Arizona State University started badly Saturday and finished worse. ASU fell behind by 14 points at home early against Cal, fought back to take the lead and lost 23-21 when Giorgio Tavecchhio kicked a field goal in the final minute.

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Tavecchhio, who missed a go-ahead field goal a few minutes earlier, kicked a 24-yarder with 21 seconds left to give the Golden Bears (6-2 overall, 2-3 Pac-10) a victory.

“It’s hard because our guys played hard the whole game, and unfortunately we let them have some plays at the end,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said.

For the second straight week, the Sun Devils put themselves in a deep hole. ASU which fell behind Stanford 24 points before falling 33-14 the week before trailed 14-0 in the first quarter.

ASU (4-4, 2-3) took its first lead of the game when Cameron Marshall scored on a 6-yard touchdown with 10:21 left in the fourth quarter, and Thomas Weber kicked the extra point to make it 21-20.

Tavecchhio missed a 39-yard field goal try with 5:46 left.

ASU took over. On third-and 2 from the 31, Marshall carried but came a yard short. ASU had to punt.

Thomas Hankins punted it 47 yards. An illegal block on the return left Cal to start from its 19 with 3:16 left.

“As a defense, that’s obviously the situation you want,'” ASU linebacker and former Sunnyslope standout Mike Nixon said. “I feel like as a defense, we let this team down tonight.”

The Bears were able to march down to the ASU 5. The key play of the drive came after a penalty backed Cal up with a first and 25 at the Bears 40. Kevin Riley scrambled and hit Marvin Jones for 26 yards and a first down.

“Yeah, you have to give Riley credit,” Erickson said. “He scrambles out of the pocket, his guys move around, he’s wide open. It’s just disheartening because we worked so hard.”

Cal tried some trickery at the 5. Shane Vereen passed out of the Wildcat formation. It was tipped and almost intercepted. That was enough fancy stuff for Cal. Riley came back at quarterback and took a knee to set up the winning field goal try.

Riley was outstanding for the Bears, completing 27 of 44 passes for 351 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked three times, and the Sun Devils forced him to fumble twice.

ASU’s vaunted run defense, which was shredded by Stanford a week earlier, stepped up against Cal. The Sun Devils held Jahvid Best to 63 yards on 18 carries. His longest run from scrimmage was 8 yards.

Best came into the game averaging 110.7 yards rush per game and 8. 1 yards per carry.

After a slow start, ASU quarterback Danny Sullivan finished with 244 yards passing, completing 16 of 29 attempts. He threw two interceptions.

Moon Valley graduate Chris McGaha had four catches for 76 yards for ASU. Former Chaparral standout Kyle Williams had three catches for 90 yards, including an 80 yarder for a touchdown. Hamilton alumnus Gerell Robinson finished with two catches for 17 yards.

Marshall led the Sun Devils in rushing with 71 yards on 16 carries.

“(Dimtri) Nance was a little banged up, so I had to step up a little bit,” Marshall said. “The whole line was doing a great job blocking.”

Former Peoria star Jamal Miles ran once for 1 yard. Miles had a reception for 7 yards and 110 yards on kickoff returns.

After Cal took the lead in the final minute, Miles returned the kickoff to the ASU 33. Sullivan hit McGaha for a 25-yard gain to the Cal 42. Sullivan spiked the ball to stop the clock.

On the last play, Sullivan threw an incomplete pass, and ASU was called for holding and intentional grounding.

Cal led by three at the half and extended it to 20-14 when Tavecchhio kicked a 51-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.

ASU had just nominated Chaparral graduate Hankins for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s top punter. The Sun Devils showcased his talents in the first quarter.

They didn’t manage to get a single first down, and Hankins was able to show off his leg strength for the network TV audience. He had punts, of 49 and 55 yards.

On its second possession, Cal went 67 yards in four plays to take the lead.

Riley completed a 56-yard pass to Cody Ross, moving the Bears to the ASU 11. Riley threw incomplete twice. Then he found Best open at the 6. Best zig-zagged in for the score.

After ASU was forced to punt again, Cal scored again another 67-yard drive, this one going eight plays. A key play was a pass interference call against ASU’s Pierre Singfield.

Riley threw 12 yards to Marvin Jones for the score. Tavecchhio’s extra point made it 14-7.

ASU finally racked up a first down on the opening play of the second quarter. Sullivan completed at 12-yard pass to Robinson. Cal was called for a personal foul on the play.

That started the first real Sun Devil drive. They managed to get to the Cal 2 before Ryan Bass fumbled, and Cal defensive back Brett Johnson recovered.

Two plays later, the Sun Devils got it back. Lawrence Guy sacked Riley for a loss and the ball came loose. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict recovered at the Cal 3.

ASU brought in third-team quarterback Samson Szakacsy. He rolled out and completed a 3-yard pass to Jovan Williams. It was the first completion and first touchdown for Szakacsy, a third-year sophomore. Weber kicked the extra point to cut Cal’s lead to 14-7.

After Tavecchio missed a field goal try from 34 yards, ASU took over at its 20.

Sullivan entered and promptly threw an 80-yard TD pass to Williams. Weber’s kick tied the game at 14.

The Bears’ next drive stalled. Bryan Anger punted the ball 56 yards, to inside the Sun Devil 1 with 3:05 left in the half.

ASU managed to get some breathing room, making a first down. But Sullivan threw a deep ball that Syd’Quan Thompson intercepted and returned to the ASU 32.

That set up Tavecchio’s 25-yard field goal that gave Cal a 17-14 lead with 1:00 left in the half.

ASU frittered away an early opportunity. On the first series, Riley scrambled and was hit by Nixon and fumbled. Guy recovered and was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for spiking the ball.

Erickson said he talked with Guy about the play.

“You’re going get called for penalties in a game,” he said. “But those are the kind that drive you crazy.”

ASU took over at the 39 instead of the 24. ASU couldn’t move the ball and surrendered on downs at the Cal 33.