With about six minutes left in the fourth quarter Saturday against Arizona State, the Cal football team was reeling. It had just squandered what was at one point a 14-point lead, allowing the Sun Devils to come all the way back to tie the game at 34. With their backs against the wall, the Bears then turned, as they so often do, to their passing game.

But it let them down.

Quarterback Davis Webb threw a ball deep that was intercepted by Arizona State’s Salamo Fiso, who took it back to Cal’s 15-yard line. The Sun Devils took a 37-34 lead on the next drive after being held to a field goal, but they would not give up the lead again.

Arizona State took down Cal, 51-41, in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday night, despite 10 receptions, 110 yards and a touchdown from Chad Hansen.

“You’ve got to give Arizona State a lot of credit,” said Cal head coach Sonny Dykes. “They made a bunch of plays down the stretch.”

After the teams traded a pair of three-and-outs, Cal opened up scoring on its second drive of the game. The Bears converted a couple of key third downs, including one on 3rd and 9 from their own three-yard line. Webb managed to find Hansen, who impressively tapped his toe inbounds, 23 yards downfield along the sideline.

On Cal’s next drive, freshman Melquise Stovall picked up 40 yards on a slant, after which Webb found another freshman, Demetris Robertson, in the corner of the endzone for a touchdown and the early lead. The 19-yard strike made the score 7-0 with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

The Bears looked primed to build on their lead after a Darius Allensworth interception of Manny Wilkins gave them great field position, but an eventual missed 42-yard field goal by Matt Anderson kept Cal’s lead at one possession. This miss was Anderson’s first in a span of 18 tries, stretching back to last season.

Fruitless drives from both offenses left the defenses looking good and the expected shootout in jeopardy. Arizona State managed its first successful drive near the end of the first quarter, but the Bears’ defense stepped up to hold the Sun Devils to a field goal. At the end of the first quarter, Cal’s much-maligned run defense was holding up well, allowing only 34 yards on 12 carries.

The Bears’ offense began to find its rhythm in the second quarter, with Webb throwing a touchdown to Hansen while their defenders continued to swarm the Sun Devils. With Cal’s biggest hole seemingly shored up and the ball in scoring position — the Bears had a 1st and goal at the seven-yard line — the floodgates looked ready to burst.

Arizona State’s defense, however, managed to stage an impressive stand. Even after having an interception called back because of an offsides penalty, the Sun Devils halted the Bears, limiting damage to only a field goal. Arizona State followed up with its most successful series of the evening to that point, driving 75 yards in only six plays to find paydirt for the first time all game.

The Sun Devils seemed poised to head into halftime in a one-possession game despite being pretty thoroughly outplayed, having brought the score to 17-10 with 1:24 left in the half. Webb, however, easily orchestrated another quick touchdown drive. He needed a little more than a minute to get downfield and find redshirt freshman Brandon Singleton for a 23-yard touchdown to give the Bears a 24-10 lead heading into the break.

Arizona State needed to turn the tide, and the Sun Devils’ offense obliged. They scored 10 points on their first two series of the second half, making it three consecutive Sun Devil scoring drives.

Arizona State held onto the ball for much of the quarter, tallying just less than 11 minutes of possession. This put the well-rested Sun Devil defense in a position to succeed — they managed to stifle the vaunted Bear Raid, allowing only three points and two first downs.

The Arizona State pass defense was especially impressive. The unit came into the game as one of the worst in the nation, but the Sun Devils held strong in the third quarter after allowing Webb to pick up 234 yards before the half, giving up only 46 in the period. Meanwhile, Cal’s defense, which held up impressively in the first half, fell apart.

The Bears allowed the Sun Devils to tie it up at 27 on Wilkins’ third rushing touchdown of the game. On the ensuing drive, Cal managed to regain the lead when Webb found Tre Watson for a short pass on 3rd and 9 and let the running back do the rest. He blazed past the defense right to the endzone for a 74-yard touchdown, giving Cal a lead it soon squandered.

Wilkins hit a wide open Jay Jay Wilson to tie the game, and a costly Webb interception gave the Sun Devils the ball and a chance for their first lead of the game. Gonzalez drilled his third field goal of the game despite hitting the post, and Webb threw a pick-six on the next drive to clinch the game for Arizona State.

Webb hit Robertson for another touchdown, but the Sun Devils returned the Cal onside kick for a touchdown, bringing the final score to 51-41.

“We left too many opportunities there, myself included,” Webb said. “You can’t throw two picks in the fourth quarter and expect to win.”

Hooman Yazdanian covers football. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @hoomanyazdanian