ASU Football: Skattebo and defense salvage chaotic win over No. 14 BYU

November 23, 2024 Logan Brown Football 0

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ASU senior running back Cam Skattebo (#4) celebrates after a touchdown. (Hana Kaufman/Inferno Intel)

Since taking over in Tempe, head coach Kenny Dillingham’s message has been simple: Activate the Valley.

With Brigham Young driving towards a potential go-ahead score, that message was fully realized as the fans in a sold-out Mountain America Stadium rose to their feet.

A game-sealing interception in the final minute by Javan Robinson helped No. 21 Arizona State (9-2, 6-2) escape a second-half rally by No. 14 BYU (9-2, 6-2) with a 28-23 win on Saturday.

The victory completed an undefeated season at home for the Sun Devils, something that hasn’t been accomplished in Tempe since 2004.

“The boys, they fought every day,” Skattebo told reporters. “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.

Senior running back Cam Skattebo put the ASU offense on his back against the Cougars. He carried the ball 28 times for 148 yards and three first-half scores.

The Sun Devils played complimentary football in the first half, as the defense created scoring opportunities for its offense. BYU turned the ball over on downs on their opening possession near midfield. Seven carries later, Skattebo plunged into the end zone from three yards out to take an early lead.

The Cougars drove the ball to midfield again on their next drive, but redshirt junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff’s pass was batted into the air at the line of scrimmage by redshirt senior defensive end Prince Dorbah. Junior linebacker Jordan Crook dove for the ball and brought in his first career interception.

Later on, after a BYU punt, Arizona State was backed up. Starting at their five-yard line, ASU put together short runs to pick up a first down. Then, redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt found redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson along the BYU sideline, who shook a tackle for a 54-yard catch-and-run. A few plays later, Skattebo took it in from four yards out.

The 12-play, 95-yard scoring drive lasted nearly seven minutes—the longest scoring drive of the season for the Sun Devils.

The Devils have dominated the middle eight minutes this season, outsourcing opponents 66-13 entering Saturday’s game. Dillingham decided to try and widen that gap a little more before the break.

After the score, Dillingham trotted out graduate kicker Parker Lewis for a surprise onside kick that bounced off a BYU player and into the arms of ASU freshman Plas Johnson.

“We said let’s squib it, but we also want to try to hit [the BYU special teamer] on the way to the squib,” Dillingham explained. “So if it hits him, we have a chance to recover it.”

A few plays later, Skattebo shook a pair of tacklers and blitzed to the end zone for a 23-yard score, his third of the game. The Sun Devils’ efficiency on the ground, suffocating defense, and big gambles from Dillingham gave them a commanding 21-3 lead at the break.

The second half was a different story for the Arizona State offense. Aided by BYU penalties, Leavitt found graduate wide receiver Melquan Stovall along the sideline for a 25-yard gain to set up a goal-to-go opportunity. A dropped touchdown pass led to a turnover on downs at the goal line on ASU’s opening drive of the half.

Despite the long field, BYU ripped off several chunk plays through the air and scored on a jet sweep to redshirt junior wideout Keelan Marion from 10 yards out.

The biggest play of the day for either side came just two plays into ASU’s next drive. Leavitt found redshirt senior wideout Xavier Guillory on a deep corner route for a quick 61-yard score to respond and push the lead to 28-9.

“Just being ready, that’s kind of the motto in our receiving group,” Guillory said. “Staying ready and just doing our job. It felt awesome that Sam trusted me on that play and it turned out to be a big play when it came down to the game.”

Leavitt finished the day completing 16-of-25 passes for 247 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

BYU continued to attack with its new-found success in the air. First, Retzlaff tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman receiver Jojo Phillips and completed a two-point attempt to cut the ASU lead to 28-17.

On their next drive, the Cougars went to the air again with completions of 24, 18 and 11 yards on a drive that ended in another end-around touchdown run by Marion from a yard out. 

Suddenly, a large lead for the Sun Devils turned into a 28-23 nailbiter.

Leavitt completed a 30-yard pass to Tyson to get the Sun Devils across midfield on their next drive. Skattebo kept the clock ticking with short runs that moved ASU into the red zone.

However, on a fourth and one, Leavitt and Skattebo were not on the same page on a designed run. The Cougars capitalized by getting the stop and setting up a two-minute drill for their offense.

Retzlaff worked the BYU offense into Arizona State territory with one minute remaining. Then, with the stadium on its feet, Retzlaff overshot his receiver as the ball sailed into the awaiting hands of Robinson, who returned the ball deep into BYU territory to all but end the game.

Arizona State’s offense attempted to drain the clock and fans rushed the field once the scoreboard showed triple zeros. But after a lengthy delay in which officials determined there was one second left, the field was cleared for BYU’s last gasp. However, Retzlaff’s hail mary attempt came up short and incomplete, and the fans rushed to Frank Kush Field for a second time.

“I’ve got a tattoo right here,” Tyson said postgame, pointing to his left arm. “It says ‘diamond in the rough.’ That just describes this team—diamond in the rough. We just keep working and, shoot, pressure builds diamonds. And that’s what happened today.”

Surviving BYU’s comeback win not only keeps Arizona State’s Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff hopes alive, but, by way of Colorado’s loss at Kansas, puts them in the driver’s seat heading into a rivalry matchup next Saturday in Tucson against Arizona.

But in the present, Dillingham stressed the growth of Arizona State football.

“We beat another ranked team in Mountain America Stadium,” Dillingham said. “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.”

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