No. 21 Sun Devils Sink No. 14 BYU In Front of Sold Out Crowd

FULL RECAP WITH STATS /// POSTGAME NOTES /// QUOTES /// POSTGAME PRESSER /// ASU ALL-TIME IN RANKED GAMES

TEMPE, Ariz. – The pass sailed high, into the waiting arms of Sun Devil cornerback Javan Robinson.

With the Cougars trailing 28-23 in the final two minutes of the game, BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff intended to hit Darius Lassiter on a quick slant, but instead found Robinson, who returned it deep into Cougar territory.

The biggest play of the game, in the most meaningful game the Sun Devils have played in Tempe this past decade, halted the Cougars' most potent threat as the game hung in the balance. The Sun Devils, who took more than a minute off the clock on their ensuing four plays, turned the ball over on downs with just :01 left on the game clock.

The Cougars attempted a hail mary from their own 49-yard line, but Retzlaff's pass fell short, sealing a thrilling 28-23 win for the Sun Devils and an undefeated home slate (6-0) for the first time since the 2004 season.

"We won the football game," head coach Kenny Dillingham said postgame. "We beat another ranked team in Mountain America Stadium. This is all about the guys, these guys battled, these guys fought, these guys found a way to win and it doesn't matter whatever happened at the end, it happened, but you know what? We got to rush the field twice. How about that? We rushed the field three times this year. That's pretty cool. Not many people get the opportunity to do that. Come to Arizona State because there's going to be a lot more of that coming forward."

It was a tale of two halves for the Sun Devils, who built a commanding 21-0 lead in the first half. They rode the hot-hand of Cam Skattebo, who found the end zone three times, to take a 21-3 lead into the break.

Skattebo ended with 28 carries for 147 yards and a trio of touchdowns, marking the fifth game of the year with 100-plus yards on the ground.

"The boys, they fought every day," Skattebo said postgame. "We go back to the summer workouts and everybody fights every single day. We didn't blink out there when they started scoring points and we weren't. We came back, scored a touchdown, got a comfortable lead and then they scored again. So we just keep fighting. These guys have a lot of heart ... The culture's changed and everybody loves each other. We've turned this thing around, but it's not finished yet because there's still work to do in the process."

The Cougars regrouped and chipped away over the course of the second half, as both teams traded punches down the stretch. Wideout Keelan Marion took an end-around for a 10-yard score late in the third quarter to make it a 21-9 game. The Sun Devils shot right back with a quick-hitting, two-play, 75-yard drive where Leavitt landed a deep shot to Xavier Guillory for a 61-yard score. It gave ASU its largest lead of the game at 28-9.

The well-established Leavitt-Jordyn Tyson was on display again, as the two connected nine times for 125 yards. But the deep shot to Guillory – his only reception of the day – proved to be one of the biggest. Leavitt concluded his day with 247 yards on 16-for-25 passing with one touchdown.

Two additional Cougar touchdowns down the stretch – a Jojo Phillips 21-yard reception and Marion's 1-yard punch – made it 28-23, a deficit BYU couldn't further solve. It guaranteed at least a tie for second in the Big 12 Conference standings for the Sun Devils, who moved to 6-2 through eight games in conference play for the first time since 2014 (also 6-2).

Backed by a sold out home crowd, the Sun Devils came out of the gate with authority, riding the hot hand of Skattebo who scored on three of their first four possessions. Skattebo, playing in his final home game as a Sun Devil, had a pair of touchdown runs from inside the five-yard line before ripping off a 23-yard score for his third of the half.

On a 3rd-and-1 inside two minutes of the half, Skattebo slipped by two Cougars, regained balance and cruised into the end zone to push the Sun Devils up, 21-0. It was set up by a perfectly executed squib kick by Parker Lewis, as the ball bounced off a BYU player and was pounced on by the Sun Devils' Plas Johnson.

The Cougars hit a 49-yard field goal late in the second to cut into the Sun Devil lead, the lone bright spot in an otherwise fruitless half.

The Sun Devils totaled 208 yards of offense in the first half, with more than half coming on the ground.

In addition to the relentless rushing attack in the opening half, the Sun Devil defense held the Cougar offense in check. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw for 89 yards on 8-for-15 passing, and the Cougars mustered just 25 yards on the ground.

"What a cool environment in college football, this was awesome," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said postgame. "Obviously we didn't do enough to get the win but you have to give a lot of credit to Arizona State, Kenny Dillingham and the team. They were ready and I thought they had a great start, a well-coached team. You look at the weapons that they have on offense and then you look at what the defense has done. That's an underrated defense that I don't think a lot of people give enough credit to."

One game remains in the Sun Devils' 2024 campaign, as they'll pay a visit to in-state rival Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 30. Kickoff time has yet to be announced.