Sam Leavitt passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns, while Jordyn Tyson had 12 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns, leading Arizona State to a 24-14 victory over No. 20 Kansas State on Saturday night. This win marked the Sun Devils’ first visit to play their new Big 12 rival.
Cam Skattebo, returning from injury, rushed for 73 yards, and Arizona State (8-2, 5-2) built a 21-0 lead by halftime. The Sun Devils held on for their third straight win, keeping them in the hunt for a spot in the Big 12 championship game.
“Everybody keeps saying, ‘Oh, there’s a reason they’re winning and it’s not because they’re good,’” said Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.
“That has to bother you. This is the first week I really dove into that. I was pulling things out to show the guys for motivation this week. We really dove into people not believing in the football team, and not believing in the guys, and I think they responded.”
Avery Johnson, Kansas State’s quarterback, threw for 258 yards with two interceptions and ran for a touchdown. The Wildcats (7-3, 4-3, No. 16 CFP) had been unbeaten at home this season and had won 15 of their past 18 games there. D.J. Giddens rushed for 133 yards, and Joe Jackson had a touchdown run.
“I told the guys, ‘I’m going to take ownership of this on my own,’” said Kansas State coach Chris Klieman. “The whole program is on me. I didn’t do a good enough job with the game plan. I didn’t do a good enough job with the players.”
The Wildcats, who turned the ball over three times and botched two field-goal attempts, didn’t play like a team that was expected to contend for the conference title. They had a bye week to prepare for Arizona State.
Kansas State’s troubles began early. Johnson was intercepted on the second play of the game, and Arizona State took advantage by driving 49 yards, with Leavitt connecting with Tyson for the first touchdown. On the next drive, Giddens and Dylan Edwards were stopped on consecutive carries, turning the ball over on downs. The Wildcats’ third drive also ended in disaster when Jayce Brown fumbled the ball away after a catch.
“Props to our defense for creating takeaways and putting us in a situation where we didn’t have to go the length of the field,” Leavitt said. “We just executed on offense.”
Arizona State capitalized on every mistake. Leavitt threw his second touchdown pass to Tyson, a 30-yard strike, to make it 14-0. Then, Leavitt hit Chamon Metayer with a 16-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter.
“Momentum is a real thing,” said Arizona State defensive back Xavier Alford. “We wanted to come in here and make it our place.”
Kansas State’s mistakes continued: A 67-yard touchdown pass was called back because of a penalty, and Johnson missed an open Ty Bowman on what would have been a 69-yard touchdown. On a first-and-goal at the Arizona State 5-yard line, the Wildcats failed to score and then fumbled the snap on a field-goal attempt.
By halftime, Kansas State fans were booing their own team as Arizona State led 21-0. The Wildcats tried to mount a comeback in the second half, starting with a touchdown run by Johnson with 2:51 left in the third quarter.
They scored again quickly, cutting the lead to 21-14 after a 2-point conversion. But Arizona State picked up a few first downs on their next possession, running enough clock to make Kansas State’s rally nearly impossible.
The Wildcats had one more chance to make it a one-possession game but muffed a field-goal attempt with just over two minutes left.
“We’re big on clock management. We’re big on winning the details of the game,” Dillingham said after the game, with loud music playing in the locker room. “When you talk about winning against good football teams, you have to talk about winning the margins.”
