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Arizona State Sun Devils

ASU spoil Cam Rising’s return, make massive statement with 27-19 win over Utah

Arizona State Sun Devils linebacker Caleb McCullough (22) reacts after intercepting a pass from Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) in the first half at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Oct. 11, 2024. Âİ Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TEMPE – Up against one of the better teams in the country, Arizona State may have just earned itself a national ranking as they put together a complete game and shut down No. 16 Utah 27-19 on Friday.

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Caleb McCullough recorded multiple season-highs with two interceptions and 12 tackles while Cam Skattebo scored two touchdowns and ran for 158 yards from 22 carries for ASU (5-1, 2-1 B12). Despite an injury scare in the second quarter, Sam Leavitt completed 11-of-18 passes for 154 yards and chipped in with 22 rushing yards from six scrambles.

While there was speculation as to whether he was indeed going to play or not after missing the last three games with an injury to his throwing hand, Utah’s (4-2, 1-2 B12) star quarterback Cam Rising returned and it was a rough outing for him. The seven-year Ute was accurate on just 16-of-39 passes for 209 yards and threw three interceptions in his team’s second straight loss.

Utes’ offense wasn’t Rising to the occasion

Fighting through some rust after not playing the past few games, Rising completed just 2-of-9 passes in the first quarter and was noticeably not playing as free-flowing as he normally does. At the beginning of the season, the California native was 18-of-29 on pass attempts with 346 yards and seven touchdowns in two games.

On the other end, Leavitt’s first drive was shortlived with an interception right to Junior Tafuna at ASU’s 29-yard line. Using his long-range ability, Utah kicker Cole Becker then converted on two 40-plus yard field goals to make it 6-0 after the pick.

Making up for the miscue, the powerful connection between Leavitt and Tyson against Kansas last week transferred over to the matchup vs. Utah. With two touchdowns against the Jayhawks last Saturday including the last-minute game-winner, Tyson cut from his left to the middle and ran into the end zone, tying the game 6-6 vs. the Utes. ASU kicker Carston Kieffer missed the extra point.

“I feel like it just clicked instantly, he’s got a real good feel of the game and constantly just working. Getting more comfortable with the offense and the timing. He feels how I am going to throw the ball and how I come out of breaks. Putting the work outside of here so that when it comes to game day, it becomes second nature,” Leavitt said on the chemistry he has with Tyson.

Just as he was getting into a groove, Leavitt sustained a hard collision in the early moments of the second quarter.

As he was scrambling for an eight-yard gain, Utah linebacker Lander Barton powerfully tackled him to the ground and Leavitt struggled to get up. It took a few minutes until Leavitt stood back and walked gingerly to the injury tent.

Coming off the bench when they needed him the most, ASU backup quarterback Jeff Sims entered the game and following a couple of rushing attempts by Skattebo, Sims got the Sun Devils fans on their feet with a run to his right for three yards, giving ASU its first lead of the game 13-6 at 8:42 in the second quarter.

“We have a lot of confidence in Jeff. We put him in there, put the ball in his hands and he scores a touchdown… He went in there and executed the calls. Kudos to him and being ready, he is a veteran and is a guy who transferred here who didn’t transfer here to be the No. 2, he transferred here to start,” Dillingham said on Sims. “There is great power in what it means for the football team that you have a guy who is a senior and transferred here to start and win the job and he didn’t.

“He is a great teammate, he’s a great person and he goes in there and gets the job done when he was called upon. That’s the culture we are trying to build and that’s the program we are trying to build. What he did tonight and how he has handled himself tells you everything you need to know about him.”

A sigh of relief for ASU and its offense happened just before halftime as Leavitt returned to the sidelines and took a knee to head into the break.

“I got hit in the ribs, started to spasm and couldn’t really breathe. I wasn’t really too worried about the pain, I was just sad that I couldn’t put on for the team,” Leavitt said. “Once I got the strength to get up, I told the team you guys have to put this one in. I went to the tent and did whatever I had to do and got back out there to get a win with the team.”

Defense, offense built off each other, ASU gets massive win

Last Saturday vs. Kansas, ASU lost Clayton Smith and Keyshaun Elliott to targeting penalties in the second half.

Almost a week later, Smith was nearly ejected again.

Arizona State defensive back Keith Abney II contested a pass from Rising and dove for an interception. As Rising was about to be tackled, Smith crunched him and the referees threw flags for targeting. After an official review, however, there was no penalty ruled on the play and the interception by Abney II was confirmed.

The battle between two former Pac-12 rivals went neck-and-neck with ASU’s defense not giving Utah remotely anything besides mostly field goals. Rising was unable to get into a rhythm in the first quarter partly because of the injury and his timing being off, but also because he had nearly no open options to pass to.

“You can see their quarterback wasn’t fully healthy. He was battling and just fighting,” Dillingham said on Rising.

Utah would regain the lead once more 16-13 courtesy of running back Micah Bernard rushing to his right and finding just enough space to crash into the end zone. Bernard has already garnered 676 rushing yards this season after a 127-yard performance in Tempe.

But with 1:42 left in the third frame, Skattebo broke out of a slump to his standards by burning past multiple Utes defenders and staying within bounds for a 50-yard rushing touchdown. Skattebo had 25 carries for 182 yards and a touchdown vs. Kansas.

A huge presence on the defense, McCullough had a standout game with massive stops and key picks for the Sun Devils. He only had 19 throughout the season before the game began since he has been the backup to Elliott.

Later on, ASU was on a 4th and 1, and instead of punting it, Skattebo rushed before he was stuffed by the Utah defense and it was a turnover on downs that led to a field goal by the Utes.

Though the play call didn’t work out, Skattebo revealed that he persuaded offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo to go for it since the two trust each other.

“We’re up four, they get a stop on fourth down. It was my call, I told Coach Arroyo when he wanted to punt the football and I said, ‘Give it to me, I’ll get the first down.’ We got stopped but that won’t happen every time, might happen every 10 times I do it,” Skattebo said. “He trusted me, I didn’t make it work and he kept giving me the ball.”

Skattebo then put the icing on the cake with another miracle run, dashing for 47 yards to extend the Sun Devils’ lead to 27-19 with a 47-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

With this win, ASU improved to 5-1 for the first time since 2019 and snapped Utah’s five-game winning streak off of a bye week. ASU had not won a game against a ranked opponent since defeating No. 6 Oregon 31-28 on Nov. 23, 2019 until Friday.

“We just beat No. 16 in the country, so who says we can’t beat anyone else? We played a heck of a game, the guys played hard the whole game and I love those guys. I trust them in everything they got and everything that they give to me,” Skattebo said.

Next Games

ASU: Away at Cincinatti (3-2, 1-1 B12) | Oct. 19 | 9 a.m. PT

Kansas: Home vs. TCU (1-2, 3-3 B12) | Oct. 19 | 7:30 p.m. PT

Cam Skattebo, Sam Leavitt receive Big 12 honors for pivotal roles in ASU’s first conference win vs. Kansas

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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini

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