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In a season of near misses for Arizona State, nothing hurts as much as the finish in the 83rd Territorial Cup.

A misplayed punt by Kyle Williams, who until then was having a most valuable player-caliber game, led to Arizona's game-winning field goal on the final play Saturday and a 20-17 final. A crowd of 55,989 watched the dramatic ending at wind-swept Sun Devil Stadium.

ASU (4-8, 2-7 Pac-10) also lost to Georgia on a field goal as time expired, and to California on a field goal with 2:55 remaining. All told, the Sun Devils suffered four losses by a combined 13 points for their lowest winning total since 2001.

UA (7-4, 5-3) escaped with its second consecutive rivalry win. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 46-36-1 and finish the regular season next week at No. 20-ranked Southern California.

"I'm at a loss for words," said coach Dennis Erickson, 19-18 after three seasons at ASU. "I don't know how a loss can be any worse than that. It's been a hard year, but the players never quit. Still it's a loss, and unfortunately that's the bottom line in this business."

ASU finishes on a six-game losing streak. The Sun Devils also lost six in a row last year after doing so only once previously in 1929. They suffered back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1946-47.

Down 14-0 at halftime, ASU rallied behind senior quarterback Danny Sullivan to pull even 17-17 with 2:02 remaining. The Wildcats failed to get a first down and punted. Williams signaled for a fair catch but the ball glanced off him near his feet, with UA's Mike Turner recovering at the ASU 22-yard line with 1:03 left.

UA advanced seven yards while milking the clock, then Alex Zendejas converted from 32 yards. Zendejas, whose uncle, Max, beat ASU twice with late field goals in the 1980s, also made a 30-yarder midway through the fourth quarter and scored the Wildcats' only second-half points.

Words and tempers flared briefly after the game, including ASU linebacker Vontaze Burfict throwing a punch. Players were separated before fighting could escalate. "I went out and helped break it up," said Erickson, who did not see Burfict's punch.

Seniors Sullivan, Williams and Dimitri Nance did their part to swing what ultimately proved to be another squandered defensive gem.

Replacing sophomore Samson Szakacsy with 7:21 left in the second quarter, Sullivan threw for 168 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to Williams. He played for the first time since suffering a biceps injury against USC on Nov. 7.

"It meant everything" to play in the rivalry, Sullivan said. "I'd never taken a snap in this game my whole career. Finally I got in there and got the opportunity to make some plays."

Sullivan and Williams connected on a 44-yard touchdown, cutting ASU's deficit to 14-10, with 11:54 remaining. Erickson considered going for a two-point conversion but settled for a long kick after an unsportsmanlike penalty on Williams for removing his helmet while celebrating.

UA answered with a field goal on a drive helped by an unsportsmanlike penalty for taunting on safety Ryan McFoy.

Two possessions later, starting at the UA 48-yard line, Nance did much of the work only to have his apparent rushing touchdown negated by a holding penalty. That left it up to Sullivan, who on fourth-and-12 rolled out and found Williams in the back of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown.

Williams made the catch despite pass interference, finishing with a career-best 130 yards receiving and 200 all-purpose yards, including a season high 53-yard punt return. "He made some great plays," Erickson said. "You're a hero part of the time then you make a play like that (muffed punt). If it wasn't for Kyle, I don't know we even would have been in the game."

Nance rushed for 115 yards, his second consecutive 100-yard game, to finish the season with 795. UA tailback Keola Antolin, whose 67-yard touchdown run started the scoring, won the Bob Moran MVP Award.

Report

Key player

Arizona State senior wide receiver Kyle Williams was the central player, good and bad. The senior had a career-high 130 yards receiving including touchdown catches of 44 and 14 yards, returned a punt a season-high 53 yards and finished with 200 all-purpose yards. But he muffed a punt at his feet at the ASU 22-yard line, leading to Arizona's game-winning field goal.

Key moment

UA had almost no success offensively in the second half, going three-and-out five times including the possession after ASU pulled even at 17. Keenyn Crier's ninth punt seemingly was going to give the Sun Devils a chance to win in regulation, if not for Williams' mishandling the ball after signaling for a fair catch, giving the Wildcats that chance.

Key number

224: ASU's total yardage in the second half after only 79 in the first half, to finish with a 303-265 edge overall. UA came in No. 2 in the Pac-10 in total offense, ASU at No. 9.

Scoring summary:

FIRST QUARTER

UA - Keola Antolin 67 run (Alex Zendejas kick), 3:54. Key play: Antolin up the middle on his first carry of the game going almost untouched for the TD. UA 7, ASU 0.

SECOND QUARTER

UA - Orlando Vargas 23 blocked punt return, 3:50. Key play: Vargas made the block then ran to the ball for the recovery and TD return. UA 14, ASU 0.

THIRD QUARTER

ASU - Thomas Weber 26 FG, 6:50. Key play: Kyle Williams 53 punt return. UA 14, ASU 3.

FOURTH QUARTER

ASU - Danny Sullivan 44 pass to Williams (Weber kick), 11:54. Key play: Sullivan staying in the pocket to make the TD throw. UA 14, ASU 10.

UA - Alex Zendejas 30 FG, 7:50. Key play: Nick Foles 16 pass to Terrell Turner plus unsportsmanlike penalty on S Ryan McFoy. UA 17, ASU 10.

ASU - Sullivan 14 pass to Williams (Weber kick), 2:02. Key play: Williams reaching out to snag the TD pass in the back of the end zone in spite of pass interference. ASU 17, UA 17.

UA - Zendejas 32 FG, 0:00. Key play: Williams failing to cover a punt at his feet on a fair catch with UA's Mike Turner recovering at the ASU 22-yard line. UA 20, ASU 17.

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