THE WORLD IS BEAUTIFUL

by **Paul** Sun 08 Dec 2024, 8:15 am

BREAKING NEWS * ASU crushes Iowa State to win Big 12 title, clinches playoff spot * Scree736

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By Brad Denny
Published: Dec. 7, 2024 at 1:30 PM MST|Updated: 10 hours ago

ARLINGTON, TX (AZFamily) -- He was the star of the championship game, yet he was the one seeking autographs.
Cam Skattebo’s 208 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns powered Arizona State to a 45-19 victory over Iowa State in the Big 12 Conference championship game, and it earned him a WWE title belt as MVP. But amid the flurry of confetti, Skattebo ran around asking his offensive linemen to sign the belt.
“We wouldn’t be in this position if we didn’t have them,” Skattebo said.
The position ASU is in hasn’t been this good in nearly 30 years. Saturday’s win resulted in the first outright conference title for the program since taking home the Pac-10 championship in 1996. More importantly, it punched ASU’s ticket to the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history.
“It’s surreal, I can’t put words on it,” said ASU safety Xavion Alford.
The narrative is well-worn at this point, but that doesn’t diminish the level of accomplishment: ASU was picked to finish 16th, dead last, in the preseason poll. On Saturday, they hoisted the trophy.
The way this team is playing, it may not be the only one they claim this season.
“It just shows what we can be,” said ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham. “With the right direction, with the right players who are committed to the program and committed to work, I think you can achieve anything here.”

The Activation

“Like are you kidding me? It’s kind of like a scene from a movie.” - Kenny Dillingham

The Game Flow

ASU continued their recent run of fast offensive starts. Cam Skattebo ran for 28 yards on the game’s first play, and Melquan Stovall later added a 22-yard catch. But the drive stalled out in the redzone, forcing the Sun Devils to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Carston Kieffer to go up 3-0.
Iowa State answered back quickly. With a good balance of the run and pass, the Cyclones marched 75 yards in 11 plays capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass from Rocco Becht to Carson Hansen.
The high-octane action continued. Facing a fourth-and-1 from ASU’s own 34, Dillingham opted to go for it, and Sam Leavitt connected with Stovall for a 63-yard catch and run.
“I almost wanted to say, just hand it to Skat, just hand it to Skat,” Dillingham said. “But I trusted (offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo), I trusted our quarterback. Incredible playcall, incredible execution, great pickup up front, great throw by Sam. That’s a game-changing play right there.”
A few plays later, Leavitt ran it in to get ASU back on top.
The Cyclones continued to push around ASU on their way down the field, with the line giving Becht time to find holes in the Sun Devils' coverage. However, ASU managed to hold in the redzone, forcing Iowa State to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Kyle Konrady to tie the game early in the second quarter.
The stalemate didn’t last long. Skattebo reeled off a highlight-reel quality run, breaking several tackles on the way to a 47-yard gain.
“I had him the ball, carry out my fake a little bit, peek back, get ready for a gain of five,” Leavitt said. “And I see the dude weaving through traffic and randomly busts loose and breaks one.”
Another tough 14-yard run by Leavitt got the Sun Devils down to the 3-yard line, where Skattebo pounded it in to retake the lead for Arizona State.
Iowa State continued to find success through the air, again moving into ASU territory. But ASU’s defense again stiffened to force a field goal try. This time, Konrady was wide of the mark from 46-yards.
Taking over after the miss, Leavitt immediately fired a deep ball to Malik McClain, who made a great adjustment on a diving catch for a gain of 43. However, Iowa State’s defense held, sacking Leavitt on third down to force the game’s first punt, which was fair caught at the 10-yard line.
A good defensive series forced a quick Iowa State punt, and Skattebo made them pay. He reeled off a dazzling 53-yard run to jumpstart the drive.
“Every game, I’m blocking for him,” Guillory said. “Oh, he’s still running, I’ll run down. Oh my gosh, he’s still running!”
After another good Leavitt scramble to get close, Skattebo punched it in for his second touchdown of the half to give ASU a 24-10 halftime lead.
Iowa State’s first drive of the second half ended quickly, as Javan Robinson forced a fumble that Jeff Clark recovered.
“The exciting thing was the response in the second half to come out fast,“ said Dillingham. ”It was a few adjustments we made defensively to combat their check-with-me stuff.”
After picking up a couple gritty first downs, Leavitt found Xavier Guillory for an 8-yard touchdown and a 31-10 lead.
“It dates back to all the practices, just getting on the same page,” said Leavitt of their connection.
Now in a three-score hole, Iowa State’s rally was cut short, when a Becht pass deflected off the helmet of an offensive lineman and was intercepted by ASU’s Keith Abney.
Leavitt again connected with Guillory, this time a 21-yard score in which Guillory made a sensational midair adjustment.
“Sam makes it easy,” Guillory said.
“I did not make that easy,” quipped Leavitt in response. “I don’t know if you all saw that catch.”

