From start to finish, Cam Skattebo and ASU manhandled Iowa State 45-19 as the Sun Devils won their first Big 12 championship as a program in their first season in the conference.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Nearly unstoppable for Iowa State to maintain, Skattebo dominated with three touchdowns, 16 carries, 170 rushing and 38 receiving yards in Arizona State’s gigantic victory. Sam Leavitt completed 12-of-17 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns. Leavitt also rushed for a touchdown.
Struggling on both offense and defense, everything that could have gone wrong for Iowa State went wrong. Rocco Becht was 21-for-35 for 214 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Jayden Higgins corralled seven catches for 115 yards and Carson Hansen had one touchdown.
Here are the key takeaways for the Sun Devils winning the Big 12 title:
-Going 8-for-16 as a kicking unit in the regular season, the Sun Devils elected to go to their third kicker Carston Kieffer to open up the scoring. With a 32-yard try, Kieffer’s kick was good for a 3-0 ASU lead.
-Using its physicality and precision, ISU’s offense kept piecing together long offensive drives to get down the field efficiently early on. The Cyclones had 23 first downs which was more than ASU (17).
-Benefiting from two ASU penalties, Becht connected with Hansen for a three-yard touchdown pass. The Cyclones running back had 10 carries for 52 yards.
-With Arizona State needing its big-time players stepping up on a national stage like this, Leavitt seized the moment from the get-go. On 4th and inches, the Sun Devil quarterback faked a handoff to Skattebo and launched a 63-yard pass completion to Melquan Stovall.
-After the bold play call to Stovall worked out, ASU was risky on the very next play. Going for a direct snap, Skattebo was nearly tackled, forced to scramble and threw the ball up in the air that was nearly picked off. Two plays later, Leavitt rushed to his left for a three-yard score.
-Going 2-for-3 last week against Kansas State in a 29-21 win, Iowa State kicker Kyle Konrardy made a 36 and 24-yard field goal but missed one way wide of the uprights in the second quarter on Saturday.
-Utilizing their balance, speed and power, both Leavitt and Skattebo ran at ISU defenders and evaded tackles for crucial gains. Skattebo brushed off five Cyclones defenders for a gigantic 47 yards before Leavitt turned nothing into something with a 14-yard rush. Skattebo capped off the drive with a 3-yard carry through the Iowa State defensive line for a 17-10 lead early in the second quarter.
-Even though he redshirted, Malik McClain reintroduced himself to the Sun Devil faithful with a 43-yard catch. In collegiate football, a player can redshirt and still play in the postseason without the games counting.
-While Becht and Iowa State looked clinical to start, Arizona State’s defense was able to knock the Cyclones out of a rhythm. Though ISU was able to get 14 first downs, ASU forced their opponent to punt as the first half continued.
-A human wrecking ball, Skattebo amassed 10 carries for 140 rushing yards, including 90 yards after contact, and two touchdowns in the first half. He would run into the end zone for another touchdown in the third quarter, capping off a heroic three-touchdown game.
-Keeping that same energy from the first half to the second, ASU forced Abu Sama to fumble twice and intercepted a pass by Becht, a huge factor that propelled the Sun Devils to victory. Javan Robinson knocked the ball out of Samu’s hands the first time with Jeff Clark recovering it. Then an interception by Keith Abney II kept the momentum going before Clayton Smith tackled Sama and Justin Wodtly recovered the second fumble.
-With Jordyn Tyson (undisclosed) out indefinitely, someone needed to step up at receiver and Xavier Guillory was that guy. Though he caught just two passes, he made both of them count with two touchdowns for eight and 21 yards in the third quarter. In his last three games, Guillory scored four times.
-As a result of the defense playing with high intensity and energy, ASU saw one of its stars be disqualified and suspended for the first half of its first College Football Playoff game. Shamari Simmons, who had five tackles in the game, brutally tackled Becht in the head and after an official review, Simmons was ejected.
-With the score differential so lopsided 45-13, ASU backup quarterback Jeff Sims came in to give Leavitt a rest for the rest of the day. Coming out from the sidelines, the Nebraska transfer Sims did not pass but scrambled six instances for 31 yards.
-While his team was down by a lot, Becht made a remarkable return to the game for the Cyclones and was able to find Jaylin Noel for a touchdown. Becht was checked by the medical staff after the hit from Simmons but was good to go and returned.
-Arizona State produced 494 yards of total offense, with 245 coming from the run game and stacking up 18.3 yards per completion. Iowa State, meanwhile, totaled 341 yards. The Sun Devils did commit seven penalties compared to just two by the Cyclones.
-Claiming a monumental victory like this, the Sun Devils secured a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Several ASU football players receive major honors before Big 12 Championship
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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
