Cam Skattebo, Sam Leavitt and Arizona State football rock Iowa State in Big 12 title game

Posted by Admin December 7, 2024 Football

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ARLINGTON, Texas — Cam Skattebo crossed the goal line at AT&T Stadium and struck a Heisman pose as his Arizona State teammates celebrated around him. That 3-yard run was his first of three scores on the day and gave the Sun Devils a seven-point lead over Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game.

Skattebo’s breakout season has been the catalyst for No. 15 Arizona State’s magical run, which continued with a 45-19 win over the No. 16 Cyclones (10-3) that is likely to boost the Sun Devils into the College Football Playoff.

The selection show airs at 10 a.m. MST Sunday on ESPN.

Celebrate ASU’s Big 12 title run with our collector’s book

ASU outscored Iowa State 21-0 in the third quarter, after which Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham told ABC: “Three straight stops, three straight turnovers … short fields, offense has finished. Just complementary football. … I’m really proud of the guys.”

Saturday’s romp marked the sixth straight victory for ASU and is the fourth win over a nationally ranked opponent.

It was considered a toss-up game, especially after the Sun Devils (11-2) lost their leading receiver Jordyn Tyson to injury last week. The teams came in ranked one spot apart and were comparable in every statistical category. But the Sun Devils sent a message, led by their spirited spark plug, scoring 35 unanswered points after the teams were tied at 10.

Colorado’s duo of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty have been the players dominating the Heisman Trophy conversation. While Skattebo’s season hasn’t put him quite at that level, it has generated buzz throughout the college football circles. He wasn’t on the radar of NFL scouts after last season, which was solid but not spectacular.

But Skattebo made a statement when the spotlight was the brightest, with the Sun Devils playing in a conference championship game on national television. Safe to say, there have never been more eyes on him than there were on Saturday, and he responded. Skattebo tallied 170 yards on 16 carries and caught two passes for 38 yards, highlighted by a 38-yard scoring reception in the third quarter that gave ASU a 45-10 lead.

The 18 points and three touchdowns tied a Big 12 record and his total yards this season (rushing and receiving combined) broke a school record set by Eno Benjamin (1,905 yards) in 2018.

The first half ended with ASU in front 24-10 on the strength of 140 Skattebo yards, 90, of those coming after contact. His longest of the day was a 53-yard jaunt during which he broke five tackles.

Any thought the Cyclones might have had of rallying in the second half ended quickly. ASU forced three turnovers in the second half and turned all of those into touchdowns.

The game was so in hand that Skattebo came out of the game early in the fourth quarter, as did quarterback Sam Leavitt, who threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns, two of those scoring tosses going to Xavier Guillory.

Now, the Sun Devils will sit and wait for their CFP fate. Most projections had ASU in the 12-team field as an 11 or 12 seed and not getting a first-round bye, that privilege going to Boise State, which wrapped up the Mountain West title Friday night.

But ASU certainly made its case on the football field, although its fate seemed to be sealed when it moved up one spot in last week’s CFP poll. Whether ASU gets the bye or not, the storied season will continue — and Skattebo also has another game to best Benjamin’s single-season rushing record of 1,642 yards in 2018. He came into the game with 1,398 so he’s now in striking distance at 1,568.

The only blemish was the second-half targeting penalty on Sun Devils defensive back Shamari Simmons, which means Simmons won’t be available to play the first half of ASU’s next game.