Defensive heroics save the day for the Sun Devils

(Photo: WCSN/ Grace Monos)

TEMPE – When Arizona State football arrived at Mountain America Stadium Friday afternoon ahead of its nightcap matchup against No. 24 Texas Christian, the usually clear skies of the Valley were anything but.

A dark, ominous blanket of clouds controlled the heavens, with buckets of rain pouring down. In the distance, lightning and thunder staked their claims.

The onslaught of extreme weather diminished as game time drew closer, but the storm didn’t stop; it just transformed.

A sea of Sun Devil students and fans, their T-shirts forming a wave of black against the silver bench seating around Frank Kush Field, grew louder and rowdier as their peers on the field grew closer to taming a storm of their own.

Before the calm, though, must come the apex. The energy in the stands was threatening to spill over with just under two minutes in the fourth quarter, the scoreboard showing a 24-24 tie with the ball in the hands of TCU’s star redshirt junior quarterback and 2024 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, Josh Hoover. It could’ve been a recipe for disaster, but ASU redshirt senior defensive lineman Prince Dorbah channeled the storm and brought it to Hoover.

As Hoover dropped back, Dorbah rushed through the Horned Frogs’ line, smashing him to the ground, and in one swift motion, knocked the ball out while tucking it into his forearms, snatching the ball from Hoover’s grasp in an instant.

He had calmed the storm.

From there, the game was in ASU’s (4-1) control. It got the ball at TCU’s (3-1) 15-yard line, managed to kick a field goal to take the 27-24 lead, and sealed the deal with one final defensive highlight: an interception courtesy of sophomore linebacker Martell Hughes.

It was Dorbah, though, who gave the Sun Devils the power of control.

“We’ve been doing this s— for so long,” Dorbah said. “Just going out there, playing football, going after the quarterback, and just getting him, that’s just our main goal out there.

“It’s probably the biggest one (play) of my career.”

If Dorbah’s strip sack was a wave crashing against the Horned Frogs, Hughes’ interception was the water receding into the ocean, bringing the Horned Frog out into the deep and ruining any chance of salvation.

The Sun Devils had an opportunity to put the game to bed after redshirt senior Jesus Gomez knocked a 23-yard field goal through the uprights with 1:14 left. It was an eerily similar situation to their heartbreaking Week 2 road loss to Mississippi State, but the similar setup didn’t equate to a similar result.

Hoover stepped back on second-and-1, scanned downfield, looking for a first-down and then some, but didn’t account for Hughes, hungry to assert himself in his second season.

The San Diego native jumped in front of the intended target, redshirt freshman wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma, snatching the ball out of thin air before sliding to the ground and sealing the victory. It was the second interception the ASU defense recorded against Hoover, who looked uncomfortable, especially in the later moments of the game, against the 11 men wearing black across from him.

“(Hughes) goes to work every day,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “Even though he’s young, he’s growing up in front of our eyes, and that’s what’s awesome about college football.”

Friday’s action was similar to the Sun Devils affair against Mississippi State in more ways than one. Like in Starkville, Dillingham’s team fell into a 17-0 hole early in the second quarter, but miraculously, managed to avoid the coffin snapping shut.

The defense stood strong after TCU’s early scoring, forcing two punts and the first interception of the game – A snag from redshirt sophomore safety Boogie Wilson off of a bobble in the red zone – giving the offense a chance to charge back.

And charge back it did.

It started with Redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt putting his 5-9 start behind him. He found the hands of redshirt junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson – wide open down the right sideline on a slant-go route – and it resulted in a 57-yard touchdown. 17-7.

“Just let zero go to work,” Leavitt said, referring to Tyson’s number. “Pretty easy for me.”

Just over three minutes after Leavitt’s touchdown pass, he used his feet to get into the end zone. An impressive 24-yard rush up the middle, with Leavitt spinning like a Beyblade past TCU defenders, set up an 8-yard keeper touchdown. 17-14.

A Leavitt fumble with 0:45 left in the first half ruined any chance of the Sun Devils tying the game before heading into the locker room, but when they returned, they got the job done.

Red zone struggles negated a touchdown, but Gomez was true from 26 yards out. 17-17.

With the game tied, it was a brawl to the finish line.

“We always play better in the second half because we do a great job just communicating and trusting each other,” Leavitt said. “Working out some early jitters early in the game and then, we just do a great job finishing.”

TCU and ASU traded punches until late in the fourth quarter, when Leavitt found Tyson for their second touchdown connection of the day, tying the game at 24 points apiece.

The touchdown preceded Dorbah’s strip sack of Hoover. It put the weight of the waves on his shoulders, and he crumbled underneath them. Still, the Sun Devils hadn’t won the game yet.

Before Hughes’ interception and Leavitt’s victory formation kneel, they needed to break the tie that they had just set.

Leavitt crossed the goal line on a QB sneak after marching to fourth-and-1 – Dillingham reasoning that the offense would’ve opted for a delay of game penalty if the touchdown wasn’t a sure thing – but a holding call nullified the play, and Gomez had to step up after a tumultuous game.

He entered the night 9-10 on field goal attempts, his only miss a 57-yarder against Northern Arizona. However, by the fourth quarter, his line was at 10-13 after missing from 46 and 43 yards out earlier in the game. Despite that, Dillingham’s confidence in his kicker never wavered.

“If we had to kick a 56-yarder to win that thing, I wouldn’t have looked, he would’ve made it,” Dillingham said. “The way he prepares, the way he goes about his business, absolute zero doubt ever.”

Gomez drilled the kick, and the defense did the rest; then it was on to ring the victory bell.

The Sun Devils calmed the storm to win, but to get there, they had to ride, tame, and control the storm. The clouds above Tempe might’ve dispersed on their own, but it was up to the two parties on the field to decide how the other storm would end.

ASU never quit to gain control, but it also didn’t make it easy for itself. Slow starts and bad miscues are things that need to be ironed out. Even so, the resiliency ASU displayed against TCU – and has consistently displayed against all its opponents – gave it a chance.

“We’re dancing circles around the potential,” Dillingham said. “We’re winning games and not playing our best football. That’s the thing I feel best about, is we haven’t quite clipped full cylinder, and we’re winning versus really good football teams.

“It’s incredible that our team continues to find ways to get it done in the big moments, and (it’s a) testament to the character of the guys we have on the team.”