McCullough mesmerizes in monumental victory over No.16 Utah

(Photo By: Marina Williams/ WCSN)

TEMPE – From his own 30-yard line on third-and-15, Utah redshirt senior quarterback Cam Rising was searching for any form of salvation.

His No. 16-ranked squad was down eight with under two minutes to play against unranked Arizona State in Tempe. Teetering on the edge of defeat he fired to his left, hoping.

It had been a long journey for ASU to get to this point. After nearly three years of being in a near-perpetual state of failure in which the team had won only three games in both of the past two seasons, there was hope.

Up eight, only needing the punctuation on a win of what has quickly become a program-defining season.

It was only fitting that one of the Sun Devils’ longest-tenured players – and one of the unsung heroes who had witnessed the program’s lowest valley and now ascending peak- provided that exclamation. Redshirt senior linebacker Caleb McCullough jumped the route, bobbling the ball three times before securing the game-sealing interception of ASU’s 27-19 upset victory.

Bedlam ensued.

“He was here when all the bad things were happening,” Sun Devil head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “He was here for the three and nine (2022 season). I show up and tell him, ‘Just stay, just stay.’ He’s here again. We’re three and nine (in 2023), and we suck. Again, ‘just stay, just stay.’ He’s one of the few people who stayed, and for him to make that play is awesome.”

Pandemonium was reigning amongst a rapidly growing throng of students on the field of Mountain America Stadium. The Tempe night sky was bursting with the cheers of unbridled elation at what had just unfolded. ESPN was attempting to conduct a post-game interview with Dillingham following his Sun Devils (5-1, 2-1) upset over the Utes (4-2, 2-2).

It was a futile attempt.

After one question, millions of viewers at home were graced with 25 seconds of him screaming with a mass of students behind him.

They were celebrating the rebirth of a program.

In McCullough’s time at ASU, the Sun Devils have undergone a head coaching change, NCAA violations and eventual sanctions, and a mass exodus and upheaval of roster personnel. Their game-winning linebacker, who joined the program in 2020, had been one of five players who saw every dark day in Tempe.

Now, ASU revels in the victory that has put them at 5-1 for the first time in three seasons and firmly in position to compete with their conference’s elite.

The second of two picks capped off an incandescent day for the linebacker and allowed him to live in the spotlight for a little bit. Considering he had been a backup all season, not many would have seen him being the fulcrum point for the biggest win of the year.

He did, though.

“Before the game, I kind of visualize things,” McCullough said. “(I visualize) making plays and things that I’m gonna do. So when they happen, I’m not too surprised.”

The game-winning movement wasn’t a singular moment of aptitude for the long-time Sun Devil. Late in the second quarter, Utah was driving, attempting to reclaim the lead after having gone down 13-6 to ASU the drive before.

Rising fired a ball over the middle, looking for what appeared to be an open seam route. It was the first, and not the last time, McCullough showed that looks can be deceiving. He emerged from seemingly nowhere to snag his first of his two interceptions on the day and stop Utah’s reclamation attempt in the red zone.

His day was highlighted by a career high of 12 tackles along with the two picks. His final contribution allowed redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt to take victory knees amid a cacophony of cheers as the stadium burst at the seams moments before its field was rushed.

“Great job for [McCullough],” Leavitt said. “Finding the play, finding the ball, and it looked like he bobbled it and then came up with it. Big time play.”

He was the physical embodiment of the slow death and rapid rebirth of the program. Fitting, it was one of the remaining pillars on the team, that ended up being the man to send the Valley of the Sun into an epiphany.

“It means a whole lot,” McCullough said. “I put in a lot of work to get to this position, and I just tell my family that one day I’m going to get my opportunity. When you do get that opportunity, the work you put in will show. Tonight it showed.”