TEMPE — ASU football checked a lot of boxes for what it needed to clean up before conference play in a 34-15 win over Texas State at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday.
Maybe no box was more significant than a bounce-back game for Sam Leavitt, who was coming off a career-worst completion percentage (45.5%) at Mississippi State.
He was a much more efficient 15-for-25 (60%) against Texas State, and his scrambling heroics were on display. He was also free of turnovers for the first time this season.
“It was solid, but I think we left a lot out on the table,” Leavitt said postgame. “We left a lot out there, but overall just proud of the guys. The juice really felt like we were playing as a team again.”
Head coach Kenny Dillingham talked throughout the week leading up about getting Leavitt into good situations early, and the way ASU extended drives early paid dividends. It did not have a three-and-out in the first three quarters.
“(Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo) did an awesome job in the game plan,” Dillingham said postgame. “The guys went out there and executed at a high level.
“It wasn’t perfect. There’s some areas where we can get better as a staff, as a team, but I was really, really happy with the plan, the execution, the effort we played with so I’m looking forward to getting back to work.”
While ASU’s third-down efficiency (5-for-13) wasn’t anything to write home about, it was still an improvement over the 4-for-24 success rate through two games.
The Sun Devils have built their identity around the rushing attack, and Saturday’s win marked three straight games to open the season above 200 total rushing yards.
Raleek Brown led the way with 144 yards on 12 rushes, highlighted by a 75-yard untouched burst in the third quarter.
The ASU defense had its best game of the season, with five sacks, 10 tackles for loss and its first three forced fumbles of the season. It gave up just nine points before reserves allowed the final six Texas State points.
