios left for the Sun Devils (9-1, 6-1 Pac-10), including a shot at the conference title and a berth in the Rose Bowl game.

As the game ended, a throng of ASU fans chanted, "USC! USC!" The Sun Devils' next game, against No. 12 USC on Thanksgiving in Tempe, looks like a pivotal one.

Carpenter, threw for 200 yards and a touchdown, Chris McGaha had nine receptions for 123 yards, and Keegan Herring rushed for 116 yards on 22 carries, including a 71-yard touchdown run to help Arizona State hold off the injury-riddled Bruins.

The Sun Devils were coming off their lone loss, a 35-23 defeat to No. 3 Oregon in Eugene.

Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson said UCLA played well, and "we made some plays. You don't win nine games without making plays. We always seem to find a way."

The battered Bruins (5-5, 4-3) lost for the fourth time in five games, including a 20-6 defeat by Notre Dame that is still the Irish's lone win this year.

Despite using their fourth quarterback of the year, the Bruins put up a surprisingly good fight against the Sun Devils. Osaar Rasshan, who had been converted to wide receiver then switched back to quarterback last month after injuries to the Bruins' first two quarterbacks, went 14 of 27 for 181 yards with one interception. He ran for 41 yards on 13 carries.

That was, however, about it for the UCLA offense.

"Osaar did a nice job with his first start, fighting through some circumstances and some rough moments," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. "[Tailback] Craig Sheppard did the same thing. He did a nice job of carrying the load with the football.

"We played well defensively most of the time."

Safety Dennis Keyes logged 14 tackles for the Bruins. Chris Horton had three of their six sacks. Carpenter was sacked nine times in the loss to Oregon.

Carpenter went 16 of 31 against the Bruins, including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams.

The Sun Devils fell behind 10-0 early, trailed 13-10 at halftime, then went ahead to stay on Dimitri Nance's 11-yard touchdown run five minutes into the third quarter.