Arizona State holds off Iowa State 24-19 in Big 12 championship rematch

Revenge had been brewing in Ames ever since Arizona State shattered Iowa State’s playoff dreams with a 45–19 blowout last December. Saturday’s Big 12 Championship rematch was the game the Cyclones had been waiting for, their chance to finally rewrite the story.

For Iowa State, the stage was set perfectly. ASU arrived battered and short-handed, and on Friday, it was confirmed that sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt would miss the remainder of the season. Junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, listed as doubtful all week, was announced out on game day. Senior defensive back Myles Rowser had to sit out the first half because of a targeting call, and the Sun Devils’ former workhorse, Cam Skattebo, who ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s title game, was long gone, unable to rescue ASU this time.

The Sun Devils stepped into Ames to face the cold and the crowd, with temperatures hovering at 44 degrees —the sixth-coldest kickoff in program history. All eyes turned to redshirt senior Jeff Sims to carry ASU past a fired-up Cyclones team eager for payback.

Yet Iowa State could hardly have looked less prepared. Despite 11 penalties and three turnovers, ASU never felt out of control. Saturday became Sims’ breakout, as he rushed for 228 yards, threw for 177 more, and accounted for three total touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Cyclones missed two field goals, an extra point, turned the ball over, and converted just two of 14 third-down attempts. ASU (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) capitalized on big plays throughout the game and timely defensive stops, ultimately holding on for a hard-fought 24–19 victory over Iowa State (5-4, 2-4 Big 12).

The story of the day belonged to Sims, whose dominance on the ground left Iowa State scrambling for answers. He carried the ball 29 times, averaging 7.9 yards per carry, rushing for two touchdowns, and set a new program record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game.

“We’re going to do everything we can to win the football game,” Dillingham said. “We’re not playing for second place. Nobody does that, right? That’s a loser mentality. We’re going to do whatever we can every week, whatever the best plan is to win that football game. Then you survive and you advance, and you try to win another one…And Jeff was all in on doing whatever he could to win that football game.”

From the mid-first quarter onward, he orchestrated three straight scoring drives, beginning with an early field goal to tie the game at three. Two consecutive touchdown drives followed, a four-play, 88-yard march to tie it at ten, and an 18-yard strike to redshirt senior tight end Chamon Metayer, ASU’s leading receiver with six catches for 68 yards, giving the Sun Devils the lead before halftime.

His biggest play and ASU’s longest of the season came midway through the third quarter on an 88-yard dash from the 12-yard line, boosting the rushing total to 290 yards, aided by 64 more from junior running back Raleek Brown.

“I was prepared to do whatever it was to win this game for this team,” Sims said. “Everybody around me helped. The O-line did a good job, they played physical. The defense went out there and held it down, so we just, we just made sure that we played together.”

Despite his heroics, Sims had his struggles. Just over a minute into the first half, a quarterback-designed run went awry, leading to a crushing hit and a fumble that set up a 17-yard touchdown by redshirt junior Rocco Becht to make the score 17-16, the first points ASU had allowed off a turnover all season.

Less than 20 seconds before halftime, a forced deep pass on third-and-long was intercepted and returned by Iowa State into ASU territory, setting up a potential field goal. In the fourth quarter, with ASU leading 24-19, another hit led to a fumble, giving the Cyclones a chance at a game-winning drive.

But Iowa State repeatedly failed to capitalize. After the first fumble, redshirt sophomore kicker Kyle Konrardy missed the extra point. Before halftime, he missed a 55-yard attempt, one of two misses in the first half, leaving seven points off the board, enough to have swung the game. On the final turnover, Iowa State gained only one first down before punting back to ASU.

ASU also racked up 119 penalty yards on 11 flags, nearly matching the 12 that had doomed them against Houston the week before. With sophomore punter Kanyon Floyd averaging just 33.8 yards on six punts, Iowa State repeatedly started with favorable field position. Yet those opportunities proved largely meaningless, as Sims continued to make plays to erase mistakes and the Sun Devils’ defense rose to the occasion.

“In the first half, we saw a lot of different pitches, so it was just kind of letting them get through what they were doing,” redshirt senior Justin Wodtly said. “Once we got a good beat on what they were doing and where they were motioning, certain types of plays, we were able to go out there and settle in and play some good defense.”

The Cyclones converted only one third down in each half, punted seven times, and scored just three second-half points, repeatedly giving up field position and allowing ASU to maintain momentum from start to finish.

Meanwhile, ASU’s offense moved with precision, while Becht struggled to find any rhythm. After throwing three interceptions last week against No. 10 BYU, his only pick Saturday came in the fourth quarter when senior Jordan Crook jumped a pass. Long drives repeatedly stalled as mistimed throws and relentless ASU pressure, including six quarterback hurries, kept the veteran QB off balance all night.

“We stopped the run, and the key to football, for teams like this is you’ve got to stop the run,” Dillingham said. “You guys saw it, stop the run. So we stopped the run. We got them into pass scenarios, and then we played really good pass defense and impacted the quarterback with a four-man rush.”

Injuries or not, ASU handled its business despite all signs pointing in the opposite direction. Defensive coordinator Brian Ward and offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo put together a winning game plan on both sides of the ball. Now, ASU carries a spark of momentum into the bye week, which Dillingham said will give the team a well-deserved break after an emotional stretch and allow players to recover before the final push of the season.

“Excuses are like armpits, I’ll change the body part. Excuses are like armpits, everybody has them, and they all stink,” Dillingham remarked. “Nobody cares about your excuses. You either get it done or you don’t. And our guys got it done today. No excuse for who’s in, who’s not in. Nobody cares, right? Do you accomplish a task or not? And our guys accomplished the task today. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”