“Play fast. We can’t start slow.”
Those were running back Raleek Brown’s initial thoughts following Arizona State’s first loss of the season to Mississippi State. The Sun Devils’ first road trip turned into a nightmare in Starkville. After sputtering in the first half and falling behind 17-0, the Sun Devils rallied to take a lead over Mississippi State late in the fourth quarter.
A 58-yard touchdown pass from senior Bulldogs quarterback Blake Shapen to speedy senior wide receiver Brenen Thompson was the nail in the coffin of a 24-20 loss for the Sun Devils.
Here are three takeaways from Arizona State’s first loss of the season:
1) Sam Leavitt played his worst game as a Sun Devil
Sam Leavitt was not himself Saturday night in Starkville.
Similar to last week’s win against Northern Arizona, the coaching staff asked the Heisman hopeful to be the creator for the offense from the jump. The Sun Devils aggressively pushed the ball downfield, but to no avail, instead putting themselves behind the eight ball.
Leavitt completed just 10 of 22 passes with two interceptions, his first multi-interception game of his career. He managed only 82 passing yards, the second-worst total of his career. The lowest? Last season in Tempe against the Bulldogs when he only threw for 69 yards.
The Sun Devils fell behind 17-0, as the offense stalled and relied on the ground to get back into the game, which did include some timely scrambles from Leavitt. Early in the game, Leavitt forced the ball into the middle of the field and missed high to some open receivers. Junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson saw 10 targets and ended the night as the only receiver to haul in a catch.
“In the first half, we couldn’t get him (Leavitt) in a rhythm,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham told reporters after the loss. “(Mississippi State) did a good job coverage-wise, showing like they were going to double a few times … We couldn’t get Sam in a rhythm. I’ve gotta do a better job getting him in a rhythm because you can’t play quarterback if you’re not in a rhythm.”
So far, that connection has been a bit of a double-edged sword. While Leavitt has overly relied on his All-American receiver at times, there is plenty of potential for either a boom or bust performance.
Against NAU, the connection played a key role in pulling away with the win. Facing a tougher competitor, the Bulldogs were able to attack Leavitt in the pocket and make him uncomfortable early, forcing bad decisions toward Tyson.
It’s a long season, so there is plenty of reason to believe Leavitt bounces back. But his performance on the road will be something to monitor. The Sun Devils still have trips to hostile environments on the schedule at Baylor, Utah, Iowa State and Colorado.
2) The secondary remains in flux
BRENEN THOMPSON FROM DEEP #HailState || 📺: ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/fiZ9TLW2qe
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) September 7, 2025
To put it simply, the ASU defensive backs had a rough night. In particular, the Bulldogs attacked junior cornerback Javan Robinson early and often with plenty of success. Shapen tossed three touchdowns for the Bulldogs in a surgical first-half performance.
While the defense rebounded with a strong second half, the blown coverage that led to the winning score for Mississippi State with less than a minute to go sank the Sun Devils. A switch-release left Robinson and senior corner Kyndrich Breedlove in a spot to switch the receivers. However, a lack of communication left Robinson a few steps behind Thompson and made for an easy throw and catch.
The Sun Devils also sent a blitz that left no deep safety, similar to the play that ended ASU’s season in the Peach Bowl against Texas. Simple mistakes like that snowballed into tough situations for the Sun Devils.
The secondary is more of a pressing issue considering the struggles so far this season and the penchant for surrendering big plays last season. ASU has several high-powered offenses still on the schedule, with better quarterbacks and playmakers, that could place more pressure on the Devils, as the offense still finds its way.
3) Kanye Udoh and Raleek Brown lead a dominant attack on the ground
Let’s end on a positive note. Despite the early passing struggles, offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo turned to the run game to bring ASU back to life.
After junior running back Kyson Brown left the game with an ankle injury, junior tailbacks Kanye Udoh and Raleek Brown picked up the slack. Udoh led the team with 23 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown — his first of the season. Brown ran for a team-high 110 yards as the duo traded reps to keep the Bulldogs’ defense off balance.
“(I’m) just trying to take advantage of my opportunity and do what I can to help this team win,” Udoh said. “Raleek did the same thing, so it wasn’t just me out there.”
“I feel like we had to run the ball to open up the offense,” Brown said. “That was our game plan for the second half, to run the ball and get downhill.”
.@KanyeUdoh6 with his first touchdown as a Sun Devil 🫡
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 7, 2025
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/rmPlKYeYKk
ASU had nine rushes of 10 or more yards, seven of which came in the second half when the Sun Devils rushed for a collective 186 yards. The ground game helped the Maroon and Gold sustain long scoring drives at the end of the game. A nine-play drive, which culminated in a one-yard Tyson touchdown catch, drained more than five minutes off the clock.
The next drive, Udoh and Brown went back and forth, running into the teeth of the Mississippi State defense. There was nothing the SEC front seven could do to stop it.
That is, until the Sun Devils reached the 1-yard line, where the Bulldogs didn’t break and held ASU to a consequential field goal. The drive, beginning at their own 4-yard line, lasted 17 plays as nearly nine minutes dripped off the game clock.
After only carrying the ball twice a week ago, Dillingham praised the Army transfer’s ability to step up when the team needed him most.
“(Kanye) was huge. He did an unbelievable job,” Dillingham said. “He ran behind his pad level, and our offensive line did a good job running the football. I mean, that was an incredible drive. We’re one yard away from it being one that goes down in the history books. But at the end of the day, we fell a little bit short.”
Both games this season have featured strong rushing attacks from the stable of backs replacing former ASU tailback Cam Skattebo. With a tough slate of conference games around the corner, the Sun Devils could be in a position to control the clock and move the ball efficiently on the ground while the rest of the offense sorts through its growing pains.
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