ASU football demolished Wyoming 48-7 a couple of days ago, but that wasn’t the only thing that they crushed on Saturday night.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In the 2024 season opener for the Sun Devils, 13,698 students showed up and showed out to support their football team at Mountain America Stadium. This marked the second-highest student home attendance in program history, narrowly surpassing the 13,615 who were at the in-state rivalry matchup against Northern Arizona on Sept. 1, 2022. Only the game on Sept. 24, 2014, against UCLA (14,084) has more.
Praising Sun Devil Nation for making it a loud environment, ASU alum and current head coach Kenny Dillingham wants the students to create that type of atmosphere again and again, but wants them to stay for the entirety of games.
“That was unbelievable, the student section was absolutely incredible,” Dillingham said. “We have to figure out how to keep them in the second half, there are so many distractions around this place that we have to figure out how we keep them in the seats. Unbelievable turnout.”
“The student section was absolutely incredible.”
With the second-most amount of students at a game since 2010, Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham was ecstatic for the energy they brought.#ASU #SunDevils #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/d3SDJ9Mk7m
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) September 1, 2024
Making his debut for Arizona State, Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt was met with a warm reception from the crowd as he threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns from 14-for-22 passing. He also scrambled eight times for an additional 47 rushing yards.
Feeling the excitement and energy from the fanbase, the Sun Devils’ newest starting quarterback knows there is more of this kind of turnout to come.
“It was pretty dope, I didn’t think it was going to be that loud running out,” Leavitt said. “I was super excited about that and got a chance to see what we can really make this. Hopefully more people start showing up and we get this thing really rocking.”
Leading the team with seven total tackles and picking up one interception, linebacker Keyshaun Elliott stressed how important the fans were in boosting himself and the teammates around him.
“I thought it was huge, the crowd showed out. I don’t think they realize how much of an impact they have,” Elliott said. “For the defense and the offense as well, it’s always nice to see the stadium almost packed. The energy was there throughout the fourth quarter, so that was nice as well.”
Erupting a roar, from the student section, linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu picked off a pass by Wyoming quarterback and Mesa native Evan Svoboda for a touchdown just 41 seconds into the game. Fiaseu, a San Diego State transfer, tallied three tackles in the win.
“It was great energy, the crowd was there, the community’s there. We know they got our back, we got their back. We put on a show,” Fiaseu said.
ASU has finished back-to-back seasons 3-9 and is a new member of the Big 12 Conference. With a step up in competition and a lot of hype around the program, time will tell if more fans begin to flock over to games and catch the Sun Devils live in action.
Having that full support behind them entering the new season, ASU will look for an even bigger crowd this Saturday when they go up against an SEC team, Mississippi State. The Bulldogs crushed Eastern Kentucky 56-7 on Aug. 31 and are 1-0 heading into Tempe.
“We play Mississippi State next week, an SEC team who won by a lot,” Dillingham said. “We’ve never won an SEC game in Arizona State history, so we need a soldout crowd with the biggest student section that there’s ever been. We need it loud for four quarters, all night long.”
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
