TEMPE, Ariz. – On a rainy, gloomy day in Tempe, Arizona State football weathered the storm of red zone inefficiency to pull out its most impressive win of the 2025 season. The Sun Devils put themselves in an early 17-0 hole, fought their way back, and ultimately finished the job for an impressive 27-24 win over TCU.
“I’m exhaustedly excited. Whatever that means,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said. “We had 200 more yards. We won the turnover battle, and we won in that fashion. It’s just crazy.”
Friday night had flashbacks to multiple different games this season. ASU fell into an early hole exactly the way it did in its lone loss to Mississippi State. But, just as the Sun Devils did against the Bulldogs two weeks ago, ASU fought back. However, on Friday night, the Sun Devils didn’t wait until the second half to start the comeback.
ASU went down 17-0 early, but scored 14 unanswered points in the final five minutes of the second quarter to make it a three point game. The Sun Devils got the ball back and had a chance to put more points up before halftime but sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt fumbled.
ASU went down and scored a field goal on its first drive of the second half to tie the game, but TCU responded immediately with a touchdown of its own to regain the lead. That’s when ASU’s defense took the game over.
The Sun Devils entered the fourth quarter down a touchdown. ASU’s offense was able to move the ball up and down the field but couldn’t get any points on the board, similar to its inability to find the end zone throughout the Baylor game. However, the defense continued to give them more chances.
ASU’s defense allowed just one TCU first down in the entire fourth quarter. The Sun Devils offense finally found the end zone with less than two minutes to go to tie the game. Then, the defense came up with yet another stop, this time a fumble to set the offense up for the go-ahead field goal.
ASU made the field and sophomore linebacker Martell Hughes made the game-sealing interception to cap off the defense’s incredible night. Here are three takeaways from ASU’s thrilling comeback win over TCU.
The front seven dominated
You could really say the defense, in general, dominated. However, the front seven deserves to be highlighted. ASU’s pass rush was active all night long, and that only intensified when it mattered most late in the game.
ASU’s defense had six sacks and 13 tackles for loss. The Sun Devils had 13 sacks coming into the game, averaging about three per game, and nearly doubled that on Friday night. Further more, ASU had 66 TFLs all last year, and it already has 42 this year.
“They’re starting to learn how to rush together. Our twist games are really, really good. We’re starting to learn that, it’s not the person who goes first who gets the sack. It’s the wrapper most of the time,” Dillingham said. “The group is maturing, and they’re understanding that when you team rush, right, it opens everything up.”
Dillingham went on to explain how his players aren’t worried about who gets the sack anymore, they’re more focused on rushing in their correct lane and that creates team success. That veteran, mature play style is showing up because the front seven played together last year.
Senior defensive lineman Prince Dorbah was the star of the show. The veteran Sun Devil came into the game with 3.5 sacks on the season and added three more on Friday night.
“We knew all game that we had an advantage up front, so we liked our matchups,” Dorbah said. “Coaches just told us to go rush, communicate, play with each other. My mindset was just trust my teammates. They got my back. Give it my all, and then we’re going to come out on top.”
That’s exactly what the Sun Devils did, and Dorbah’s defensive effort was a big reason why.
With all the veteran talent on ASU’s defense, Hughes also had a coming out party. The young linebacker sealed the game with his first career interception, and also added three tackles on the night.
“He’s a smart person. He’s mature,” Dillingham said. “Even though he’s young, I mean, he’s growing up in front of our eyes, and that’s what is awesome about college football.”
Red zone struggles continue
For a second straight week, ASU struggled to get the ball in the end zone when it made it into the red zone. The Sun Devils moved the ball with ease in the second half, just as they did against Baylor last week.
However, last week it was stalling and settling for field goals, and this week is was going for it and turning it over on downs or missing field goals.
“We just got a lot of red zone trips. We got to come up with some better points. I got to play backline more, understand window throws more in the red zone,” Leavitt said. “But, once it pops, it’s going to be pretty fun because we should have probably put up over 45 points.”
The Sun Devils had five drives in the second half, not counting the final kneel down at the end of the game. Of those five drives, ASU made it inside the TCU 30-yard line every time, and scored on just three of them.
The Sun Devils scored just two field goals and a touchdown on five trips inside the Horned Frog’s 30-yard line.
Because of ASU’s inability to convert deep drives, the Sun Devils tallied 498 total yards, compared to the Horned Frog’s 298 total yards. However, the game came down to the final drive.
“It’s incredible that our team continues to find ways to get it done in big moments,” Dillingham said. “It’s like we’re dancing in circles around the potential. We’re winning games and not playing our best football. That’s the thing I feel best about.”
The Sun Devils have now survived back-to-back weeks of out-gaining their opponent in yardage without being able to capitalize with touchdowns. If ASU can fix its red zone issues, the Sun Devils offense can reach the next level.
ASU’s a second half team
The Sun Devils have shown it all season long, and it continued on Friday night. The pure points scored may not look that way, but when you take yardage earned into account, ASU came to life in the second half.
ASU had two punts in the entire game against TCU, and they came on the Sun Devils’ first two possessions of the game. After that, ASU either ended a possession in a score, or turned it over, whether by a Leavitt fumble or on downs.
Against Mississippi State, ASU scored 17 of its 24 points in the second half. In the Baylor game, the Sun Devils scored 17 of their 27 points in the second half. Then on Friday, although the offense started clicking at the end of the first half, the defense flexed its muscles in the second half, holding TCU to just seven second-half points.
“We were winning first downs early in the game, and they were getting us on second down and third down,” senior linebacker Keyshaun Elliott said. “So, we cleaned some stuff up, went back to our base techniques.”
Elliott added that TCU beat ASU on some long third downs early on and the adjustment was to start with more depth in coverage. That adjustment led to Hughes’ game-sealing interception because he was able to drive on the ball to make the play.
Although it’s worked out for ASU the last two weeks, the Sun Devils have to figure out how to start faster as they get deeper into Big 12 play. However, for now, Dillingham and his squad are happy with the outcomes.
“We haven’t quite like, clipped, full-cylinder, and we’re winning versus really good football teams,” Dillingham said. “If you would have told me we could have been 2-0 to start the league, I would have been so fired up.”
What’s next for ASU?
After Friday’s hard-fought, impressive win over No. 24 TCU, ASU will have a bye in week 6. The Sun Devils will get two weeks off before they travel to Utah to face the Utes.
In fact, by the time ASU hits the field next, it could be sitting inside the AP Top 25 rankings. After all, the Sun Devils have been one of the first teams out the last couple of weeks, and now they knocked off a ranked team.
“You know, they were another team that was on, I think, a five game winning streak dating back to last year. Up to this point in our season, only one team that we’ve faced has lost a game other than to us, and it was Baylor to Auburn,” Dillingham said. “No other team we have faced has lost a football game.”
The Sun Devils have yet to play a complete game, and they’re 4-1 to start the season, and 2-0 in the Big 12. However ASU’s next two games are against Utah and Texas Tech. Finding that first complete game of the season might be necessary if the Sun Devils want to continue winning.
Thank you for reading Sun Devil Daily! Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with Arizona State news! For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at santo.d0506@gmail.com. Also, make sure to check out the Sun Devil Daily shop for merchandise! Forks up!
Transfer Portal2 years ago
Transfer Portal2 years ago
FB RECRUITING2 years ago
FOOTBALL2 years ago