Kenny Dillingham is pumped up after ASU football’s win vs BYU
No. 21 Arizona State Sun Devils football head coach Kenny Dillingham is stoked at the press conference following his win over the No. 14 BYU Cougars.
The Arizona State fan base enjoyed storming the Mountain America Stadium Field. Twice!
The hard-fought 28-23 win over No. 14 Brigham Young Saturday afternoon boosted ASU (9-2, 6-2) into a four-way tie for first place with BYU, Colorado and Iowa State, each of whom have two conference losses.
But it was not without some very anxious moments.
ASU got the ball back with 1:04 left on an interception by Javan Robinson. It ran three plays with quarterback Sam Leavitt taking a loss on two of the plays to keep the clock running. With seven seconds left and on a fourth down, Leavitt flung the ball down field, as the fans began flooding onto the field.
After a review that took several minutes put one second back on the clock, the field was cleared and BYU had one last play which it could not convert.
It may have been a wild ending but it still went in the win column, keeping ASU’s Cinderella run going.
Let’s review:
What went right
Stormed out to an early lead: The Sun Devils could not have played a better first half, with the first 30 minutes ending with the home team in front 21-3 thanks to three touchdowns by Cam Skattebo. One was set up by a 54-yard pass completion from Sam Leavitt to Jordyn Tyson. The Sun Devils had comfortable edges in all statistical categories and they received the kickoff to start the third quarter, so all seemed to be going well.
The stars played like stars: When it’s a big game you want your star players to play like … stars. And they did. Skattebo had 147 yards, marking his fifth game of 125 yards or more. Tyson caught nine passes for 125 yards and Leavitt threw for 247 yards. The fact that much of the BYU defense was focused on Tyson gave room to other players, and that was evident when Xavier Guillory grabbed a 61-yard touchdown pass.
Won the takeaway battle again: ASU came into the game tied for No. 14 nationally in turnover margin and it added another two to that total. The first came in the opening half when Jordan Crook intercepted a pass late in the first quarter. The other was the interception in the closing minutes by Robinson that came with BYU threatening for a go-ahead score. ASU’s lone turnover was a Leavitt interception, his first in four games and just the fifth this season.
Time of possession battle: The Sun Devils had the ball for 35:05 while BYU had it for just 24:55. Yes it got a little dicey in the end, but when ASU was at its best in the first half it did a good job of mixing running and passing plays. The Sun Devils moved the sticks, sidelining BYU’s offense — a recipe for success.
What went wrong
Let the opponent creep back into the game: Last week ASU was up 24-0 at Kansas State and had to hold on to win 24-14, and that game could have been even more dramatic if the foe didn’t botch two field goal tries. In this one, ASU had leads of 21-0 and 28-9, only to have the Cougars driving with a chance to win it in the closing minutes. ASU has had a flair for the dramatic, now at 6-1 in games decided by eight points or fewer.
Failed fourth downs: ASU was 7-for-13 on third down, a respectable stat, but it was just 2-for-5 on fourth downs. Two of those failures came when the Sun Devils could have tried chip-shot field goals that would have extended the lead and made things a little less dramatic in the end. One of those failures came at the BYU 4, and Dillingham explained it was worth the try because the Cougars still had to go 96 yards — which they did. ASU has struggled in the field goal-kicking department, which played into the strategy.
Personnel
WR Jake Smith (hamstring) was out for the second straight week, with Melquan Stovall filling in as kick returner in his absence . . . Nickle Shamari Simmons and center Leif Fautanu have the longest active games started streaks, both at 23 . . . . Before the contest, ASU held Senior Day festivities. Those honored included Smith, Fautanu, Stovall, Guillory, Skattebo, DL Jeff Clark, Simmons, DE Elijah O’Neal, QB Trenton Bourguet, LB Caleb McCullough, RB DeCarlos Brooks, OL Cade Briggs, OT Emmit Bohle and P Race Mahlum.
