ASU football keeps pace in Big 12 Championship race with win vs UCF

by Junna Base November 10, 2024

The Arizona State football team went a combined 4-10 at home over the previous two seasons.

After five games this season, the Sun Devils are 5-0 at Mountain America Stadium.

And more importantly, ASU is in the thick of the Big 12 title race in Kenny Dillingham’s second season in Tempe and in ASU’s first season in the conference.

ASU improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play with a 35-31 win over UCF Saturday night, scoring the final points of the game on a 13-yard pass from Sam Leavitt to Jordyn Tyson with 4:55 left.

Tyson came up huge for the Sun Devils in this game, with seven catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

Sam Leavitt was 16-for-25 for 161 yards and three touchdowns, also connecting on a 4-yard TD pass to Chamon Metayer.

ASU struggled running the ball without Cam Skattebo, who missed the game with an injury, but still got 73 yards on 18 carries from Kyson Brown.

The Sun Devils also got a boost from a first-half punt block that was returned for a touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown right before the half, which came just nine seconds after Metayer’s score and gave ASU a 21-17 halftime lead.

RJ Harvey showed why he is the Big 12’s leading rusher, rushing for 127 yards on 25 carries, with three scores for UCF, which fell to 4-6 with the loss overall and 2-5 in Big 12 play.

UCF outgained ASU in total yards, 406-260 in the game.

The Sun Devils will take on Kansas State on the road next week. UCF is off next week.

ASU is currently tied for third in the Big 12, at 4-2 in conference play, with Iowa State, Kansas State and West Virginia.

BYU entered the day 5-0 in conference play (Cougars played Utah late Saturday) and Colorado sat at 4-1 after beating Texas Tech.

The top two teams in the conference will play in the Big 12 title game.

Watch UCF vs Arizona State live on FUBO (free trial)

The Sun Devils did in fact, run the clock.

ASU picked up a first down and turned the ball over on downs after running seven plays and gaining 12 yards over 3:13, giving the ball back to UCF with just five seconds left at the UCF 22.

UCF had a short completion on the final play of the game, giving ASU the victory.

Final score: Arizona State 35, UCF 31

UCF went for it on 4th & 2 at their own 33 and RJ Harvey was stuffed after a 1-yard gain, giving ASU the ball back with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter in a key stop for ASU’s defense.

UCF gained nine yards on four plays on the drive and now the Sun Devils will attempt to run the clock as much as possible.

Jordyn Tyson has put ASU back on top with 4:55 left in the fourth quarter with his second touchdown reception of this game.

Sam Leavitt connected with the wide receiver on a 13-yard strike this time to complete a 9-play, 71-yard touchdown drive and give Arizona State a 35-31 lead.

ASU has struggled to run the ball without Cam Skattebo, but Jordyn Tyson has delivered with seven catches for 99 yards and the two touchdowns.

Sam Leavitt is now 16-for-24 for 161 yards with three touchdown passes in this game.

The question now is, can ASU’s defense stop RJ Harvey and UCF?

Score: Arizona State 35, UCF 31 (4:55 left in fourth quarter)

UCF just missed a 46-yard field goal by Grant Reddick when the football hit the upright, preserving the deficit at 31-28 for Arizona State.

UCF started the drive at ASU’s 37 yard line but came up empty, only gaining eight years on four plays on the drive, with the missed field goal.

UCF brought the pressure on ASU’s Sam Leavitt and it paid off, as the Sun Devils went 3-and-out on a crucial possession, giving the ball back to UCF.

Quadric Bullard sacked Leavitt for an 8-yard loss on a 3rd & 11 play at the ASU 24 to force the punt.

ASU has obviously really missed Cam Skattebo in this game as it has has too many very short drives, resulting in not much rest for its defense.

The Sun Devil defense now really needs a stop against the Knights, something it hasn’t been able to do for two straight possessions.

Back and forth they go in Tempe.

RJ Harvey just scored his third rushing touchdown of the game, this one on a 13-yard run, to give UCF a 31-28 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Harvey now has 22 carries for 122 yards in this game.

The Knights have rushed for 176 yards on 32 carries.

It only took them six plays to go 75 yards and retake the lead.

We’ve had four lead changes in this game since the last minute of the second quarter.

Score: UCF 31, Arizona State 28 (13:04 left in fourth quarter)

ASU got the good drive it desperately needed and Jordyn Tyson was a huge reason why.

The wide receiver scored a touchdown with a 9-yard reception to give the Sun Devils a 28-24 lead. He also had a huge 29-yard reception on 3rd & 7 at the ASU 28 earlier in the drive.

Tyson now has six catches for 86 yards and we have ourselves a very interesting football game.

Arizona State’s drive took 4:20 off the clock. It went for 75 yards on eight plays.

