TEMPE — Sam Leavitt is coming off maybe his best game as the signal caller for Arizona State football, culminating with a game-winning touchdown in the final minute of a win over Kansas on Saturday.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham said that’s not by accident, rather it came after Leavitt’s best week of prep.

“That kid’s put in so much work. … He was really clean. Us being able to show him all the looks two weeks in a row I think really helped him,” Dillingham said Monday. “Then he went out there and he performed. He would’ve even had a better game (if not for some drops).

“The fact that he was poised at the end of the game was, kudos to him. That moment right there is just natural, there’s no fake about it.”

Leavitt connected on 14-of-24 passes for 157 yards, giving him 1,012 passing yards on the season. His four passing touchdowns were the most by an ASU quarterback since Joey Yellen had four in a loss to USC in 2019.

His lone interception came off a double-tip by Sun Devil receivers Jordyn Tyson and Xavier Guillory which kept the quarterback’s turnover-worthy play tally at one on the season, according to PFF. He is tied with eight other FBS quarterbacks (minimum 100 dropbacks) to lead the category.

Leavitt entered the Kansas game 3-for-19 on throws that travel at least 20 yards in the air but was a much more efficient 2-for-4 in the win. Guillory was on the receiving end of the first completion which capped off an opening drive for a touchdown, while Tyson’s first of two fourth-quarter scores represented the other.

Dillingham said a tweak to Leavitt’s footwork over the bye week helped him be more balanced on Saturday and in turn, more accurate on deep balls.

kenny dillingham breaks down the early returns on sam leavitt’s footwork tweak, and his confusion with how sam explained it postgame saturday. pic.twitter.com/Mdt4ItPA9T

— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) October 7, 2024

Advertisement

The quarterback has been the most reliable foil to Cam Skattebo in the ground game. Leavitt’s 257 yards make him the only other Sun Devil with at least 100 rushing yards on the season. Skattebo and Leavitt both average over five yards per carry.

Deep passing and quarterback rushing will be key elements of the game plan for Friday’s matchup with No. 16 Utah to help neutralize a vicious pass rush. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham on Monday told reporters Leavitt is a “true dual-threat” quarterback.

The Utes’ pass rush averaged six pressures over the previous three games. However, they amassed 14 in their most recent game, a loss to Arizona, and 14 in their season-opening win over Southern Utah.

The most pressure ASU has faced this season was Texas State’s 10. The offensive line allowed a season-low two pressures in the win over Kansas.

When pressure has gotten there, Leavitt has shown solid composure. PFF has Leavitt graded as the third-best FBS quarterback under pressure (minimum 50 pressured dropbacks) with a 76.0 score.

He was recognized as the Big 12 newcomer of the week for his performance.

ASU hosts Utah on Friday at 7:30 MST at Mountain America Stadium. Listen to play-by-play coverage on the Arizona Sports app, ESPN 620 AM, 98.7 FM-HD 2 or online.

ESPN released its updated Football Power Index (FPI) rankings on Sunday, and it includes some head-scratching predictions for Arizona State.

ESPN claims its FPI rankings are “a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily.”

Arizona State (4-1) is coming off a thrilling 35-31 victory over Kansas and is one of the biggest surprises in college football after going 3-9 last season.

Consider ESPN’s algorithm unimpressed.

The Sun Devils are ranked No. 53 in the FPI, three spots behind Kansas (1-5). Their projected win total is 7.1, which means they’re expected to go 3-4 the rest of the season. They are ranked No. 12 in the Big 12, ahead of only Arizona, TCU, Baylor and Houston.

Arizona State’s remaining schedule includes No. 16 Utah (home), Cincinnati (away), Oklahoma State (away), Central Florida (home), No. 18 Kansas State (away), No. 14 BYU (home) and Arizona (away).

There is a lot riding on Friday’s matchup with Utah. If the Sun Devils can upset the Utes, it potentially sets them up for an eight or nine-win season. Road games at Cincinnati, Oklahoma State and Kansas State will be tough, but picking off at least one of them is realistic.

It stands to reason Arizona State could go into its regular season finale at Arizona – in the game formerly known as the Territorial Cup – with an 8-3 or 7-4 record.

What’s your prediction?

Election season is heating up, and with it, candidates are ramping up campaign efforts. In swing states like Arizona, the effort is tenfold.

