Arizona State 31, Texas State 28
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, September 12, 2024
Where: UFCU Stadium, San Marcos, Texas
Temperature:
91°
Head Official:
Stephen Baron
Attendance:
25187
By Field Level Media
Arizona State's Sam Leavitt passed for 246 yards and the Sun Devils' defense limited Texas State to 27 total yards in the fourth quarter during a 31-28 victory on Thursday in San Marcos, Texas.
Arizona State improved to 3-0 under coach Kenny Dillingham, matching the win total from his first season, when the Sun Devils finished 3-9 in 2023.
Leavitt completed 19 of 30 passes, and threw for a touchdown and an interception.
The Sun Devils rallied from a 21-7 deficit with touchdowns on their last two possessions of the first half.
Texas State (2-1) was led by Jordan McCloud, who tossed four touchdown passes while connecting on 29 of 44 attempts for 268 yards with one interception.
With the score tied at 28 and 9:04 left, Texas State running back Ismail Mahdi gave the ball away after a 12-yard run. The fumble was forced by Shamari Simmons and was recovered by the Sun Devils' Justin Wodtly at the Texas State 23.
Arizona State turned the turnover into a 22-yard field goal by Ian Hershey with 6:29 left.
McCloud's pass was then intercepted by Xavion Alford at the Arizona State 25.
Texas State's next possession ended with a McCloud incomplete pass on fourth-and-5 at the Bobcats' 20-yard line with 2:09 left.
Cam Skattebo, who rushed for 62 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns, sealed the win, gaining 9 yards for a first down on third-and-8 at the Texas State 18 with 1:57 left.
The Bobcats got the ball back with one second left at their own 30-yard line, but a lateral play resulted in a lost fumble.
Texas State had 373 yards of total offense entering the fourth quarter. Its fourth-quarter possessions ended with a fumble, an interception, a turnover on downs and a fumble.
After Texas State took a two-touchdown lead with 5:16 left in the half, Arizona State went 75 yards on four plays in 1:30, capped by Leavitt's 52-yard touchdown pass to Jordyn Tyson.
Texas State's three-and-out resulted in the Sun Devils taking possession at their 43 with 2:38 left to halftime.
Leavitt completed 5 of 6 passes for 44 yards in the drive before scoring on a 7-yard run with six seconds remaining until halftime.
McCloud connected on 5 of 6 pass attempts in a third-quarter possession, finishing with a 44-yard touchdown strike to Jaden Williams to put Texas State ahead 28-21 with 4:18 remaining in the period.
Arizona State answered on its next possession with a 2-yard touchdown run by Skattebo with 2:18 left in the quarter. Leavitt's 40-yard run helped set up the score.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Receiving
Arizona State |
|
Texas State |
Jordyn Tyson
|
Player |
Jaden Williams
|
6 |
Receptions |
4 |
120 |
Yards |
75 |
20.0 |
Avg Yards |
18.8 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
2 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Arizona State
|
347 |
101 |
246 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
1 |
Texas State
|
400 |
132 |
268 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
3.0 |
0 |