TEMPE — Just one week ago in Starkville, a stunned Arizona State squad watched Mississippi State fans rush the field. A last-second, 58-yard touchdown dagger sunk ASU in the final minute, sending the No. 12 Sun Devils home with a stinging 24-20 loss.
Motivated by the shocking defeat, this week, they took care of business. Arizona State controlled the game from start to finish in a 34-15 win over Texas State. The resounding response displayed composure on defense, balance on offense and the kind of urgency that was missing seven days earlier.
Here are three takeaways from the Sun Devils’ bounce-back win over the Bobcats:
1) Raleek Brown headlines potent Sun Devils rushing attack
Arizona State’s run game hasn’t always been consistent through its first three games. However, junior running back Raleek Brown provided a steady presence on Saturday, jump-starting the Sun Devils’ rushing attack against Texas State.
Brown carried 12 times for 144 yards and a touchdown, notching his second straight 100-yard performance. The outing also marked a career-high in rushing yards for Brown, who’s in the midst of his fourth year in college.
“He’s kind of a diamond that people forgot about,” Dillingham said of Brown. “He’s a really, really good football player. He’s worked his butt off. I mean, he’s focused, he’s dialed, he’s competitive, he’s good in pass protection. He’s earned the right to have a game like that.”
During the third quarter, Brown found a hole and didn’t look back, going 75 yards to the house, which put Sparky up 34-9.
HOUSE CALL FOR LEEK 😈
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 14, 2025
📺 TNT#ForksUp /// @raleek2 pic.twitter.com/T3tu2n7zZQ
“It felt good to have a long run and it finally not get called back,” Raleek said. “It felt real good.”
Brown’s 75-yard touchdown stands as the longest rushing touchdown by a Sun Devil since Kalen Ballage scored a 75-yard touchdown in 2016 against Texas Tech.
“He made the kind of jump that I feel like JT (Jordyn Tyson) made last year,” Head Coach Kenny Dillingham said. Everybody forgets about you when you transfer somewhere and don’t play for a year. He put in the work, and that work is showing up.”
With a crowded room of tailbacks and still room for improvement, it’s a positive sign for ASU to see the rushing attack, led by Brown, continue to shine as it looks to find consistency.
2) Jordyn Tyson vaults toward college football superstardom
On national television, junior Jordyn Tyson dazzled with another highlight-reel-filled performance against Texas State.
For the third straight game, Tyson led the Sun Devils in receiving, finishing with six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. His lone score came on a spectacular play — hauling in a throw from sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt’s weak side, hurdling a defender and leaping into the end zone for a touchdown.
“It was kind of just a reaction, like there was nowhere else to go but up,” Tyson said, explaining the play through his eyes. “I just jumped to flight and put the ball in the end zone.”
Tyson is now up to 24 receptions for 315 yards and four touchdowns on the season. He leads all Big 12 players in receiving yards, touchdowns and first-down catches (16), a testament to both his reliability and his ability to flip momentum with explosive plays.
The chemistry between Tyson and Leavitt serves as the heartbeat of Arizona State’s offense. Leavitt trusts Tyson, even when facing tight coverage, and Tyson keeps rewarding that faith with contested grabs and yards after the catch.
It’s a pairing that has carried the Sun Devils through the first three weeks of the season and one that could define how far this offense can go.
Now, with conference play opening next weekend in Waco against Baylor, the Leavitt-Tyson duo will have to prove it’s success can translate to when the stakes are highest.
3) Jordan Crook continues to be the heartbeat of ASU’s defense
Senior linebacker Jordan Crook was everywhere on the field Saturday night, setting the tone for ASU’s defense all night long.
Crook racked up a game-high 12 tackles, 3.5 of them for loss, and added a sack as he consistently disrupted the Bobcats’ offense. Whether it was shooting gaps in the run game or applying pressure, the Duncanville, Texas native set the tone and reinforced his role as the anchor of Arizona State’s defense.
“When you practice with that much passion, it’s going to show up on game day,” Dillingham said of Crook. “He practices like it’s game day every day. He works like it’s game day every day. Then he plays well on game day. He’s the definition of what I want people in this program to be.”
After ASU’s disappointing loss to the Bulldogs a week ago, Crook wanted to bounce back in a big way. He did so by leading by example.
“That was our focus all week,” Crook said. “The second half of last week, we kind of saw who we were. All week, the focus was to come out here and play our type of ball. I feel like we went out there and did that tonight.”
The Sun Devils held the Bobcats to 303 total yards of offense and forced two turnovers. The defense also limited big plays, something that proved to be a major issue against Mississippi State.
“We wanted to play a better standard of defense, a better standard of football,” Crook said. “We wanted to make sure we stayed on their neck the whole game, not let up.”
Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward’s defense looks to continue its success heading into conference play, trying to stop the red-hot Baylor Bears next week.
Leave a Reply