ASU Football: Skattebo carries Sun Devils to Big 12 title blowout, punches ticket to CFP

December 7, 2024 Logan Brown Football, Inferno Intel 0

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Senior running back Cam Skattebo dominated Iowa State in Arizona State's 45-19 win in the 2024 Big 12 Championship Game. (Hana Kaufman/Inferno Intel)

From worst to first… at least based on the preseason media polls.

Picked to finish dead last in its first season in the Big 12 Conference, No. 15 Arizona State (11-2, 7-2) climbed to the top in blowout fashion, taking down No. 16 Iowa State (10-3, 7-2) 45-19 in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium.

The win effectively punched ASU’s ticket to the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. The only question remaining is where the team will be seeded. Either it will earn a top-four seed and a first-round bye or travel to face an at-large team.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham made his case one last time for the Sun Devils to earn the bye by referencing the committee’s decision last season against Florida State.

“Last year they left a team out because of a quarterback,” Dillingham said postgame. “We’re 11-1 with our starting quarterback, having beat four ranked teams, having won the Big 12 Championship. So I do think because of the, you know, we’ve made a standard that the quarterback is that valuable. I think there should be a real chance that we get a first-round bye, and I definitely think we should host a game.”

Aside from the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt, ASU’s driving force in the win was once again running back Cam Skattebo. The senior back put the offense on his shoulders, toting the rock 16 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He finished the day with over 200 yards from scrimmage and added another touchdown through the air, making a case for a potential invitation to New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony next weekend.

“He’s grown up so much this year,” Dillingham said of his star back. “You can see the speed there throughout the game, which he didn’t have last year, but that’s just the work that he put in. But he prepared like he always prepared, and a whole bunch of people stepped up.”

Both teams started on a torrid pace as the scoring pendulum swung back and forth. The first five possessions of the game ended in scores for either side.

Skattebo got the first touch of the day and immediately silenced the Iowa State side of the crowd with a 28-yard run. Graduate wideout Melquan Stovall made a 22-yard catch along the sideline before the drive stalled in the red area, forcing the Sun Devils to settle for a 32-yard field goal by freshman kicker Carston Kieffer, who replaced graduate kicker Parker Lewis.

Iowa State responded by using some tempo on their opening drive, which the Sun Devils have struggled against this season. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht converted a third-and-one with a sneak under center and followed it with a play-action TD pass to redshirt sophomore tight end Gabe Burkle to take a 7-3 lead.

Dillingham took his first gamble of the day on the next drive. Faced with a fourth-and-one at his own 34-yard line, Dillingham trusted offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo‘s risk to not give the ball to his senior back. Instead, Leavitt dropped back and took a shot deep for Stovall and connected. The catch-and-run for 63 yards set up a 3-yard pin-and-pull keeper for Leavitt for a touchdown to retake the lead.

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“I had nothing to do with that. That was Coach Arroyo,” Dillingham confessed. “He called it and I was like, ‘Oh crap. Alright bud, let’s do it.’… I trust it, I trust our quarterback, I trust our players and he thought that was the best call for that situation. I almost wanted to say, ‘Just hand it to Skatt! Just hand it to Skatt!’ But I trusted him, I trusted our quarterback and incredible play call, incredible execution, great pickup up front, good throw by Sam. Game-changing play right there.”

“I was pretty shocked he called it that early in the game,” Leavitt said. “We practiced it all week. We were successful; we were 100 percent throughout the week on it. Big-time players make big-time plays in those kind of moments. Essentially I’d call Arroyo a player for that.”

After the Cyclones tied the game with a field goal, Skattebo got back to work with one of his many impressive runs of the day. Skattebo again took the first snap and stomped through tackles, not unlike Marshawn Lynch, and sprinted down the field for a 42-yard chunk play. A few plays later, Skattebo found the end zone with a three-yard run to retake the lead.

From there, ASU never looked back. Skattebo ripped off another long run, spinning and shaking off tacklers for a 53-yard gain to set up another score before the half. A scramble by Leavitt got the Sun Devils a bit closer before Skattebo finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to take a 24-10 lead into the locker room.

