Cam Skattebo ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns, Sam Leavitt threw for 247 yards and a score, and No. 21 Arizona State held on in the final minutes to beat No. 14 BYU 28-23 on Saturday.
The tight finish was capped by a bizarre final minute, including a premature field storming by Arizona State’s fans.
Javan Robinson‘s interception with 1:04 left looked as if it would close it out for Arizona State, but the Sun Devils stalled on the ensuing offensive drive. Leavitt threw the ball out of bounds on fourth down and Arizona State’s student section — believing the game was over — rushed the field.
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But officials ruled that there was 1 second left and BYU had a shot at the Hail Mary attempt.
It took several minutes to clear thousands of fans from the field before Jake Retzlaff’s deep pass fell incomplete a few yards short of the end zone.
The surprising Sun Devils (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) have won four straight and now find themselves on the fringe of the College Football Playoff discussion. BYU (9-2, 6-2) has lost two in a row, all but dashing its CFP hopes.
Arizona State took a 28-9 lead when Leavitt hit a wide-open Xavier Guillory for a 61-yard touchdown with 2:06 left in the third quarter, but BYU rallied, cutting the margin to 28-17 less than 90 seconds later when Jake Retzlaff hit Jojo Phillips for a 21-yard score.
After a defensive stop, BYU scored again on Keelan Marion’s 1-yard touchdown run with 8:44 left. The Cougars’ 2-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 28-23.
Retzlaff threw for 297 yards and a touchdown, but also had two costly interceptions.
Arizona State started the game with a defensive stop on fourth-and-5 at midfield and responded with a bruising 10-play, 54-yard drive, capped by Skattebo’s 3-yard touchdown run. The 215-pound back had 44 yards on seven carries.
The Sun Devils and Skattebo were back at it in the second quarter, putting together a methodical 12-play, 95-yard march for the team’s longest touchdown drive of the season.
Skattebo finished it off with a 4-yard run, slicing through the right side of the offensive line for a 14-0 lead.
Arizona State stayed aggressive with a perfectly executed onside kick that was recovered by Plas Johnson. Six plays later, Skattebo broke through the line again and sprinted 23 yards for his third touchdown of the first half.
It’s been a deflating few weeks for BYU, who was in command of the Big 12 when the calendar turned to November.
Arizona State added to its unexpected rise with the win over BYU. Skattebo and Leavitt continued their stellar seasons while the defense played extremely well for a second straight week.
Arizona State likely will jump ahead of BYU in the rankings, but the question is by how much. The Sun Devils are probably still a long shot to make the CFP but there’s definitely hope.
BYU hosts Houston next Saturday. Arizona State on the road at Arizona next Saturday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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