Seniors show out in Senior Day win over BYU

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State football won its biggest game under head coach Kenny Dillingham Saturday, beating No. 14 BYU 28-23. Now, the Sun Devils control their own destiny to win the Big 12. A couple of seniors were a big part of that on a special day.

This was a team picked to finish dead last to begin the season, and now they’re tied for first.

ASU started fast in its 28-23 win over BYU

The Sun Devils scored the first points of the game and added another pair of touchdowns in the second quarter.  ASU took a 21-0 lead with 1:53 seconds remaining in the first half. BYU did manage to get into field goal range before the half and get on the board.

ASU led the Cougars 21-3 at the break. The Sun Devils got the ball to start the second half and drove the length of the field. However, the rumbling offense stalled out inside the 10-yard line and turned it over on downs.

Then, the Cougars drove 96 yards for a touchdown to bring the game within 11 points. Both teams answered back with a touchdown a piece to end the third quarter. BYU made it interesting in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars scored another touchdown with 8:44 remaining to cut the deficit to five points. Then, ASU drove down the field and burned 6:10 off the clock. The Sun Devils found themselves in a fourth-and-one scenario on the BYU 11-yard line. ASU went for it and failed, leaving 2:34 on the clock with a five-point lead.

Redshirt sophomore Javan Robinson came up with what looked like a game-sealing interception tackled down at the BYU 7-yard line. In a strange sequence of events, the Sun Devils ended up with a fourth and goal from the 49-yard line with seven seconds left. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt attempted to toss the ball out of bounds and the clock to expire, but after an official review, there was one-second remaining and the result was a turnover on downs.

After the crowd rushed the field, security cleared the field, and the final play was underway, the Sun Devils denied the Cougar’s hail mary attempt, and ASU secured its ninth win of the season.

“We won the football game. We beat another ranked team in Mountain America Stadium,” Dillingham said. “These guys battled, these guys fought, these guys found a way to win. It doesn’t matter whatever happened at the end.”

Seniors show out

Senior running back Cam Skattebo has been ASU’s best player on the field all season long. That didn’t stop Saturday.

The veteran running back picked up his fifth performance of at least 140 rushing yards. Skattebo added three touchdowns on the ground, which is his season high. He’s rushed for 1,221 yards and punched in 16 total touchdowns this season.

Skattebo did it all for ASU last season, now he’s been able to focus on growing and becoming the best he can at his position. His intensity on the practice field and the challenge from his head coach have been a main cause of this growth.

“He’s (Dillingham) challenged me every day. He knows when I’m having a bad day or an off day, or looking sluggish, and he gets on me about it,” Skattebo said. “I’m doing my best to put in the work, because I understand the talent I have, and I could play at the next level. But if I don’t put in the work, it’s not going to happen. That’s why I respect him so much, and everybody loves him because everybody understands he’s doing it for the right of us.”

Guillory’s game-winning touchdown

Redshirt senior Xavier Guillory hasn’t been a name we’ve talked about a lot this season. But on a night for seniors to leave their mark, he did just that.

Guillory came into Saturday with a single catch in four of the last five games he was active for. Saturday night he replicated that, except this time, it was a 61-yard eventual game-winning touchdown grab.

This was Guillory’s longest catch of the season and his second-highest receiving total this season.

“It just felt awesome that Sam trusted me in that play, and it turned out to be a big play when it came down to the game. So, it felt great,” Guillory said. “It was an awesome feeling scoring and just helping the team.”

Senior’s star support

Redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson had a day once again. The standout receiver has been on fire over his last four games and that did not stop Saturday.

Tyson was involved early and often Saturday to the tune of nine catches for 125 yards. The rising star is just 32 yards away from 1,000 receiving yards this season. Tyson is averaging over 7.5 receptions and 100 yards per game over his last seven games.

Tyson pointed out that his largest area of growth this season has been in simple yet important aspects of his position.

“I had two big fumbles on the year that kind of kept guys in the game. So, just keeping the ball. That’s one of our key topics in our team meetings,” Tyson said. “And just the details, fundamentals, route depth, stuff like that.”

What this means for ASU

This win was the biggest of the season. Last week, ASU was the underdog nobody believed in and shocked Kansas State. But, Saturday provided a different challenge.

Many believed and ASU and had jumped on the hype train, including all five picks on College Gameday. BYU was coming off its first loss of the season with a chance to all but secure a spot in the Big 12 Championship game with a win.

The Sun Devils started fast and led wire to wire. Saturday’s win proved ASU has the ability to win when there’s expectation attached. Nobody believed in this team at the beginning of the season, and it’s come this far. The Sun Devil’s standout receiver compared this team to a diamond.

“They counted us out, and we continue to keep working, proving the haters wrong. I got a tattoo right here. It says ‘diamond in the rough’,” Tyson said. “That just describes this team. Just a diamond in the rough. We just keep working and shoot, pressure builds diamonds, and that’s what happened today.”

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