No. 21 Sun Devils show buy-in, continued progress in win over No. 14 BYU

(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)

TEMPE — A stillness fell upon most of the 55,400 packed inside Mountain America Stadium as No. 14 BYU marched down the field with the clock dipping below two minutes in the fourth quarter. Down five, the Cougars, who trailed No. 21 Arizona State football by as many as 21, were marching down the field with a legitimate chance to score with too little time left for the hosts to muster a response.

With a path to the Big 12 Championship game and a potential College Football Playoff berth on the line, the Sun Devils badly needed a big play to seal their biggest win in 10 years. Fortunately for head coach Kenny Dillingham and all of the ASU faithful, redshirt sophomore cornerback Javan Robinson had one left in the tank.

On second-and-10 from ASU’s 39-yard line, redshirt junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff dropped back and looked in the direction of redshirt sophomore receiver Darius Lassiter, but overthrew him. Robinson was in the right spot at the right time, as he made the catch and returned it 64 yards, all but sealed the Sun Devils’ (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) 28-23 win over BYU (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) and their first undefeated home slate since 2004.

“We’re still winning, relax,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said of his message to the team. “Just make one play the rest of the game and we win… We make one sack or one interception, (we) win the game. So many times, (it’s) just one play. And guess what? We got it, we got the play to win the football game.”

After a dominant first half that saw the Sun Devils score three of their four touchdowns on the afternoon and lead 21-3, BYU came roaring back in the final 30 minutes, outscoring the opposition 20-7 and outgaining it 277-193 in the second half. There were several instances where the offense stalled in the second half, like on each of its three fourth down tries or on four of its six third down attempts.

But through all of that, there were positives, even though their overall production slowed compared to the first half.

Late in the fourth quarter and only ahead by five, ASU embarked on a lengthy drive that lasted over six minutes, slowing down a BYU offense that scored three touchdowns in nearly 10 minutes to make the contest competitive again, giving it the ball back with just over two-and-a-half minutes left in the game. And of course, the Sun Devils’ defense came up huge in the waning moments, bending but refusing to break as the Cougars attempted to throw one final punch.

Every player in maroon and gold kept fighting, even if a specific drive felt like a losing battle. The fight was a microcosm for the entire season, indicating a program-wide buy-in.

“The boys, they fought every day,” senior running back Cam Skattebo, who scored three touchdowns in the game, said. “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… These guys got a lot of heart.”

All other implications the win creates for the remainder of ASU’s 2024 campaign aside, one thing is certain: the Sun Devils are very much ahead of schedule and are making progress faster than anyone could have envisioned.

Entering the season, ASU was picked by the media to finish dead-last in the Big 12 following Dillingham’s first year at the helm and back-to-back 3-9 campaigns. They sit atop the Big 12 and control their own destiny, whether that means qualifying for the conference championship or beyond.

Through all of the success leading up to this point, there have been several that doubted ASU’s ability to truly compete in the Big 12. Just last week, when an unranked Sun Devils squad visited then-No. 16 Kansas State, five of ESPN’s College Gameday hosts chose the Wildcats. But just as it’s done all season, ASU tuned out the noise and let their results on the field do their talking — something they did once again on Saturday. One week later all six pickers on College Gameday selected ASU to beat the Cougars.

“It’s just a testament to the team,” redshirt sophomore receiver Jordyn Tyson said. “They count us out, man, they counted us out. And we continue to keep working, proving the haters wrong. I’ve got a tattoo right here that says,‘diamond in the rough.’ That just describes this team, just a diamond in the rough. Just keep working, and pressure builds diamonds.”

It evidently doesn’t matter what anyone else outside of the program has to say; ASU is brought into the process, which started after a brutal first season under Dillingham. A team that not long ago needed to consistently use gimmicks in order to win is now one victory removed from a shot at its first conference championship since 2007.

Sure, the program has taken a significant step this season. But in Dillingham’s eyes, nobody will care if ASU finishes with nine or ten wins without winning some hardware. There’s certainly some truth to that, but no matter what happens in the coming weeks, ASU’s continued buy-in is already showing signs of what’s possible under Dillingham.

“It’s not finished yet, because there’s still a process,” Skattebo said. “There’s still work to do in the process.”