Arizona State and Texas just wrapped one of the best games of all time as the Longhorns found a way to outlast the Sun Devils in a 39-31 double-overtime thriller.
The loss sends Arizona State home for the year with a final record of 11-3, while Texas advances to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, where they’ll face the winner of the Rose Bowl (Ohio State/Oregon).
It was an incredible year for Kenny Dillingham’s team, and while it didn’t end the way they’d hoped, they proved everyone wrong in 2024 and have all kinds of momentum heading into 2025.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from this game and what it means for both teams moving forward.
Cam Skattebo. That’s It. That’s the Thought.
The Texas roster is laden with NFL talent, but there wasn’t a Longhorn on the field that could stand toe-to-toe with Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo. After Texas took a 24-8 lead in the fourth quarter, it appeared that they’d finally worn down the Sun Devils and would coast to a win. Then, the Cam Skattebo Show began. In the fourth quarter alone, Skattebo had a 42-yard passing touchdown, a 62-yard reception, and a two-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 24-24. Skattebo became Arizona State’s all-time single-season rushing leader and single-season touchdown leader in this game.
Against the best defense in the country, Skattebo finished the day with 284 all-purpose yards, 143 rushing yards (4.9 ypc), and three touchdowns. In the biggest game of his life, Arizona State’s best player left it all on the field. Several times late in the game, Skattebo had to leave, throw up, and come back to play, and it was clear that he was completely out of gas by the end of the game. He has nothing to hang his head about, though, as he just played arguably the best game of his life.
The Emotional Rollercoaster Bites ASU
After Sam Leavitt, Skattebo, and the Arizona State offense took a 31-24 lead in overtime, it was the ASU defense’s turn to shut the door on Texas. To that point in the game, they’d done an excellent job in doing just that. The Sun Devils completely shut down Texas on their first three plays of overtime and forced the Longhorns into a 4th and 13, putting them on the verge of punching their ticket to the Cotton Bowl. Unfortunately, the ASU defense flinched in the moment and, on a 4th-and-13 play, gave up a 28-yard touchdown pass on a double move from Matthew Golden.
The issue didn’t stop there, though, as that shock appeared to follow the defense into the second overtime as Texas then scored on its first play of the second overtime and followed it up with a successful two-point conversion, giving Texas a 39-31 lead just moments after they could taste victory.
Dillingham, Leavitt, and the Sun Devils will be a Problem
If you’re reading this and you follow another team in the Big 12, I’ve got some bad news: this wasn’t a one-and-done for the Sun Devils. Kenny Dillingham just signed an extension that makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the Big 12. Sam Leavitt is a redshirt freshman and will have at least a couple more years in Tempe, and there are several major pieces coming back on both sides of the ball for ASU in 2025.
Coming into the 2024 season, there wasn’t a single person outside of Tempe that was giving this team a chance to make any noise in the Big 12. Now, on the first day of 2025, there’s probably not a person in the country who wouldn’t assume the Sun Devils will play a role in the Big 12 Championship race next fall.
Kenny Dillingham’s team played the kind of football that is replicable, too. They’re tough, they’re physical, and they would run through a brick wall for their fearless leader. That’s a trend that won’t just continue into next season, it’s something you should probably get used to as long as Dillingham stays put.