Grades
Offense (B): The Sun Devils racked up 401 yards, a tick over their season average, with 247 yards through the air and 154 yards on the ground. Skattebo ran for 147 yards on 28 tries, giving him 1,221 for the season. Tyson’s nine catches for 125 yards give him 67 catches for 958 yards on the season and 301 yards on 21 catches the past two games. The third-down success and time-of-possession advantage contribute to a high grade here.
Defense (B-): BYU managed 391 yards on 61 plays, but a lot of that yardage came late with the Cougars having to throw while trailing by multiple scores. BYU finished with 297 yards through the air. The run defense was stellar as the Sun Devils held the Cougars to 94 rushing yards on 23 tries. There was also a key fourth-down stop where ASU held BYU on fourth-and-5 on the first possession. Jordan Crook was credited with a breakup and Keith Abney the hurry. Simmons had a team-high seven tackles with McCullough, Xavion Alford and Keyshaun Elliott each making six. Extra credit for two takeaways as well.
Special teams (C+): This is a difficult one. The recovery of the squib quick, which led to the score that made it 21-0 in the first half, was a brilliant call and well executed play. The recovery was made by true freshman Plas Johnson. Kanyon Floyd had only one punt and it was just 28 yards. It was a fair catch at the 12. Parker Lewis had four kickoffs, only one of which was for a touchback. BYU’s Keelan Marion had three kickoff returns for 55 yards.
They said it
ASU coach Kenny Dillingham on what he told his team when the game got tight
“Guys, we’re still winning, it gets tighter and tighter. Guys we’re still winning, like we’re still winning. Relax. We’re going to make one play. We make one play the rest of the game, we win. (If) we catch the ball in the end zone right on the play before we went for it, we win the game. (If) we get the fourth and 1 when there’s two minutes and whatever, 30-40 seconds left, (we) win the game. (If) we get one sack or one interception, (we) win the game.
“So many times, just one play. And guess what? We got it, we got the play. We got the play to win the football game and what’s just so special is that we have a bunch of guys that when you look at the guys, (they) have such confidence. It’s like, ‘Oh, the game’s close? Oh, I’m glad I’m on this sideline.’ I wouldn’t want to be on the other sideline because that’s what we do. We win close games and we like drama. So it’s perfect.”
Cam Skattebo on the team’s turnaround this season
“The boys, they fought every day. We go back to the summer workouts and everybody fights every single day. We didn’t blink out there when they started scoring points and we weren’t. We came back, scored a touchdown, got a comfortable lead and then they scored again. So we just keep fighting.
“These guys have a lot of heart. This kid right here (Tyson), he yelled at me, ‘Don’t be selfish.’ We looked at each other, all right let’s go. The culture’s changed and everybody loves each other. We’ve turned this thing around, but it’s not finished yet because there’s still work to do in the process.”
ASU football WR Xavier Guillory details his touchdown catch vs BYU
Arizona State Sun Devils football wide receiver Xavier Guillory details what happened on his touchdown catch vs the Brigham Young Cougars on Saturday.
Wide receiver Jordyn Tyson on the doubters
“It’s just a testament to the team. They counted us out and we continue to keep working and proving the haters wrong. I have a tattoo right here that says a diamond in the rough. That describes the team, just a diamond in the rough. We just keep working, and pressure builds diamonds. That’s what happened today.”
BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“You have to give a lot of credit to Arizona State, Kenny Dillingham and the team. They were ready they had a great start, a well-coached team. You look at the weapons they have on offense and then you look at what the defense has done.
“That’s an underrated defense that I don’t think a lot of people give enough credit to. But overall just a really good game and it just didn’t work out in our favor. I thought the experience, the environment was really cool.”
Up next
ASU travels south for the annual Territorial Cup showdown against Arizona (4-7, 2-6), which has struggled miserably this season. Arizona lost to TCU 49-28 Saturday. The Sun Devils have lost the past two meetings against the bitter rival.
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Publish date : 2024-11-24 02:06:00
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Author : theamericannews
Publish date : 2024-11-24 19:38:32
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