Arizona State took on the Duke Blue Devils of the ACC in the Sun Bowl on Wednesday afternoon on CBS. The Sun Devils were coming off an 8-4 campaign under head coach Kenny Dillingham, while Duke entered the game with an 8-5 record and fresh off an ACC win. Last year, it was Louisville beating Washington 35-34 in this bowl match up. Since 2011, it has featured teams from the ACC and the Pac-12 Conference. This arrangement was set to continue through this season, with either Pac-12 schools, or Pac-12 “legacy schools” (the 10 schools that have left the conference in 2024 for the Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC) fulfilling previous Pac-12 bowl obligations for the next two seasons.
On Wednesday afternoon in El Paso, it was the a back-and-forth game with Arizona State coming up short in a 42-39 loss to Duke. Here are the top three takeaways from the game.
Jeff Sims Was Jeff Sims, For Better and Worse
Jeff Sims ended his college career with an incredible performance for the Sun Devils. Sims came to Tempe after a year at Nebraska and prior to the 2024 season. Sam Leavitt became the star for the Sun Devils, taking the team to the College Football Playoff last season. But Sims returned to Tempe for the 2025 season, and due to injuries and then opt-outs, Sims got plenty of action this season, and got the start on Wednesday in El Paso. And he was fantastic… until he wasn’t.
Sims finished 27/38 for 375 yards, three touchdowns and one interception… and that one interception was the one that sealed the loss. Sims had played outstanding, keeping this Sun Devils team in the game, and he didn’t make a mistake until the last throw of his college career.
But, the drive prior to that for the Sun Devils it was a fumble from freshman running back Jason Brown Jr. that led to the Blue Devils getting the ball back down 39-35 in ASU territory. They would capitalize with the go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes left in the game.
It was a heartbreaking way for Sims to end his career, but he can hold his head high that this offense held up its end of the bargain, racking up over 600 yards, but it just wasn’t enough, and two fourth quarter turnovers was the difference in this game.
New Talent Steps Up for Arizona State
Despite not having Jordyn Tyson and Raleek Brown, it’s fun for fans to get hyped for new faces going into the offseason after how they perform in bowl games. And for Arizona State, there’s plenty to be excited about after the Sun Bowl. Granted, nowadays you have to make sure you can retain the players and not lose them in the portal, but we’ll assume these guys are coming back for sake of this converstaion.
And for Arizona State, two freshmen, wide receiver Jason Brown Jr. and running back Demarius Robinson had outstanding games. Brown, despite his fourth quarter fumble, finished with 12 carries for 120 yards to lead the Sun Devils. Brown only had 17 rushing yards coming into the Sun Bowl. Meantime, Robinson was second on the team with four catches for 91 yards. Robinson only had 28 rushing yards on the season coming into the game. Junior wide receiver Jalen Moss had a career day as well with five catches for 129 yards and a touchdown, nearly topping his season total of 144 receiving yards.
Big 12’s First Bowl Loss
The Big 12 Conference was flying high with a 3-0 start to the bowl season after BYU beat Georgia Tech, Houston handled LSU and TCU came back to beat USC. And Arizona State was well position to make it 4-0 for the Big 12, unfortunately, mistakes bit them in the butt.
But, the Big 12 is still well positioned, and let’s be honest, it’s all about Texas Tech. The Red Raiders need to have a strong College Football Playoff performance to bring the Big 12 some credibility at the highest levels of college football. We’ve talked a lot about this on the Heartland College Sports YouTube Channel and we hope you’ll subscribe here!
