ASU storms back from 17-0 deficit to stun No. 24 TCU 

The storm had passed, but the darkness lingered. In a soaked and restless Mountain America Stadium, a hush of anger and disbelief swept through the stands as No. 24 TCU split the uprights with a 27-yard field goal, stretching the Horned Frogs’ lead to 17-0 just six minutes into the game. 

The skies still hung heavy after a monsoon-drenched Tempe that morning, slick turf, damp air, and rain-soaked seats only adding to the gloom. Fans shifted uneasily, whispering the unthinkable: Was last season’s glory a fluke? Was all that talk of repeating as Big 12 champions nothing more than wishful thinking?

But if doubt clouded the crowd, head coach Kenny Dillingham and his battle-hardened team remained unmoved. They’d faced deeper holes, tougher storms. This was just the opening act.

“Our guys, the veteran group that we have, we’re just like, ‘Oh, this isn’t good. We’ve been here before. Why don’t we just score once, stop?” Dillingham said. “There was never a panic in the football game, and we’re down 17-0 at home.”

And when it looked like ASU had taken TCU’s best punch, they finally punched back. Sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt uncorked a 57-yard bomb to junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson for ASU’s first touchdown, and from there, the Sun Devils roared to life. Leavitt carved up the Horned Frogs for 291 yards, two passing touchdowns, and another on the ground. Behind him, the Sun Devils rattled off 17 unanswered points, while the defense morphed into a wall—six sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and three turnovers, capped by sophomore linebacker Martell Hughes’ game-sealing interception. What began as a nightmare became a statement: down 17, ASU stormed all the way back to stun TCU, 27-24.

The finish carried an echo of last season’s upset over No. 14 BYU—not because of the stakes, but the script. Mountain America Stadium shook as the clock wound down, the noise reaching a fever pitch. And just like that day against BYU, one errant throw changed everything. Josh Hoover’s misfire landed in Hughes’ arms, sealing the victory. Only this time, there was no field rush. 

The Sun Devils and their fans celebrated like a program that’s been here before.

“The guys find ways. It’s amazing,” Dillingham said. “ Never seen a strip fumble, and a two-minute drill, and our own three, and then a quarterback sneak that doesn’t work because it’s a false start, and then there should be 30 seconds on the clock at the end of the game, because there’s a holding flag, and it gives them a free timeout again…holy cow. It’s the ebbs and flows of the game. It’s incredible that our team continues to find ways to get it done in the big moments, and it’s a testament to the character of the guys we have on the team.”

Yet the night hadn’t started with celebration; it started with dread. TCU’s offense, which had piled up 125 points in its first three games, looked unstoppable in the opening two quarters. Hoover, considered one of the Big 12’s top quarterbacks alongside Leavitt, opened on fire, staking the Horned Frogs to a 7-0 lead, then 14-0, then 17-0. It felt like a rout in the making.

But the script flipped. Hoover’s stat line would show 242 passing yards, but the mistakes told the real story: a near goal-line interception that set up an ASU field goal, a costly fumble that handed the Sun Devils a touchdown, and the final interception that ended the game. Meanwhile, ASU’s once-sluggish offense finally came alive—and it was Leavitt, not Hoover, who seized the spotlight.

After what he himself called low-graded performances in the opening weeks—including an 82-yard disaster against Mississippi State—Leavitt delivered his most complete game of the season. He threw for a season-high 291 yards, added 62 more on the ground, and looked every bit the dual-threat quarterback Dillingham had been banking on. 

And when ASU needed him most, Leavitt came through. Down 17-0, he launched a deep strike to Tyson for a touchdown to ignite the comeback, with Tyson finishing the night with eight catches for 126 yards. 

On the very next drive, Leavitt spun out of a tackle for a dazzling 24-yard run to put ASU in the red zone, then finished the drive himself with an eight-yard touchdown. In the blink of an eye, the Sun Devils were back within three heading into halftime.

“Our fight, man. I mean, down 17-0. Things just weren’t going our way,” Leavitt said. “…we’re just a really tough team and we just compete, make adjustments, and execute. We always play better in the second half because we do a great job just communicating and trusting each other. So working out some early jitters early in the game and then we just did a great job finishing.”

But it wasn’t just Leavitt. The defense ensured the momentum remained theirs. After allowing a field goal midway through the second quarter, ASU didn’t give up another point until the 4:02 mark of the third, stacking stop after stop and flipping the game’s energy.

A week removed from forcing three turnovers against Baylor, the Sun Devils matched that total again, this time, all in the second half. Sophomore safety Adrian Wilson intercepted a tipped Hoover pass to halt TCU’s opening drive after halftime. Later, senior defensive linemen Prince Dorbah delivered the play of the night, stripping Hoover on a bull rush that set up ASU’s go-ahead field goal. And finally, Hughes jumped Hoover’s last-gasp throw, slamming the door.

“We knew all game that we had an advantage up front,” Dorbah said. “We liked our match up, our game. Coaches just told us to go rush, communicate, play with each other, man. My mindset was just trust my teammates, they got my back. Go out there and give it all. At the end of the day, we’re gonna come out on top.”

Statistically, it was a throwback performance. ASU racked up 13 tackles for loss, their most in a game since matching that number against Utah in 2015, and six sacks—the most since 2018 against UTSA in Herm Edwards’ debut. Dorbah alone accounted for three sacks and four tackles for loss, his forced fumble the moment that tilted the night for good.

And while the defense delivered haymakers, Leavitt spread the ball with precision. Eight different Sun Devils caught passes, answering Dillingham’s call to diversify the attack. Sophomore Jaren Hamilton hauled in a 44-yard strike that set up a field goal. Junior running back Raleek Brown piled up 171 all-purpose yards, including 134 on the ground, while also catching eight passes, carrying the load with Kanye Udoh sidelined and Kyson Brown limited. Senior tight end Jalin Conyers stayed steady with four receptions for 26 yards, his third straight game with at least four catches.

Still, even with all the triumph, there was a lingering sense of untapped potential for ASU. The red zone remained a thorn, as the Sun Devils had to settle for a pair of short 20-yard field goals and came up empty on a turnover at the three-yard line, leaving a pile of points on the turf. Yet that might be the most encouraging sign of all. So much went wrong early, so many chances slipped away, and still ASU found a way to win.

“It’s like we’re dancing in circles around the potential,” Dillingham said. “We’re winning games and not playing our best football. That’s the thing I feel best about, is we haven’t quite clicked full cylinder and we’re winning versus really good football teams, like really good teams. If you would have told me we’d be 2-0 to start this year, I would have been so fired up. I know the expectations and all the external, but just looking at who we’re going to play, I would have been one of the happiest people saying, ‘Oh my gosh, we escaped 4-1 these first five games.’ And to be 2-0 in the league at this point is absolutely—it’s a testament to our players, and we’re still not even playing up to our potential.”