The Arizona State Sun Devils were pushed by Texas State last season, but led from start to finish when the teams squared off on Sept. 13 in Tempe. ASU prevailed 34-15 in front of a sellout crowd at Mountain America Stadium.
ASU (2-1) led 20-3 at the half, then scored on its first possession of the third quarter to take a 27-3 lead that was never in jeopardy.
“Establishing the run was huge, and a couple of the first early drives, we were trying to figure it out,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said. “Running the ball is one of those things that you have to be dedicated to because of the move in the game.
“Everybody moves a little differently on the defensive line. You have got to figure it out. So once we got to figure it out, our guys did a good job, and then we simplified the plan. We probably cut our play sheet down by about 25-30%, if not a little more. We really made sure that our guys were all dialed in and all on the same page, and it showed.”
What went right
More pass catchers involved: Much has been made of the reliance on junior WR Jordyn Tyson in the first two games. Dillingham said he was going to get more players “involved,” using that word as many as seven times in answering that question early in the week. Against Texas State, five players had catches and two others were targeted, with tight end Chamon Metayer recording a career-high six catches.
Defensive line pressured the passer: The Sun Devils totaled five sacks, the most in a game since a 2023 contest against Colorado, when they also had five. There were several other occasions when QB Brad Jackson was hurried. Jackson only ended up going 25-for-36 for 184 yards, after coming in averaging 250. He also had a fumble.
Running game set the tone: Raleek Brown ran for a career-high 144 yards — highlighted by a sparkling 75-yard touchdown run — on just 12 carries. Leavitt scrambled for 59. Five players factored in the rushing total as Dillingham pulled his starters late in the fourth quarter.
Jumped out to an early lead: Last week, ASU allowed Mississippi State to jump out to a 17-0 lead, and it was an uphill climb after that. The first drive ended with a failed fourth-down try at the Texas State 35, and the Sun Devils settled for a field goal on the second, but got rolling after that and were never really challenged.
Got a momentum-changing takeaway: Up 10-3, ASU got a fumble recovery by Myles Rowser and turned that into a touchdown that gave the host team a 17-3 lead. The Sun Devils were sixth in the country in turnover margin last season, but managed only one in the first two games, and it wasn’t an impactful one.
What went wrong
Offensive line still struggling: Leavitt was sacked three times, and there were a handful of other occasions where he had to escape the pocket or get off a throw earlier than he would have liked.
Third-down conversions need to be better: This was a major problem in the first two games as ASU converted only five of 24. It did slightly better, going 5-for-13, but that number still should be better.
Plays called back: ASU only had five penalties for 40 yards, so that was a positive, but once again, a touchdown was wiped off the board. This time, it was a 98-yard kickoff return for an apparent touchdown by Jaren Hamilton that was nullified by a holding call on Alfred Smith. ASU ended up scoring on the possession anyway.
Grades
Offense (B): ASU totaled 433 yards, exceeding its season average of 395.5. That consisted of 245 on the ground and 188 through the air. ASU worked to establish the run early, unlike in previous weeks when they leaned more toward throwing the ball. ASU averaged 6.5 yards per play. Tyson had six catches for 105 yards.
Defense (B): ASU held Texas State to 303 yards and did not give up big plays. The longest play it allowed was a 24-yard run by the quarterback. It had five sacks and got a takeaway. The Sun Devils also got two fourth-down stops. LB Jordan Crook had 12 tackles, 3.5 for a loss, while S Myles Rowser had 10 and a fumble recovery. Keyshaun Elliott and Adrian Wilson each had seven tackles.
Special Teams (D): Matt McKenzie averaged 35.5 on two kicks. He was subbing for the injured Kanyon Floyd and is new to the position. His first was for just 33 yards. It gave the Bobcats good enough field position that they were able to try a field goal on the last play of the first half, although it was short. Jesus Gomez made his lone try from 47 yards. The grade is also docked a bit because of the holding penalty that nullified a touchdown return.
Personnel notes
RB Kyson Brown, WR Jalen Moss, DL Zac Swanson, S Xavion Alford and P Kanyon Floyd were out with injuries. That was in addition to the players lost for the season in DB Plas Johnson (knee) and DL MyKeil Gardner (foot). Adrian “Boogie” Wilson got his first ASU start in place of Alford while Australian newcomer Matt McKenzie subbed for Floyd.
They said it
“I was grateful with what happened at Mississippi State. If we had come out of there with a W, we wouldn’t have attacked the week the way we did. Little issues would have gotten blown over, so those came to show and we honed in on those things and were able to band together as a team. That second half against Mississippi State carried over into this game. We have to figure out how to build upon this and keep the same mojo.” — Leavitt
“It means a lot. I’ve been working for like two years, or a year and a half. I’ve been working a lot. I just thank coaches and everybody who believed in me to play running back and just keep going. It meant a lot.”
— ASU RB Raleek Brown on his big game after missing last season due to injury
“That was definitely our focus all week. With the second half of last week, we kind of saw who we were. I think once we realized that, all week the focus was to come out here and get back to playing our type of ball. And I feel like we went out there and did that tonight.”
— ASU LB Jordan Crook, on needing a convincing win
Up next
ASU hits the road for its Big 12 conference opener at Baylor (2-1). Baylor’s lone loss was its season opener against Auburn.
