Sun Devils first conference crown since 1996 comes in first season as members of the Big 12
(Arlington, TX) Sam Leavitt accounted for four touchdowns, and Cam Skattebo scored three touchdowns as No. 12/15 Sun Devil Football capped its first season in the Big 12 by defeating No. 16/16 Iowa State 45-19 in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship on Saturday at AT&T Stadium. The win clinches a spot in the College Football Playoff and gives the Sun Devils their first outright conference title since 1996.
The Sun Devils and Cyclones traded scores early in the game, and then it was all Sun Devils from that point on, as ASU used a lethal combination of rushing, receiving and forced turnovers to claim the conference title in its first season.
A punt-free first quarter had ASU leading 10-7 after 15 minutes as each team had 75-yard touchdown drives, with ASU’s highlighted by Leavitt’s 63-yard toss to Melquan Stovall on 4th-and-1 at the ASU 34-yard line. Two plays later, Leavitt rushed it in from three yards to give ASU a 10-7 lead.
After the Cyclones tied the game at 10-10 early in the second quarter, the Sun Devils scored 35 straight points to open the game up. Skattebo rushed for a pair of scores in the first half to send the team to the break with a 24-10 advantage.
It was the ASU defense that took over the third quarter, forcing a turnover on the first three Iowa State drives with two fumbles and an interception by Keith Abney II. ASU converted all three turnovers into touchdowns, with Leavitt finding Xavier Guillory twice before Skattebo took a pass 33 yards for his third score of the game with 2:57 remaining in the quarter.
ASU scored on seven of the first eight times they possessed the ball, with three of those drives going for at least 70 yards. They were 5 of 5 in the red zone with four touchdowns.
Skattebo ran through the Iowa State defense for 170 yards at a 10.6 per rush clip. He had three carries of over 20 yards in addition to his 33-yard scoring catch. Leavitt connected with six different receivers for 219 yards, adding 33 yards and a touchdown running the ball. Stovall led the ASU receivers with 91 yards on four receptions.
Along with forcing the three second-half turnovers, the Sun Devil defense held the Cyclones to 341 yards of offense. Iowa State gained 179 of those yards in their first three possessions before totaling just 162 over the final 35 minutes of the game. Xavion Alford led the team with seven tackles, and Caleb McCullough added a pair of tackles-for-loss.
ASU will learn its CFP assignment on Sunday during the College Football Playoff Selection Show. The show will air on ESPN at 10 a.m. AZT.