The second half was owned by the ASU defense. The Cyclones turned the ball over on each of their first three ensuing possessions. On the opening drive, sophomore cornerback Javan Robinson used his helmet to jar the football out of the hands of Cyclone sophomore running back Abu Sama III. The ball hit the turf, and so did graduate defensive lineman Jeff Clark, who made the recovery.

A few plays later, Leavitt would find his other redshirt senior wide receiver, Xavier Guillory, on a fade to the back of the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown pass.

Then, as if he were skipping stones at the lake in the summer, Becht bounced a pass off his own lineman’s helmet, and ASU sophomore corner Keith Abney II came down with the interception.

Leavitt and Guillory hooked up on another fade ball quickly for a 21-yard touchdown. The throw was a bit short of Guillory’s route, but the veteran receiver came back to the ball and made a spectacular catch with his arms fully extended.

Down their star wideout, redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson, the question entering the day was who would step up for the ASU passing game — the answer: both of the veteran receivers. Stovall finished the day as the leading receiver for Arizona State, catching four passes for 91 yards. Meanwhile, Guillory only caught two passes for 29 yards, both of which were scores, but he made several key blocks on big plays downfield as well.

“We knew when one man goes down, somebody had to step up,” Guillory said. “We all collectively as a group chipped in, top to bottom … I was just proud of how everybody reacted to a precious situation. Big 12 Championship, nobody tucked their tail and we all stepped up to the challenge, and I was really proud of how everybody reacted.”

Leavitt finished the day 12-of-17 passing with 219 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also made several plays with his legs in the first half and wound up rushing for 33 yards and a score as well.

Arizona State defensive end Clayton Smith stripped Sama of the ball again, and this time redshirt junior defensive lineman Justin Wodtly made the recovery. Leavitt and Skattebo both picked up their third touchdown of the day on a swing pass with a convoy of blockers in front as Skattebo dashed for the 33-yard score. Skattebo struck a pose, signaling he wants in on the Heisman conversation next weekend.

“I’ve been disrespected my whole life,” Skattebo proclaimed. “I’ve always been the underdog, and nobody respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country. And I’m gonna stand on that, and if people want to disrespect that I’m gonna keep going and I’m going to keep proving people wrong. Whatever NFL team takes me is gonna get a gem and I’m gonna give it everything I got from them. No matter winning the Heisman or losing the Heisman, I should still be in that situation.”

Dillingham echoed Skattebo’s declarations, saying he at least deserves the recognition.

“Turn on the tape, I mean he’s really good. He’s good enough to be there,” Dillingham said. “I don’t know what else you can do to put your name in the race. Obviously, there’s two other guys that are really, really high on that list and I don’t know if he should ever surpass those guys. But should he be on that list? Should he have the opportunity to go there? Yes.”

Three turnovers by the Cyclones out of the locker room, all of which turned into ASU touchdowns, gave the Sun Devils an insurmountable lead as they drained the clock and walked out of Dallas with a 45-19 victory over the Cyclones and the Big 12 title. Skattebo — who else? — was crowned the 2024 Dr Pepper Most Outstanding Player and will lead the Sun Devils into Selection Sunday with a playoff bid secured.

Arizona State secured its first outright conference championship since 1996, which was also the last time the Sun Devils won 11 games in a season. Skattebo’s dominant day propelled him past former ASU running back Eno Benjamin for most scrimmage yards in a single season in school history with 2,074 yards (Benjamin previously held the record with 1,905 yards).

As far as what’s next for ASU, that will be decided by the playoff committee. The likely scenarios are either traveling to face an at-large team in the first round or securing a first-round bye and potentially hosting a second-round playoff game, which could be at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. The results and fate for Arizona State will be revealed Sunday at 10 a.m. MST on ESPN.

For Dillingham, in his second season leading his alma mater, Saturday’s result was just further proof of what Arizona State can build and how quickly they can get there.

“I’ve always thought that people have always said this place is a sleeping giant. Well, you’re not a sleeping giant if you never wake up. You’re a dead giant, right? And it just hasn’t woken up for so long. Finally, I think these guys have really bought into not just Arizona State, to the city, to the community, the weather…They bought into everything that the valley, Tempe, Arizona State has to offer.”

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