PASADENA, Calif. — The nation's worst red zone offense in the FBS continued to stall time after time Saturday, as UCLA turned to backup quarterback Collin Schlee after a rash of injuries forced him into his first start of the season.

The change did very little, as the Bruins fumbled and turned the ball over on downs twice deep in Arizona State territory in an inept first half that ended with boos raining down at the Rose Bowl.

A struggling UCLA passing offense was upstaged by, of all people, a Sun Devils running back and even a converted tight end who never handled a snap beyond high school to further accentuate its own woes in what amounted to a 17-7 loss.

UCLA (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12), which came in converting on just 65.9% of its chances inside the 20-yard line, produced its second scoreless opening half of the season thanks in large part to a pair of Carson Steele runs on fourth-and-short that were stuffed.

Early in the fourth, Steele had another similar fourth-down run stopped short and more boos followed.

"We had the ball down in there tight and felt like we could get the ball in, and then obviously that’s my decision and I was wrong. You know, that’s 100 percent on my shoulders," UCLA head coach Chip Kelly said.

Schlee got the start over Ethan Garbers and Dante Moore at quarterback after both were deemed "emergency" options, if needed, but Kelly said he decided against using either one. Schlee finished 11 of 18 for 117 yards and a touchdown without an interception to go with a team-high-tying 51 yards on the ground.

He was shaken up late in the game and was replaced by Chase Griffin on the Bruins' final drive.

Arizona State (3-7, 2-5 Pac-12), which came into the contest ranked 77th on defense in the red zone with teams scoring at an 85% clip, won behind an unconventional offense that featured transfer running back Bo Skattebo and tight end Jaylin Conyers handling a handful of snaps.

The Sun Devils got back starting quarterback Trenton Bourguet, who exited last week's loss at Utah in the first offensive series. He finished 19 of 34 for 149 yards with an interception, but it was the two non-quarterbacks who produced the biggest passing plays.

Skattebo threw for a 25-yard touchdown on his lone completion late in the third quarter, while Conyers' intended pass drew a key pass interference call as part of a self-inflicted UCLA defensive drive midway through the fourth that led to the final scoring drive.

First quarter

No scores

Second quarter

7:54, ASU: PK Dario Longhetto 29-yard field goal, 3-0 ASU

Third quarter

1:59, ASU: RB Cam Skattebo to WR Elijhah Badger, 25-yard TD pass (PAT GOOD, Dario Longhetto), 10-0 ASU

Fourth quarter

9:47, UCLA: QB Collin Schlee to WR Logan Loya, 16-yard TD pass (PAT GOOD, Blake Glessner), 10-7 ASU

3:07, ASU: RB Cam Skattebo 17-yard TD run (PAT GOOD, Dario Longhetto), 17-7 ASU

Trailing 3-0 midway through the second quarter, UCLA found some success moving the ball on a combination of Schlee options and RPOs.

First, he executed a 38-yard pitch while on the run to running back Keegan Jones for a 38-yard gain. Then, Schlee followed with a 23-yard completion to tight end Moliki Matavao to get to the ASU 5-yard line.

However, the drive stalled after four runs, the last of which was for no gain by Steele at the ASU 1.

The Bruins' defense held serve and Logan Loya returned a punt 31 yards back to the ASU 18 with 3:29 left in the half.

UCLA again was faced with a fourth-and-1, this time from the ASU 9, and again Steele was stuffed for a turnover on downs. It capped three first-half drives that stalled at the ASU 22 or deeper, including an Anthony Adkins fumble early in the second quarter.

Sun Devils first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham's deep bag of tricks were on display throughout the night, and late in the third quarter Skattebo executed a 25-yard touchdown throw to receiver Elijhah Badger to extend ASU's lead to 10-0.

Finally, with 9:47 left in the fourth, UCLA's offense showed life as Schlee connected with Loya for a 16-yard touchdown to pull within 10-7.

On the preceding ASU drive, the Sun Devils inexplicably gifted the Bruins 20 yards worth of penalties with three false starts and a delay of game before punting and helping UCLA start the scoring drive on its own 41.

UCLA's defense then made its own pair of costly mistakes.

First, edge rusher Grayson Murphy's unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of a third-down ASU run well short of the first-down marker handed the Sun Devils a fresh set of downs. Three plays later, a deep throw down the right sideline by ASU tight end Jalin Conyers intended for Badger was called for pass interference as UCLA cornerback Devin Kirkwood's contact knocked Badger down.

Facing fourth-and-4 at the UCLA 24, Bourguet completed a 7-yard throw to receiver Melquan Stovall to extend the drive and force a UCLA timeout.

On the ensuing play, Skattebo absorbed the initial contact from a pair of defenders including safety Kenny Churchwell III, remained upright and found the hole for a 17-yard score to put the game out of reach.

When Schlee, who was sacked three times, did get called upon to throw, it was often to Loya.

He was targeted a team-high five times and finished with three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown.

The best movement UCLA otherwise had was on four Will Powers punts that traveled a combined 180 yards. One, in particular, was downed by safety Alex Johnson on the UCLA 1 at the 9:10 mark of the third quarter, but the Sun Devils drove 99 yards in 14 plays capped by Skattebo's touchdown pass.

Latu added seven tackles, including 2 1/2 for a loss to bring his total for stops behind the line of scrimmage to 18 1/2 (11th-best in program history).

As Kelly expected, Dillingham opened with a handful of exotic looks in the opening quarter to combat the Bruins' defensive front.

Conyers took the opening snap and handled a number of plays at quarterback, and some of the play designs oftentimes included overloading the right side of the field with four linemen and isolating two eligible receivers on the left side, and sometimes flipping the formation.

Late in the first quarter, a more conventional play resulted in miscommunication and Churchwell made a diving interception in the end zone on a Bourguet throw to nobody in particular.

Churchwell finished with five tackles, including one for a loss, and a pass break-up, but was unable to bring down Skattebo on the game-clinching run.

Loya's touchdown catch momentarily kept the struggling offense from going entirely lifeless, and it also was Schlee's first touchdown pass since transferring from Kent State over the winter.

In short, with a quarterback known more for his legs than his throwing arm, the UCLA offense was predictable on top of its ongoing pass-protection issues, and Kelly did not disagree.

The Bruins were just 3 of 11 on third down and 0 of 4 on fourth down.

"There's also the school of thought that we gotta be able to gain one yard if we can gain one yard," Kelly said. "But we'll go back, obviously it didn't work, so like I said that's on us (the coaches)."

Then. on the other side of the ball, it was mental miscues on the defensive drive that led to the game-sealing touchdown and not enough stops against an equally desperate mixed-and-matched ASU offense that was without at least six offensive linemen.

Passing

Collin Schlee: 11 of 18 for 117 yards, TD

Chase Griffin: 0 of 3 for 0 yards

Rushing

Collin Schlee: 14 carries for 51 yards

Keegan Jones: 3 carries for 51 yards

T.J. Harden: 7 carries for 37 yards

Carson Steele: 11 carries for 33 yards

Receiving

Logan Loya: 3 catches for 39 yards, TD

Defense

Laiatu Latu: 7 tackles, 2 1/2 tackles for a loss

Gabriel Murphy: 1 sack

Kenny Churchwell III: INT, pass break-up