TEMPE – As fans donning maroon and gold shirts emptied the stands, spilling onto Frank Kush Field at Mountain America Stadium, a familiar feeling from last season filled the air.
For one warm Saturday in late October, the scrappy Sun Devils once again had the chance to slay Goliath and seized it, knocking off No. 7 Texas Tech 26-22 for their first win over a top-10 opponent since 2019 (31-28 over No. 6 Oregon).
Even with starting sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt back under center, Arizona State (5-2) entered Saturday afternoon as nearly a touchdown underdog to the Red Raiders (6-1) at home – and for good reason.
An undefeated Texas Tech rolled into Tempe without allowing more than 17 points or scoring less than 34 points in a game all season long. It seemed ready to dethrone the reigning Big 12 champion of its title as the premier team in the conference.
Yet, as the clock struck zero and the goalposts fell to the ground, the only streak, and team, left standing were the Sun Devils and their 10-game winning streak at home, which is tied for the fifth-longest home winning streak in the FBS.
“I think anytime you have a win like this, it rejuvenates your program,” Arizona State coach Dillingham said.
To keep its home winning streak alive, Dillingham’s squad had to rally back from disaster. After leading 19-7 in the fourth quarter, a shanked punt and two late touchdowns from redshirt freshman quarterback Will Hammond allowed Texas Tech to score 14 unanswered points – all within two minutes.
Yet, it also left two minutes on the clock for Leavitt and the ASU offense to mount a late push.
And, with the game in the balance, on a fourth-and-2 around midfield, Arizona State put the ball in the hands of its sophomore signal caller to move the chains.
“(I’m) as confident as you can be (in him),” Dillingham said. “In the biggest moments, he’s (Leavitt) the one who’s got the ball. (There are) no special play calls. We’re about the same stuff. It’s the dude with the ball.”
Moving to his right, it seemed as though Leavitt might try to use his legs to pick up the first down. Instead, he pulled back and found his go-to-target, junior receiver Jordyn Tyson, who improvised and maneuvered upfield, connecting with Leavitt for a 33-yard reception.
The final drive, which ended with a 1-yard touchdown run from junior running back Raleek Brown, capped off a career-high performance for Leavitt, who finished with his most passing yards in a single game in his career (319).
Considering the lower-body injury he’s dealt with over the past few weeks, the performance stands as one of his more impressive feats in his time as the Sun Devils’ starter.
“I’ve never been around a guy who works to try to win football games as much as he (Leavitt) does,” Dillingham said. “On and off the field with his body, he just does everything he can for this football team.”
The late comeback also secured ASU’s eighth-straight one-score victory at home, dating back to last season. Its success in close games stems from its offense’s ability to produce in the clutch.
“I feel like we’ve always just been good at two minute (drill),” Leavitt said. “I don’t know why. It’s not like we do too much different. It kind of just clicks better because it feels like we have to win.”
Despite injuries to Arizona State’s offensive line, which led to the team inserting third-string center, sophomore Makua Pule, into the game, offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo didn’t shy away from designing some shot plays early to get the offense going.
It started when Leavitt, rolling out to his left, lofted a pass deep for wide receiver Jaren Hamilton. Leavitt took a hit from a defender square to the chest, but found the redshirt freshman pass catcher downfield for a gain of 49 yards. He finished with a career-best 101 yards on three receptions.
“When the lights come on some people make plays and he’s one of those guys,” Leavitt said. “So (I’m) really proud of him. He brings really positive energy every single day. I really like the kid and he shows up on game day.”
The Sun Devils failed to punch it in for a touchdown in the red zone – a trend that continued for the rest of the afternoon as they only found the end zone in two of its five red zone trips – but managed to get on the board first, taking a 3-0 lead.
Despite its ineptitudes in the red zone, the Maroon and Gold still led 9-7 going into the half – largely in part to Sparky’s defense.
The focus of aggressiveness and physicality carried over to defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s unit, which responded strongly to its abysmal showing in a 42-10 loss to Utah in Salt Lake City.
“That wasn’t us defensively (last week),” senior linebacker Keyshaun Elliott said. “We did things that were not like us, missing a bunch of tackles. … It was a good bounce-back week.”
ASU defenders flew around, landing thumping hits on Texas Tech ball carriers. It even forced the game’s lone turnover on a big hit from sophomore safety Montana Warren, who jarred the ball out of a Red Raider’s hands and into the awaiting arms of sophomore linebacker Martell Hughes.
Additionally, for the most part, the Sun Devil defense played well in key moments. They held the Red Raiders to a one-for-three mark on fourth down attempts, including a stop on fourth-and-6 inside the ASU 10-yard line, and a less than 40% conversion rate on third down.
With a win over one of the only three undefeated teams left in the conference, ASU has positioned itself in an advantageous spot to compete to play in the Big 12 title game. Up next, it will take on Houston next Saturday at 5 p.m. MST.
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