The Arizona State football team continues its 2024 schedule with a Big 12 Conference game against BYU today.
Follow our live updates of the game, which is being played at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, for the latest score, news, notes and analysis of the college football Week 13 game between the Sun Devils and the Cougars on Saturday.
Arizona State beat Kansas State last week, 24-14. BYU lost to Kansas, 17-13.
ASU football is 8-2 overall and 5-2 in Big 12 play. BYU is 9-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play.
The Sun Devils hold a 20-8 all-time series edge, but BYU has won three straight games against ASU, including a 27-17 win in 2021 in Provo, Utah. This is their first meeting as Big 12 Conference rivals.
A philosophy popularized by coach Bill Belichick, the term refers to the last four minutes of the first half and the first four of the second half. Kenny Dillingham and his team have embraced this philosophy, attacking this area of the game each week.
The goal is to score before getting the ball back in the second half. And it happened again as Skattebo scored his third touchdown of the game on a 3rd and 1, taking the ball 23 yards to go up 21-0. Skattebo earned a 15-yard penalty for signing fan’s ball after the touchdown run.
ASU is in control of this game.
Score: Arizona State 21, BYU 0 (1:53 left in the second quarter)
ASU coach Kenny Dillingham dived deep into bag of tricks and called a surprise onside kick after scoring to go up 14-0. It was a short kick aimed at the front row and it caught BYU off guard. Plas Johnson came up with the fumble recovery. It’s the first successful onside kick for ASU since 2017. A brilliant move from a coach who senses a momentum shift.
Arizona State takes over at the 50-yard line with 4:28 left in the second quarter with a chance to extend the lead to 21-0.
Skattebo finishes off the long drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, his second of the game. The Sun Devils, who started at their 5-yard line, got into the red zone on a massive 54-yard reception by Jordyn Tyson. It was a 12-play, 95-yard drive that took 6:50.
Score: Arizona State 14, BYU 0 (4:29 left in the second quarter)
Following the interception from ASU, the BYU offense wasn’t able to do much. The Cougars only gained 19 yards on 7 plays and were forced to punt. ASU takes over at its own 5-yard line at the 11:19 mark in the second quarter.
Just after BYU turned the ball over on a tipped pass, ASU did as well. Sam Leavitt’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Tanner Wall. It is Leavitt’s first turnover in the past three games. BYU takes over at its own 35-yard line with 14:49 left in the second quarter. The Cougars came in tied at the top of the NCAA interceptions list.
Just like last week against Kansas State, the ASU defense comes up a tipped interception. Defensive end Prince Dorbah tipped BYU’s Jake Retzlaff’s pass at the line of scrimmage and linebacker Jordan Crook came up with the interception. Last week, Shamari Simmons tipped the pass and it was caught by Xavion Alford.
ASU takes over at its 35-yard line with 2:22 left in the first quarter.
After getting the ball near midfield, the Sun Devils quickly marched down the field to establish an early 7-0 lead on 3-yard run by Cam Skattebo. A big run by Skattebo started the drive, who had 7 carries for 44 yards. The touchdown builds on a trend for ASU this season, which has been tremendous on drives to start games.
It was a 10-play, 54-yard scoring drive that took 4:48. An ideal way to begin for the Sun Devils.
Score: Arizona State 7, BYU 0 (6:41 left in first quarter)
Sun Devil defense comes out hot, forces a turnover on downs from the BYU offense to open the game. The defense held firm after an offsides penalty and giving up a third down conversion. ASU takes over at its own 46-yard line.
The game is now airing on ESPN. ASU won the toss and deferred to the second half.
Despite the sellout, ASU-BYU tickets can be found on the secondary market on sites such as StubHub and SeatGeek.
Those seats continued to be a pricey option, however.
A few minutes before kickoff on SeatGeek, the least expensive price for one ticket for the game was $266, including fees, while a pair were running $281 each.
The day got off to a great start for the ASU football program. ASU offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and defensive coordinator Brian Ward have each been given three-year contract extensions, athletic director Graham Rossini confirmed to The Arizona Republic.
“We have been working on this,” Rossini told The Republic. “Everybody is all in. The administration and Dr. Crow are all in, boosters are all in. The community is behind this. We’ve been working on building a war chest to get this done. This is an important step for everybody to see the commitment to this program.”
With the Sun Devils in the middle of the best season in recent memory, the extensions signal a serious intent from school officials to keep building up the football program.
What’s at stake today in Tempe?
Everything.
This is essentially an elimination game for ASU. A loss would knock the Sun Devils out of the Big 12 Conference championship hunt, and thus end their hopes of making the College Football Playoff.
ASU (8-2 overall, 5-2 Big 12) is tied for third in the conference. BYU (9-1, 6-1) sits atop the Big 12.
Colorado (8-2, 6-1) is second in the Big 12. Colorado plays Kansas today, who beat BYU last week. Iowa State (8-2, 5-2) is tied with ASU. The Cyclones take on Utah today.
ASU ends the regular season next week on the road against Arizona in the Territorial Cup. BYU hosts Houston next week.
This is the biggest game for ASU in a decade.
The Sun Devils are wearing their maroon jerseys with yellow pants. The helmet is a throwback with Sparky as the main logo and a white face mask. It’s the first time since 1995 that ASU has worn this helmet, according to ASU Uniformity.
BYU is sporting its classic look with their road white uniforms with blue pants.
After ESPN college football analyst Desmond Howard questioned why the College GameDay crew was being asked to give picks on ASU’s game against Kansas State, his tune was much different this week.
“Last week,” Howard said, “when we did the picks, I jokingly talked about ‘Why are we picking Arizona State versus Kansas State?’ Boy did I find out how great Arizona State is … they had two losses but they were off everybody’s radar.”
Even the living legend that is Nick Saban — who won seven national titles as a coach — chimed in as well, heaping praise on coach Kenny Dillingham and his motto “Activate the Valley.”
“When your team buys into something like Coach Dillingham said, ‘Activate the Valley’ … that reminds me of our team last year,” Saban said. “That became a rallying cry. ‘Activate the Valley’ is kinda their rallying cry, and when teams come in … you never know what can happen.”
The game can be seen at 1:30 p.m. MST time on ESPN.
Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Dusty Dvoracek (analyst) are scheduled to be the announcers for the Big 12 Conference game.
Arizona State vs BYU tickets:Prices surging for Big 12 college football game Saturday
ASU is a 3-point favorite over BYU in college football Week 13 odds for the game, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Sun Devils are -160 on the moneyline. The Cougars are +135.
The over/under for the game is set at 48.5 points.
Whop wins game?Arizona State vs BYU picks, predictions, odds
ESPN gives Arizona State a 55.8% chance to defeat BYU football in the Week 13 college football game today.
Other sites’ Big 12 picks and predictions for the contest think that it will be a close game between the Sun Devils and Cougars.
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‘Don’t get lost in the sauce:’ ASU focusing on BYU, not Big 12 Championship Game scenarios
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Arizona State standouts earn Big 12 honors following upset win at No. 16 Kansas State
Grading the ASU stunner at Kansas State as huge home game vs BYU looms next
Arizona State football upsets Kansas State to stay in Big 12 Conference Championship race
Arizona State, Kansas State fans slam Desmond Howard’s ‘disrespectful’ Big 12 game pick
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Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@LSscribe.
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