After a tightly fought 21-21 first half, the Arizona State football defense made some game-winning plays in the fourth quarter to pull away from Texas State, 31-28, on Thursday.
The Sun Devils shut out the Bobcats in the fourth quarter to start 3-0 for the first time since 2019. The last time Arizona State started 3-0 against three FBS schools was in 2007.
Safety Shamari Simmons stole the ball from Texas State’s Ismail Mahdi on the Bobcats’ 20-yard line with nine minutes left in the game to make it a 28-28 game. Arizona State set up an Ian Hersey field goal to take the win.
On Texas State’s next attempt, quarterback Jordan McCloud took a deep shot that was caught by Sun Devils safety Xavion Alford.
🗣️ BALL @ASUFootball recovered a forced fumble by Shamari Simmons in Bobcat territory with a chance to break the 4th quarter stalemate. #Big12FB | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/ddWOAfnpOf
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 13, 2024
The Bobcats had one last gasp, but on fourth down and five, ASU cornerback Keith Abney II tipped McCloud’s pass for a turnover on downs. ASU running back Cam Scattebo scored on the game-winning run on the ground. ASU held Texas State, which had gained 249 yards in the first half, to just 27 in the fourth quarter.
The Sun Devils trailed 21-7 at the half, but quarterback Sam Leavitt threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jordyn Tyson in the second quarter to close the gap. Leavitt ran for a 7-yard touchdown six seconds before halftime to tie the game after the extra point.
Leavitt completed 19 of 30 passes for 246 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and also ran for 40 yards and a score.
ASU rolls out half and scores a deep TD to Jordyn Tyson pic.twitter.com/HEeCR08Ml9
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) September 13, 2024
Scattebo was named the Associated Press Player of the Week after rushing 24 times for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
ASU’s defense had six tackles for loss, two of which came by Simmons, and Keyshawn Elliott stopped a crucial third down before a Texas State turnover.
The Sun Devils open Big 12 play on Sept. 21 at Texas Tech.
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