Arizona State football fans have become accustomed to chaotic plays between the team’s top duo. Saturday may have provided their most improbable connection yet.
ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt found himself running for his life in the early going of Saturday’s 34-15 victory over Texas State, like he has for much of the season. Some of the scrambles turned into chain-moving gains, while others were missed opportunities.
After a slow start, looking to punch in the first touchdown of the night, Leavitt and his favorite target, wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, both revealed an “S” on their chests.
“That quarterback did some things tonight that I don’t know if I’ve seen on the football field,” Texas State coach GJ Kinne told reporters after the game. “They’re just unbelievable, and you know zero (Tyson) is really good.”
Early in the second quarter, a free rusher from the right side of the line of scrimmage bulldozed toward Leavitt with bad intentions. The ASU signal caller, forced to climb the pocket, darted to his left looking for a friend downfield to bail him out of another dangerous situation.
There he was.
Tyson.
Leavitt twisted his body to position himself for a throw to the All-American receiver. He pounced off his left leg to make the throw as if he were playing dodgeball with his teammates in the summer at Camp Tontozona in Payson.
Despite the error at the line of scrimmage, Leavitt still found a way to make something out of nothing.
“They brought double-sided pressure,” Leavitt said. “We were going to go out to it, but we had a miscommunication on the protection. I knew Jordyn was going to get to a spot; we talked about it all week. I was high and low off the defender out there, lost my back, and needed to make a play. I knew where he was going to be and got the ball to him. Made one hell of a play.”
Tyson, who lined up on the opposite side of the field, ran a crossing route, throwing his hands in the air to catch his quarterback’s attention. The ball floated up and into the waiting arms of Tyson along the sideline. Compared to his one-handed catch over two defenders in the first quarter, this was one of the easiest catches of the night for the star wideout.
Turning toward the ASU sideline, the junior wide receiver sprinted along the boundary, plugged in the video game controller, and hurdled Texas State safety Ryan Nolan. At the 6-yard line, Tyson only had one option.
“There was nowhere else to go but up,” he said.
Tyson’s left foot landed at the 3-yard line, and the dynamic playmaker leaped to the goal line to convert the 30-yard touchdown. The Maroon Monsoon at Mountain America Stadium thundered with cheer and disbelief.
The throw by @S_leav10, the catch by @tyson_jordyn 🤌
Pure Cinema.
📺TNT pic.twitter.com/6sa79Z3fcN
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 14, 2025
Dillingham couldn’t believe what he had seen either.
“He’s open. Oh, crap. How are you going to get it to him?” Dillingham said. “Oh, you got it to him. Amazing. Did he really just do that? Is he actually in bounds? Wow.”
In the radio booth, Arizona State broadcasters Tim Healey and Jeff Van Raaphorst both marveled at the athletic maneuvers by the Sun Devils.
“How in the wide world of sports did Leavitt not get sacked?” Healey said.
Van Raaphorst added, “How did Tyson score from the six?”
The slow start for the ASU offense effectively ended then and there. One play vaulted the enthusiasm of the Sun Devils’ sideline into a new tier, and they never looked back. The score by Tyson spawned a 24-point streak, which gave ASU a 27-3 lead late into the third quarter. The Sun Devils finished off the Bobcats with ease, sailing to a 34-15 victory to wrap up non-conference play.
“I thought we had good energy all night,” Dillingham said. “I think that was one of the things I was pleased with was that we carried over the second half of last week in terms of the energy and the passion and how we played on both sides of the ball at the end of this week. So I think we’re slowly figuring ourselves out. I continue to say you want to get better and you want to learn more and adapt to your team as the season progresses.”
Leavitt hasn’t played like his 2024 self at times throughout the first three games this season. Dillingham and offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo stressed during the week of practice the need to get Leavitt into a rhythm early. The growing pains for the second-year starter have been evident, but the superhero-like plays he made against Texas State prove his ceiling is higher than many realize.
“I don’t have any questions about Sam,” Arroyo said. “I think that part of the growth in year two of a quarterback is being able to understand that success is not linear. There’s going to be ups and downs, and there’s going to be people, identity, characteristics, and chemistry that you’re going to have to build each game, each week, each year. I have no question that he understands that and is able to adapt to that. My job is to make sure that I’m right there with him in lock-step.”
Leavitt finished the night with 188 passing yards and three total scores. His top target, Tyson, caught six passes for 105 yards and one touchdown. Through three contests, Tyson has caught four touchdown passes from Leavitt and racked up 314 yards through the air, tied for seventh most in the country.
Next week, the ASU dynamic duo will open up conference play at Baylor. After a shaky start to the year, Leavitt and Tyson once again provided optimism and highlight plays that fans will remember for years to come.
Dillingham, meanwhile, was pleased with the growth of his team.
The Sun Devils’ loss at Mississippi State was marked by missed opportunities, leading to an erasure from the AP Poll Top 25 and a disheartened fan base. Dillingham wasn’t overly concerned by the team’s first loss, but rather saw it as a positive experience for the Sun Devils to face adversity.
“Anytime you get punched in the face and then you rebound, it’s like, ‘OK, you want to go back to work,’” Dillingham said. “You have two choices: You can run at it or you can run away from it. I hope we’re a football team that runs into it.”
That’s exactly what the Sun Devils did.
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