Arizona has been a strategic campaign stop not just because it’s a swing state but also because it borders Mexico. Border policies have been a hotbed issue during this election cycle, and candidates have made special visits to learn more about the issue.

Vice President Kamala Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance have all focused campaign efforts in Arizona, which has 11 electoral votes and could affect the outcome of this year’s election.

Here are the times each candidate has made a visit to Arizona during this 2024 election season.

When has Kamala Harris visited Arizona?

As vice president, Harris visited Arizona half a dozen times, but many of those visits were not specifically campaign opportunities.

Since becoming the Democratic nominee for president in July, Harris has visited Arizona twice.

• September visit to the border: Harris visited Douglas and the Raul H. Castro Port of Entry, which was in line with her attempts to reach voters concerned about the nation’s border security. Harris met with border patrol agents and walked along a stretch of fence at the U.S.-Mexico border. She also spoke at Cochise College in Sierra Vista, where she pledged to crack down on the fentanyl crisis.
• August rally in Glendale with Walz: Harris held a rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, her first appearance after becoming the Democratic party nominee for president. Walz also spoke at that rally, as well as Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and his wife Gabby Giffords. That night, Harris made her case to become president. She highlighted differences between her plans and those of Trump.

Before the Aug. 9 rally, she visited during a trip on June 24 focused on reproductive rights. She was not yet the presidential nominee at that point. During that June event, she appeared with actor Francia Raisa and Arizona Corporation Commissioner Anna Tovar to discuss abortion rights in Latino communities.

Who’s winning the presidential election? Here’s what polls, odds and historians say

When has Tim Walz visited Arizona?

Since becoming the Democratic nominee for vice president, Walz has made two campaign stops in Arizona.

• September visit to metro Phoenix: Walz’s most recent campaign visit to Arizona was on Sept. 11, the same day Harris and Trump debated each other. Walz made stops in Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix. He met with party leaders and Arizona politicians like Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano, Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, Gov. Katie Hobbs and multiple tribal leaders. He also met with students from ASU.
• August rally in Glendale with Harris: The first was on Aug. 9, when he and Harris held a rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. At that rally, Walz made his case for vice president, and spoke on his values about gun reform and women’s rights.

When has Donald Trump visited Arizona?

During his 2016 campaign, Trump made seven visits to Arizona to campaign. He again made seven visits to the Grand Canyon State during his 2020 campaign.

So far during his 2024 campaign, Trump has made three stops in Arizona.

• September visit to Tucson: Trump’s most recent stop in Arizona came on Sept. 12, when he spoke at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall in Tucson. During that speech, Trump promised to bring mortgage rates down to 2% and said he will “ban all mortgages for illegal aliens,” and doubled down on false claims that immigrants are eating house pets in Ohio.
• August visit to the border and rally in Glendale: Trump again visited Arizona for a two-day visit on Aug. 22-23. On the first day, Trump toured of the U.S.-Mexico border. On the second day, Trump held a rally at Desert Diamond Arena. It was a notable rally in the Trump campaign because candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his endorsement of the Trump campaign.
• June town hall at Phoenix church: Trump appeared at a town hall meeting on June 6 hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action at Dream City Church in Phoenix. That event followed closely after Trump was convicted in a ‘hush money’ scandal, and he focused largely on critiquing the case as being politically motivated. He called for his conviction to be overturned on appeal.

When has JD Vance visited Arizona?

So far during his 2024 campaign, Vance has visited Arizona three times.

• September visit to metro Phoenix: Vance’s most recent was on Sept. 4, an event co-hosted by conservative group Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, at Generation Church in Mesa. He also spoke at the Arizona Biltmore on Sept. 5, an event where he made comments about late Arizona Sen. John McCain.
• August rally in Glendale with Trump: Vance’s other visit to Arizona was on Aug. 23, when both Vance and Trump held a rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
• August border visit: On the first day of August, Vance made a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border and spoke at an unfinished portion of the border wall in Cochise County. Vance blamed the Harris administration for having “bad” policies when it comes to the southern border.

Do the candidates have any more plans to visit Arizona before Election Day?

Walz recently announced plans to make a campaign stop in Arizona. Though his campaign didn’t specify which day he’ll be in Arizona, his campaign said the reason for his visit is to kick off early voting, which starts on Oct. 9.

Harris, Trump and Vance have yet to announce future dates for campaign stops in Arizona.

Reach the reporter at zbradshaw@gannett.com or on X at @ZachBradshaw14.