TEMPE – Riding high off an emotional win against then-No. 7 Texas Tech, Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham believes the Sun Devils will need to remain grounded with all of their goals in front of them, beginning with Saturday’s meeting with Houston.
“In this world, you go from in the castle to in the outhouse overnight,” Dillingham said Monday.
The Sun Devils were in the castle after their last-minute victory over the Red Raiders marked their first victory over an Associated Press Top-10 team in 2,156 days, and they did it in dramatic fashion.
With 34 seconds left, sophomore running back Raleek Brown punched in the game-winning score.
With ASU trailing 22-19, sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt orchestrated a 10-play 75-yard, game-winning drive, his third game-deciding drive of the season. Leavitt has displayed his clutch gene multiple times as a Sun Devils player, but no moment may have been bigger than his fourth down completion to junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson on the game-winning drive.
“I’ve never been around a guy who just works to win football games as much as he does,” Dillingham said. “In the biggest moments, he makes the biggest plays.”
Leavitt finished the day with a career high 319 passing yards, while Tyson hauled in 10 passes for 105 yards and a score. Tyson’s performance earned him Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The star wide out finished the game battling an apparent hamstring injury, but Dillingham did not have an update Monday on the availability of Tyson or any other Sun Devils for the Houston game.
Now back in the AP Top 25, ASU needs to turn the page and focus on Houston. Dillingham knows that things can change fast and that his Sun Devils need to stay on task.
With a hungry Houston team heading to Tempe following a walk-off win against Arizona, the Sun Devils will need to flush the emotions of Saturday. Coached by the legendary Willie Fritz, who is third all-time among active FBS head coaches in total collegiate victories, the Cougars will be ready.
“Nowadays it is all flash, but at the end of the day their head coach (Fritz) has won a lot of games for a long time at a lot of places,” Dillingham said. “They just win games by playing good defense, complementary offensive football, possessing the football and not hurting themselves.”
Junior quarterback Conner Weigman, who transferred in from Texas A&M, has been the engine to the Cougars’ methodical and balanced approach. The dual threat signal caller has thrown for more than 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns and has run for six more scores.
The former five-star recruit’s top target is senior tight end Tanner Koziol. The 6-foot-7 pass catcher will be a matchup nightmare for the Sun Devils’ defense. The Wisconsin transfer has racked up 36 catches for 350 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Defensively, the Cougars have a top 30 scoring defense in the country. Houston’s 19 points allowed per game ranks 27th in the nation and the Cougars are at their best in third and fourth down situations.
Powered by senior linebacker Jalen Garner in the middle and former Friday Night Tykes standout Latrell McCutchin at corner, the Cougars’ defense has playmakers all over the field.
Houston has racked up 17 sacks and forced eight turnovers this season.
Now in the driver’s seat for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game, the Sun Devils have an opportunity to show that they have championship DNA in another wild Big 12 Conference race.
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