Score: Arizona State 28, UCF 24 (:43 left in third quarter)

RJ Harvey just lowered his shoulder and ran into the end zone, giving UCF a 24-21 lead over ASU on a 8-yard run.

It is his second TD of the game and capped off a 5-play, 54-yard drive.

Harvey how has 18 carries for 79 yards in this game.

UCF has run 57 offensive plays in this game. ASU has 30.

The Sun Devils could really use a good drive right now from their offense to answer the Knights’ score.

Score: UCF 24, Arizona State 21 (5:03 left in second quarter)

Sam Leavitt now has thrown four straight incomplete passes for the Sun Devils.

But he isn’t getting much help from his receivers.

His latest passes was dropped by Jake Smith on what could have been a big play for ASU, but instead resulted in another Sun Devil punt.

ASU has had one good drive on offense in this game, which resulted in a touchdown, but only leads because of the two return touchdowns.

Arizona State’s most recent drive was a 3-and-out. ASU has only ran 30 plays on offense in this game.

The Sun Devils only have 141 yards on offense.

The Sun Devils are starting to put pressure on Central Florida QB Dylan Rizk.

And it is paying off.

The pressure just got to Rizk on UCF’s first drive of the second half, and the freshman QB was sacked on an 3rd & 10 at the ASU 37, forcing the Knights to punt after a 10 play drive.

Rizk is now 19-for-29 for 170 yards passing in this game, with the interception that was returned for a touchdown before the half.

He has lost 10 yards on three carries.

ASU has mainly kept RJ Harvey, the Big 12’s leading rusher, in check. He’s now at 14 carries for 56 yards.

The Sun Devils drove 31 yards over six plays to open the second half, but were forced to punt after an incomplete pass from Sam Leavitt on 3rd & 14 at the UCF 45.

Leavitt is now 8-for-12 for 68 yards in this game, with one passing touchdown.

Kyson Brown is up to 59 yards on 10 carries, while Leavitt has 12 yards on five carries. No other Sun Devils have carried the ball.

After a very quiet start, Jordyn Tyson has four catches for 48 yards for Arizona State, which will now see if its defense can continue to step up against Central Florida.

UCF tried a 57-yard field goal by Grant Reddick at the end of the first half in Tempe that was just wide, preserving a 21-17 lead for ASU at the half.

ASU preaches winning the “middle eight,” the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half.

It definitely did that in the final four minutes of the second quarter, scoring 14 points in nine seconds to turn a 17-7 deficit into 21-17 lead.

UCF has 14 first downs. ASU has seven.

UCF has 229 yards. ASU has 103.

UCF has 163 yards passing. ASU has 51.

UCF has 66 yards rushing. ASU has 52.

UCF has a 19:16 to 10:44 advantage in time of possession.

But ASU has a 21-17 lead in the only category that really matters, the score category, getting a blocked punt return touchdown and an interception return touchdown in the first half.

Arizona State will get the ball to start the second half, giving the Sun Devils an opportunity to further win the “middle eight” against UCF.

How’s this for a stat? The Sun Devils have outscored their opponents 63-13 so far in the “middle eight” this season.

Halftime score: Arizona State 21, UCF 17

This game sure changed fast.

UCF’s Christian Peterson ran the ball out of the end zone after dropping it, instead of taking a knee, and was tackled on the half-yard line, giving the Knights miserable field position.

ASU took advantage of it when Dylan Rizk threw an interception on the very next play that was returned for a touchdown by LT Welch, giving ASU 14 points in nine seconds.

Wow.

Score: Arizona State 21, UCF 17 (:47 left in second quarter)

ASU needed that.

The Sun Devils just scored their first touchdown of the game on offense on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Sam Leavitt to Chamon Metayer.

It ended a 9-play, 75-yard drive and pulled ASU within 17-14 in this game.

ASU got some help on the drive with a 15-yard facemask penalty on UCF’s Nyjalik Kelly against Leavitt earlier in the possession.

The Sun Devils really miss Cam Skattebo, who is out with an injury, but they now only trail by three points in this game.

It feels like it could be a lot worse.

Score: UCF 17, Arizona State 14 (:56 left in second quarter)

It’s quiet at Mountain America Stadium.

UCF just took a 17-7 lead on ASU with an 11-play, 66-yard drive, capped off with a 6-yard run by Jacurri Brown on a designed QB run for the touchdown.

UCF converted its second 4th down attempt of the game, this one a 9-yard pass from Dylan Rizk to Jacoby Jones, to extend the drive.

The time of possession in this game now favors UCF, 18:20 to 6:44.

UCF has a 207-38 advantage in total yards.

It’s been all Knights, making this next possession for ASU a critical one.

Score: UCF 17, Arizona State 7 (4:56 left in second quarter)

The big question entering this game was how would ASU fare without Cam Skattebo on offense?

The answer, at least right now, is not well.

