In a thrilling Big 12 Conference showdown at Mountain America Stadium, the Arizona State Sun Devils hosted the #16 Utah Utes for their second consecutive conference matchup. After a hard-fought battle, Arizona State delivered another impressive victory, taking down Utah with strong defense and standout performances, including a game-changing night from Cam Skattebo.

Arizona State hosted their second consecutive BIG 12 Conference matchup in as many weeks at Mountain America Stadium. Last weekend, they took down Kansas. On Friday night, they welcomed #16 Utah into town.

Utah would receive the ball for the opening kickoff on their own 25 yard line. They would drive the ball inside of Arizona State territory but the drive stalled and the Utes would settle for a 48-yard field goal by Cole Becker.

On the third play of Arizona State’s offensive drive, Sam Leavitt would have his pass intercepted by Utah’s Junior Tafuna and returned for no yards to the Arizona 28 yard line. The Arizona State defense would step up and hold Utah to another field goal, this time for 40 yards by Cole Decker. This brought the score to 6-0, Utah, with 7:12 remaining in the first quarter.

Arizona State would start their next drive on their own 19 yard line. Sam Leavitt would lead the Sun Devils down the field on a 12-play drive in just two minutes and ten seconds, ending with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Leavitt to Tyson up the middle. Arizona State would miss the extra point, and the two teams were tied 6-6 with 2:04 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Sun Devils defense would force a three-and-out on Utah’s next possession. The offense would then go on a 14-play drive, ending in a two yard touchdown run by Jeff Sims. Sims took over at quarterback after Leavitt was hurt just two plays into the drive. The Sun Devils took up over eight minutes on the drive. And with 8:38 remaining in the half, they led 13-6 over Utah.

Just before the half ended, Cole Becker would hit a 29 yard field goal, cutting into the Arizona State lead, 13-9. And that was the score heading into halftime. Sam Leavitt did return to take the final snap just before half for the Sun Devils.

Neither team did much on offense to start the third quarter. But Utah would score on a 12 play, 79 yard drive, finished off by a Micah Bernard six yard run to the right. This gave Utah the lead over Arizona State 16-13.

Arizona State would immediately answer on a 4-play, 75 yard drive, with Cam Skattebo exploding for a 50-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Sun Devils a 20-16 lead heading in to the fourth quarter.

Utah would drive the ball downfield to the Arizona State 25, but the Sun Devils defense stepped up and caused a turnover on downs with 10:49 remaining in the final quarter. Arizona State would gamble on 4th and one on their own 29, and Utah would stop them and force a turnover on downs with just under nine minutes remaining in the game and down by four.

The Arizona State defense would stop the Utes on their drive after a third down play that was called pass interference on the offense. Utah settled for a 46 yard field goal by Cole Becker. The score with just 5:42 remaining in the game had Arizona State up by a slim 20-19 score.

Arizona State answered back in the best way that they know how; Give Cam Skattebo the ball! Skattebo would break his second longest run of the night with a 47 yard touchdown run up the middle, giving Arizona State the lead (with extra point) 27-20 with 2:41 on the clock.

Eight plays into Utah’s drive, quarterback Cameron Rising was picked off by Arizona State’s Caleb McCullough. Arizona State would run out the remainder of the clock, mostly on kneel-downs.

Cam Skattebo would finish the night with 158 rushing yards, and two touchdowns, on 22 carries. He also caught 4 passes for 41 yards.

Arizona State continues to solidify their presence in the Big 12 with this exciting victory over #16 Utah. Cam Skattebo’s explosive performance, coupled with a resilient defense, helped the Sun Devils secure the win. Now sitting at 5-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play, they look ahead to a tough road matchup against Cincinnati on October 19th, with momentum clearly on their side.