By Jacob Seliga
Lead Writer
Three hundred and forty-two days ago, a 2-6 Arizona State team battered and down to walk-on players in multiple spots on the roster limped into Rice-Eccles Stadium to face a bitter Pac12 rival, the Utah Utes.
Utah dominated the Sun Devils in a 55-3 game that although it was out of reach early, a game that saw the Utes keep their starters in to run up the score.
Eleven months later, with the eyes of the country on Mountain America Stadium in a standalone game the Sun Devils got their revenge in a 27-19 upset victory over the No. 16 team in the country.
“We have guys that trust me, trust the defense, trust Sam (Leavitt), trust the O line, everybody trusts each other. It's incredible. We got our fire back since Texas Tech and I mean, guys are playing for each other and it's a whole different football team than it was last year,” Sun Devil running back Cam Skattebo said.
Early on in the contest, the defense was called upon to make key plays.
The Utes offense for the first time since week two was at full strength as quarterback Cam Rising returned to the Utah lineup under center and immediately he relied upon running back Micah Bernard to ease into the contest.
Bernard on the opening drive had three rushes for 20 yards as well as a nine-yard reception that would ultimately lead to a Utah field goal by Cole Becker, his first of four field goals the Utes would settle for deep in Sun Devil territory,
Entering Friday night, the Sun Devils were ranked dead last in success rate for opponents in the red zone allowing points in each trip to that end of the field so far in 2024.
While the defense bent but didn’t break, quarterback Sam Leavitt attempted to ease into the contest. However, the redshirt freshman on the Sun Devils third play from scrimmage threw an interception to defensive tackle Junior Tafuna, ultimately leading to another Utah field goal.
That would be the only mistake he’d make on the night.
On the Sun Devils following possession, Leavitt showcased both his arm talent and his ability to extend plays as he gained two first downs using his legs to scramble and another with a 27-yard strike to Xavier Guillory which then led to a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jordyn Tyson that tied the game at 6 heading into the second quarter.
Immediately on the next possession, after finding an advantage against the Utes defense the Sun Devil offense began to bully the Utah front seven down the field using Skattebo and DeCarlos Brooks on the ground as well as Sam Leavitt who would be knocked out of the game with a rib injury for the remainder of the half before returning in the second half.
Jeff Sims would enter the game for Leavitt and finish the drive he had started with a two yard touchdown run that gave the Sun Devils a lead they’d carry into halftime.
“We have a lot of confidence in Jeff (Sims). We put him in there and put the ball in his hand and he goes and scores a touchdown” said Dillingham.
As both sides traded punches, the defenses continued to land the body shots that would send the opposing offense to the canvas. Rising following Sims’ touchdown would throw an interception under pressure to linebacker Caleb McCullough, his first of the game.
The second half would be more of the same as the Utes first drive of the half would end with an interception as Rising threw an errant pass towards the boundary where a diving Keith Abney II would jump in front of the ball and haul it in for Arizona State.
As the defense of the Sun Devils held their own, the Utes defense began to stall out an Arizona State offense that moved the ball with ease in the first half. Entering Friday’s game, the Utes on average only conceded 12.6 first downs per contest, a number that’s top three in FBS, in the first half the Sun Devils had already had 10.
After forcing back to back punts to start the half, the Utes used their signature style of football as a three running back unit led by Bernard marched Utah down the field on a 12 play 79-yard drive that gave Utah a 16-13 lead late in the third quarter.
And at the same time as last week’s game, Dillingham looked at his running back and told him:
“It’s go time.”
Leavitt to start the drive to force Utah to be unbalanced in the back half of their defense would connect on quick passes to Tyson and tight end Chamon Metayer before a handoff to Skattebo who would go right up the middle and through multiple Ute defenders on his way to a 50-yard touchdown run that gave the Sun Devils a slim lead going into the fourth quarter.
“Coach Dillingham says big time players make big time plays. I tell him, like I tell you guys every week, I tell him to give me the ball every play,” Skattebo said.
With 2:50 remaining in the game, Arizona State faced a second down from the Utah 47-yard line clinging on to a 20-19 lead after a defense that bent but did not break all night held the Utes to a field goal on the previous drive.
As he’s done all season long, Skattebo with the game on the line took a handoff and shot through a gap between guard Kyle Scott and center Leif Fautanu and broke a tackle en route to a 47-yard touchdown run that extended the Sun Devil lead to 27-19 with 2:41 to go.
“On the touchdown, the offensive line did a great job moving sideways and I was able to find a hole, a guy slipped underneath me and I was able to get loose,” Skattebo said.
For the second week in a row, the Arizona State defense had the pressure of the game riding on them needing only one stop to clinch a second straight clutch victory.
Needing only one play to shock the country, just as he had done all night as a backup thrusted into a starting role, linebacker Caleb McCullough jumped in front of a pass from Utah quarterback Cam Rising and pulled in the interception, his second of the night to clinch the victory for Arizona State.
For McCullough it was a perfect ending to a perfect night, as the backup capped off a 12 tackle, two interception performance with a bang.
“This is my last year of college and my main goal is just to win because when you win, everything goes good for everybody. So just to know that I got that interception and we got the win, I was very happy,” said McCullough
With this victory, the Sun Devils have officially flipped all preseason expectations on their head. In July when the Big 12 media voted on their preseason media poll and all-conference team, the Sun Devils were voted to finish dead last in the conference without a single player selected on the preseason team. The over/under win total for Arizona State was 4.5 with the under being considered the favorite.
Outlook
Friday night was a special moment in Sun Devil history, without a doubt the 27-19 victory over Utah was arguably the biggest win in the last decade of Arizona State football. Ever since he was hired in November of 2022, Dillingham and the Sun Devils have been counted out. And yet once again, Arizona State continues to prove people wrong. The Sun Devils were doubted at home against Wyoming and Mississippi State and were given almost no chance on the road against Texas State. Entering Friday night, Arizona State was given no chance by any national pundit and was considered a blip on the Big 12 radar.
At 5-1, the underdog Sun Devils continue to prove to all of the doubters and all of the people who don’t believe in them that they want to make your team win a bare knuckle fight and that your team better have their “A-Game” or else they will be another step on the path to redemption in Tempe.
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