ASU just had to punt again after losing one yard on its most recent possession.

The Sun Devils only have 38 yards in the game. They are 1-for-3 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down.

They are lucky to only be down 10-7 after they scored on a blocked punt return for a touchdown, but they need to make some adjustments quick.

The Knights just went on an 11-yard, 47-yard drive, taking a 10-7 lead on a 45-yard field goal by Grant Reddick.

UCF is dominating the time of possession in this game, 12:50 to 4:31.

They have an 8-2 advantage in first downs and a 141-39 advantage in total yards.

But only a 10-7 lead on the scoreboard.

Score: UCF 10, Arizona State 7 (12:39 left in second quarter)

ASU football’s defense fared better on its second time on the field against UCF.

Much better.

The Sun Devils forced a three-and-out by the Knights, then Montana Warren returned a blocked punt by Martell Hughes 48-yards to tie the game in Tempe.

It is ASU’s first punt return for a score since 2017.

Dylan Rizk was 0-2 on the possession for UCF after going 8-for-8 on Central Florida’s first possession.

Score: Arizona State 7, UCF 7 (2:17 left in first quarter)

The Sun Devils also went for it on fourth down in their first possession against UCF.

But unlike UCF, Arizona State wasn’t able to convert as Sam Leavitt’s pass to Jordyn Tyson on 4th & 4 at the UCF 40 fell incomplete.

ASU’s drive went nine plays for 39 yards and took 4:24 off the clock.

Kyson Brown, filling in for the injured Cam Skattebo, ran the ball four times for 20 yards on the drive.

UCF has started four different quarterbacks this season.

Dylan Rizk is No. 4 and he started his second game of the season against ASU after also starting for the Knights in UCF’s big win over Arizona last week.

Rizk got off to a great start against Arizona State, leading the Knights on a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive over 7:14 to give UCF a 7-0 lead.

UCF scored the touchdown on an 8-yard run from RJ Harvey, his 17th touchdown run of the season.

Rizk completed a key 7-yard pass to Jacoby Jones on a 4th & 5 at the ASU 40 to extend the drive. He completed all eight of his passes on the drive, accounting for 54 yards.

Not bad for your first drive on the road as a starting college quarterback.

Score: UCF 7, Arizona State 0 (7:46 left in first quarter)

There’s a lot potentially on the line in today’s ASU vs UCF Big 12 football game.

ASU is currently 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12. A win would push them closer to the top of the Big 12 standings and perhaps get them in the Top 25 of the college football polls for the first time under coach Kenny Dillingham.

ASU also has a perfect 4-0 home record to defend this season.

As for UCF, the Knights are 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the Big 12. A win over the Sun Devils would be their second straight win after their trouncing of Arizona last week and would move them to .500 on the season and one win away from bowl eligibility.

The Sun Devils are going to be missing a key piece of their offense against UCF.

Running back Cam Skattebo is out of the game against the Knights.

He didn’t dress for the game, which has a 5 p.m. start at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe.

Skattebo was listed listed as “doubtful to questionable” for the game earlier in the week. All signs point to Kyson Brown starting in his place.

Brown got more work last week versus Oklahoma State than he had the whole season, registering 63 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Skattebo exited the game near the end of the fourth quarter after taking a big hit to his upper body.

Skattebo has 11 touchdowns on 173 carries, with 1,001 yards rushing on the season.

He also has 27 catches for 404 yards and two touchdowns, making it potentially a very big loss for the Sun Devils.

The popular “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here” sign is back at Mountain America Stadium for tonight’s ASU game against UCF.

The sign was a staple at the venue for many seasons, but was taken down after some renovations at the stadium.

ASU listened to input from fans and put it back up in the stadium starting with the Sun Devils vs Knights game.

It’s ASU’s Salute to Service game against UCF and the Sun Devils are wearing their special PT42 helmets against the Knights, honoring Pat Tillman and veterans ahead of Veterans Day on Monday.

Here’s a closer look:

Here’s the Sun Devils’ uniform for today:

And here’s what the Knights are wearing.

The game can be seen at 5 p.m. MST time (7 p.m. ET) on ESPN2.

Brian Custer (play-by-play) and Rod Gilmore (analyst) are scheduled to be the announcers for the Big 12 Conference game in Tempe.

The game can be streamed on sites that stream ESPN2, including FUBO, which offers a free trial.

ASU is a 3-point favorite over UCF in college football Week 11 odds for the game, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

The Sun Devils are -150 on the moneyline, while the Knights are +125.

The over/under for the game is set at 55.5 points.

ESPN gives Arizona State a 60.3% chance to defeat UCF in the Week 11 college football game.

The Arizona Republic’s Michelle Gardner predicts a 31-24 win for the Sun Devils in today’s game.

Pregame reading for Arizona State football vs UCF game

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