Arizona State Beats Down No. 16 Kansas State on the Road

© Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

MANHATTAN, Kan.—Arizona State (8-2, 6-2 Big 12 Conference) dominated No. 16 Kansas State (7-3, 5-3) 24-14 on their first-ever visit to Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns connecting with wide receiver Jordyn Tyson for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Sun Devils held a 21-0 halftime lead before a disgruntled crowd. Kansas State finally got on the scoreboard with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter on an Avery Johnson 10-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 24-6. The Wildcats would score again at 11:26 to go in the game on a 4-yard Joe Jackson touchdown run. They tacked on a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 24-14, but they could not get any closer.

What Arizona State Did Right

The Arizona State offense converted 9-of-15 third downs many of which were longer than 5 yards. The offense controlled the clock for 36:36 of gametime making it difficult for a struggling Wildcats offense to find their stride. Leavitt played a clean game that did not give K-State any chances for a momentum flip. Running backCam Skattebo was shut down for his standards in this game with 73 yards on 25 carries but that did not matter with the Leavitt to Tyson connection.

Kansas State Miscues

For the second straight game, Kansas State had multiple miscues. On the game's second play, Johnson fired a ball downfield that was deflected and picked off by Xavion Alford leading to Arizona State's first touchdown. After the second Sun Devil touchdown, K-State was starting to move the ball when wide receiver Jayce Brown fumbled the ball to the defense which led to another Sun Devils' score. On the next drive, Johnson connected with Dante Cephas for a 63-yard touchdown that was called back on an ineligible receiver downfield.

K-State still made it down to the 5-yard line on that drive before electing to kick a field goal before the half. Instead of getting a chip shot field goal, there was a bad snap denying K-State points. In the fourth quarter, the offense drove down the field again when the coaching staff decided to kick a field goal to cut the lead to 7 points. Instead, the field goal unit had another bad snap leading to a missed field goal to end all hopes for a comeback.

What It Means

Arizona State is still alive in the Big 12 title race. Their next game is against No. 6 BYU (9-1, 6-1) which allows the Sun Devils the chance to gain more ground in the standings. Leavitt is in control of the offense and does not make mistakes that cost his team. If Skattebo can continue to be effective this Arizona State team will be difficult to stop.

Kansas State has played its way out of the Big 12 title picture. After starting 7-1 on the season they have dropped two straight. Now it is time to play for a better bowl berth and it is time to make adjustments to the offensive game plan to find more explosive plays and be less predictable. Young players need to get more playing time to build for another run in 2025.