On Nov. 8, 2014, No. 9 Arizona State football defeated No. 10 Notre Dame 55-31 at Mountain America Stadium. It was a game that head coach Kenny Dillingham, who was an offensive assistant for the Sun Devils at the time, remembered fondly. He had wished for stakes and an atmosphere like that game.
10 years later, with Dillingham at the helm, the 21st-ranked Maroon and Gold took on No. 14 BYU, with both teams eyeing the Big 12 Championship.
Just like the Notre Dame game, the Sun Devils (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) pulled off the victory in front of a sold out crowd. They beat the Cougars (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) 28-23 on Saturday afternoon to go unbeaten at home for the first time since 2004.
“That team was coming off a good season, they had some momentum,” Dillingham said about the 2014 squad. “These guys came up with no momentum with everybody doubting them, everybody still doubting them. That’s what makes this special…I don’t know if we’ll ever have a season that over exceeds expectation than this year.”
After BYU turned the ball over on fourth down, ASU marched down the field, which was capped off by a three-yard rushing touchdown from Cam Skattebo. The senior running back had 44 of his 96 first-half rushing yards on the drive.
Both quarterbacks threw interceptions, and then the Cougars punted it back to their opponent. This led to the Maroon and Gold’s longest scoring drive of the season. They ran 12 plays, going 95 yards in 6 minutes and 50 seconds.
A 59-yard completion to Leavitt’s favorite target, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, got them into enemy territory. Skattebo capped off the drive with his second touchdown of the day.
“I have a tattoo that says ‘diamond in the rough,’” Tyson said. “That’s just what describes this team. A diamond in the rough. We just keep working. Shoot, pressure builds diamonds.”
Dillingham’s side then turned dispatch into bedazzlement, recovering a surprise onside kick attempt at midfield immediately after.
“The way they angle their dude, we said ‘let’s squib it,’ but we’d also try to hit him on his way to the squib,” Dillingham said. “So, if it hits him, we have a chance to recover it. But if we don’t hit him, we recover the ball around the 30, 35-yard line. So, it’s a very low risk onside kick.”
Skattebo ended the drive with his third touchdown of the half. Redshirt junior kicker Will Ferrin got BYU on the board with a 49-yard field goal in the last minute, as ASU led 21-3 at the half.
After the Cougars went on a 12-play, 96-yard drive, Leavitt found redshirt senior wide receiver Xavier Guillory 43 seconds later for the 61-yard touchdown. The hosts led 28-9 with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter.
“It’s so awesome that Sam trusted me on that play,” said Guillory, who played his final home game with the Maroon and Gold. “It turned out to be a big play when it came down to the game.”
Two consecutive touchdowns by the Cougars put the pressure on the Sun Devils in the fourth quarter. After the hosts failed on a fourth down and 1 in the red zone, the visitors took possession, and were 63 yards away from taking the lead at the two-minute timeout.
“We’re still winning, relax,” Dillingham told his players during the fourth quarter. “All we have to do is make one play, (and) the rest of the game we win.”
Redshirt sophomore Javan Robinson picked off BYU’s redshirt junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff with 1:15 remaining in the game. ASU held on to the ball until one second was left on the clock. After a preemptive field rush, where it took roughly 15 minutes to get the fans off the field, the Cougars’ hail mary fell short.
“This is all about the guys,” Dillingham said. “These guys battled, these guys fought, these guys found a way to win…Not too many people get the opportunity to (rush the field). Come to Arizona State, cause there’s gonna be a lot of that going forward.”
Skattebo finished with 147 yards on the ground and 12 yards receiving. It was the eighth time this season where he finished with over 100 scrimmage yards, and his second three-touchdown performance in his past three appearances.
“We just keep fighting,” he said. “We just have a lot of heart…The culture’s changed, man. Everybody loves each other. We’ve turned this thing around, but we’re not finished yet, because there’s the process. There’s still work to do in the process.”
Leavitt went 16-for-25 with 247 passing yards, one touchdown and an interception. He became the first Sun Devil since current Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season.
There were only two punts in the entire game. One for BYU and one for ASU.
The Sun Devils wrap up their regular season next Saturday on the road against in-state rival Arizona (4-7, 2-6 Big 12). With No. 16 Colorado losing to Kansas on Saturday afternoon, the Maroon and Gold enter the contest with a high chance to make the Big 12 championship on Dec. 7 with a victory.
“For us, (it’s about the) process,” Dillingham said. “This feels great, it’s even better that it’s a day game. Have fun, enjoy it. Wake up, move on, repeat the process. Because nobody cares what you did yesterday.”