Gomez’s brilliance gets ASU over the hump in Big 12 opener

During Camp Tontozona on August 8, Redshirt senior kicker Jesus Gomez blasted a 55-yard field goal through the uprights in front of Sun Devil fans. This was the first look spectators had of the Eastern Michigan transfer, and those in attendance ogled at the brilliance of his left boot. 

At the conclusion of practice, head coach Kenny Dillingham was asked about his new addition in the kicking department, and he confirmed the spectacle of Gomez’s ability was not a fluke nor an occasion that’s surprising. 

“If he’s kicking, I might not even watch. I might go talk to somebody else,” Dillingham admitted. “Because I have a lot of confidence he’s making it. That’s how much confidence I have in him.” 

Dillingham’s certainty doesn’t come easy; he set the college football world on fire in 2024. After two poorly executed field goals in an October 19, 24-14 defeat on the road to Cincinnati, he denounced his kicking unit in a heated press conference.

“Our kicking game is atrocious,” he uttered on that date. “If you go to Arizona State and can kick email me, we’re going to have tryouts on Monday, I’m dead serious.” 

11 Months after that viral moment, the story thoroughly changed, because Saturday, Gomez proved to Sun Devil fans once again why Dillingham proclaimed such assurance in his game. 

Dillingham’s offense ran the clock down to one second before using its second timeout in regulation. Gomez jogged onto the turf in a hostile McLane Stadium. His shoulders dropped after a final deep breath, and he rifled a 43-yard field goal down the center of the uprights in a walk-off game winner to give his team the victory. 

“It’s like another kick,” Gomez said post-game. “I’ve been doing this for six or seven years, so it’s just doing it one more time.

“I don’t think I watched it go through the uprights because I knew it was in, so I just turned and started celebrating.” 

Arizona State (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) inked its first win of Big 12 play, knocking off Baylor (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) 27-24 in Waco, Texas. The contest was a back-and-forth one; neither team was ever leading by more than a single score. 

“They’ll remember this moment,” Dillingham said on the players’ post-game celebrations. “They’ll remember this locker room, and that’s what college sports are supposed to be about. Here we wanna make sure our kids get that experience that’ll last a lifetime.”

With 8:06 remaining on the fourth quarter game clock, ASU found itself in an adverse position. The Bears took the lead for the first time on their previous drive, and redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt was just sacked to set up a 3rd-and-13 play deep in their own half. 

All the momentum was against the Sun Devils, but Leavitt flipped the script in an instant, finding redshirt sophomore wide receiver Derek Eusebio wide open downfield for a 61-yard reception. The play gave Leavitt and the offense all they needed to regain the lead, and four plays later, Leavitt found redshirt junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson in the end zone. When ASU was desperate for an answer, Leavitt picked up the call. 

“It’s a play that I hadn’t really repped out,” Euesbio said. “I’d just been watching from the sideline, seeing two high safeties, and just took the middle, and Sam found me.

“I’ll never forget being a walk-on because I’ve had to have that dog mentality all my life.” 

Dillingham had the opportunity to credit the coaching staff for the timely plays down the stretch of the game, but fed the glory to the players on the turf for their ability to capitalize on late-game situations.

“You want guys who play their best in the biggest moments, that’s how you win close games,” Dillingham explained. “Our quarterback, our O-Line, Eusebio, JT, everybody played their best in the biggest moments.”

But the offense wasn’t on fire all night; however, despite entering the red zone six times, ASU scored just two touchdowns. Gomez was called into action on three occasions, and he converted on all of his field goals, making him responsible for 13 points on the night.

“That’s not ideal,” Dillingham noted on ASU scoring just six points off three turnovers. “This should not be this close of a game. We won too many of the critical situations.

“Too many mistakes on offense … but it’s a good problem when you have 400 yards and don’t play well. And we won on the road, so those are all positives. So we gotta take that and we gotta calm it down.”

When the offense had come up short, the defense bought them time and opportunities. Baylor had turned the ball over just once before Saturday night, and thanks to elite play by defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s secondary, the Bears were turned over three times.

Purdue transfer, senior safety Kyndrich Breedlove, and senior safety Myles Rowser both forced fumbles, and junior cornerback Keith Abeny II made a crucial interception, the latter plays coming in the second half. 

“A game that you’re up 3-0 and win the turnover battle should not come down to a game-winning kick,” Dillingham sighed. “That’s how you sum that one up.”

The Sun Devils’ road trips have emerged into blockbuster matchups; their Week 2 trip to Starkville led to a soul-crushing defeat against Mississippi State. In that game, Leavitt had a lackluster showing, completing just 10 of 22 passes for 82 yards. This time around, however, he found his rhythm. 

Leavitt completed 22 of 32 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He also made timely plays with his legs, adding 62 net yards to the offense. The lion’s share of the running game went through junior Raleek Brown, who ran for 80 yards.

Leavitt’s ace over the air, Tyson, was relatively quiet for his standards; besides the critical touchdown in the fourth quarter, he ended the night with seven grabs for 43 yards, making it his first game with less than 60 yards since Week 4 of 2024 against Texas Tech. 

Before Saturday, senior Malik McClain was the only wideout with any receptions on the season, and he only amassed 13 yards. Leavitt spread the ball significantly better than in the first three games of the year. Eusebio finished the night with the most receiving yards, putting up 78. Senior tight end Chamon Metayer wasn’t far behind with 55. 

“You can trust him,” Dillingham said of Eusebio. “He’s gonna be where he needs to be; he’s versatile. He can kind of do it all, and we gotta get him in because when he’s in the game, he’s productive. We put him on scholarship last year because he deserved it.” 

As expected, the Bears were a trying test for redshirt senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who entered the game as the number one gun-slinger in the conference, averaging 356 passing yards per game. Against ASU, he put up 250 yards passing and three touchdowns. 

On the ground, redshirt sophomore Bryson Washington registered 111 yards, breaking triple digits for the third consecutive game. 

The Big 12 Champions began their 2025 tour knowing their opponents would be preparing with additional tenacity. While ASU hasn’t let that get in its game plans. Dillingham and the Sun Devils won’t care about how they got over the hump because on the road in conference play, it’s all about if you win, not how you do it.

“They don’t look at that at the end,” Dillingham claimed. “They look at wins, they look at losses … That’s football, find ways to win this league, you gotta find ways to win, and we’ll never win like that again.” 

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