The second-half rout continued. Clayton Smith forced an Iowa State fumble on the next drive, and it was recovered by ASU’s Justin Wodtly. Leavitt threw a swing pass to Skattebo, who cruised 33 yards for the touchdown to extend ASU’s lead to 45-10 late in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Shamari Simmons sacked Becht on a fourth down, but after review, he was flagged for targeting and ejected and will miss the first half of the playoff game as a result. The Cyclones were able to come away with a field goal to trim the lead to 45-13.
With their backups now in the game, ASU’s drive ended in a punt. Becht would find Jaylin Noel for a 25-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, but the two-point try would be unsuccessful.
When ASU got the ball back in the final seconds, veteran quarterback Trenton Bourguet was able to take the kneel downs to close out the win and put the exclamation point on ASU’s incredible season.
Skattebo’s autograph quest would then begin.

The Critical Moment

Late in the season, ASU had a couple of marquee wins over Kansas State and BYU in which the Sun Devils saw big leads dwindle late. Although they escaped with wins, Dillingham placed an emphasis on finishing games better, or as he put it, “twisting the knife.”
Iowa State had a chance to make it a one-score game to open the second half, but the Sun Devils swiftly quashed those hopes. Robinson’s forced fumble and the recovery by Jeff Clark turned the tables and helped end a 28-year title drought.
Big moment. Big response. It’s a season-long trend for the Devils.
“That’s what good teams do,” Dillingham said.

The Offense

Among many other things, Saturday’s showing should also make new travel plans for Skattebo. He should be in New York City next Saturday as a Heisman finalist.
“Whether winning or losing the Heisman, I should still be in that situation,” he said.
After scoring his touchdowns, Skattebo made the iconic pose in the endzone, and his production this year is worthy of inclusion. He routinely made one of the best defenses in the Big 12 look helpless.
“He’s the best player in the nation, flat out,” said Leavitt. “You want to talk about the Heisman race, talk about the player most dominant in the game.”
Skattebo finished with 170 yards rushing and 38 yards receiving with three total touchdowns.
While the ground game was the heart of the Sun Devils' attack, accounting for 245 of their 464 yards, Leavitt engineered an efficient and effective passing attack that was missing star wide receiver Jordyn Tyson due to injury.
Leavitt completed 12 of 17 throws for 219 yards and three scores, and he did not register a turnover yet again. He also added 33 yards and a touchdown rushing.
With Tyson’s absence, Guillory and Stovall stepped up in major ways.
“One man goes down, we feel confident the next guy will step up,” Guillory said. “Melquan had some great plays today. From top to bottom, I was proud of how everybody reacted to the pressure situation.”
Guillory’s two catches both ended in the endzone while Stovall had a season-high 91 yards on five catches.
The offensive line also continued their run of stellar and autograph-worthy play, breaking open holes for a ground attack that averaged 6.3 yards-per-carry while not allowing a sack of Leavitt.

The Defense

There were some rough times early on, as Iowa State moved easily on their first three drives. The Cyclones won the battle in the trenches, scoring a touchdown and having two field goal opportunities while gaining 179 yards.
However, over the next five drives, ASU held them to 54 total yards and forced turnovers on three consecutive drives to open the second half that sealed the win.
“It’s been great to see our guys play better in the second half,” Dillingham said. They took it personal, and they wanted to start finishing games better. They’ve been harping on it, they’ve been talking about it. They’ve been kind of living it. Not just rah-rah, but real focus in the locker room at halftime that we’ve got to come out and play a good second half."
The pass rushing issues were still a factor on Saturday, with the Sun Devils failing to impact the quarterback consistently. They improved in the second half as Iowa State become pressed into passing more, but it remains a concern.
ASU’s secondary continues to shine.
“Javan getting the tackle, Keith with the interception, Shamari coming in for a fumble, coming down and making tackles,” Alford said. “We’re one of the best secondaries in the country from top to bottom.”

The Podcast:

The Next Step

ASU will be in the College Football Playoff. Beyond that, the picture is unclear.
They could jump Mountain West champion Boise State and get a bye as top four seed. Or they could fall into the field and either host a game in the first round, or they could travel to face a quality opponent.
Based on precedent, Dillingham feels his team is worthy of a bye and playing in the Fiesta Bowl.
“the judging last year, they left a team out because of a quarterback, and I think our play, we’re 11-1, with our starting quarterback having beat four ranked teams, having won the Big 12 Championship,” he said. “So I do think because we’ve made a standard that the quarterback is that valuable, I think there should be a real chance we get a first-round bye.”
The selection show and bracket reveal airs on Sunday morning.

The Extra Points

Skattebo passed Eno Benjamin (1,905) or most yards from scrimmage in ASU single-season history.
He became the first Sun Devil, and just 100th FBS player ever, to surpass 2,000 yards from scrimmage in a season.
He also moved into second place on the team’s all-time single-season rushing list.
His tied Woody Green’s single-season rushing touchdown record (19), and Wilford White’s season touchdown record (22).