The Arizona State Sun Devils beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 30-23, on Saturday afternoon at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
Arizona State (2-0) dominated Wyoming last Saturday at home. For many, this was a temperature check on the Sun Devils’ progress.
All they did was dominate Mississippi State (1-1) for the first three quarters, as the Bulldogs struggled to get anything going under their first-year coach, Jeff Lebby. The Bulldogs did rally, but the Sun Devils were able to hold them off.
Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham wanted more out of his team this year and, so far, he’s getting it. Plus, Arizona State got its first win over an SEC team in program history.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
In Skattebo We Trust
His name is Cam Skattebo and all he does is gain yards.
Or at least that’s how it felt on Saturday. After gaining 49 yards in ASU’s opener, he was a sledgehammer against Mississippi State.
In the first half he rushed for 137 yards on 15 carries. That was a 9.1-yard average per carry. He didn’t get the payoff of a touchdown, but he set up a pair of rushing scores for quarterback Sam Leavitt. He was also largely responsible for helping the Sun Devils hold the football for 20 of the first 30 minutes of the game.
So, after giving up 262 total yards to ASU in the first half, did MSU adjust?
Somewhat. Skattebo finished with 262 yards rushing and was the primary ball carrier as ASU salted the game away on its final possession.
The former 1,000-yard rusher from two years ago appears to be back on track.
Defense Steps Forward
The Bulldogs gained 82 total yards in the first half. They turned the ball over once and ASU turned it into six points. They were 1-for-6 on third down. They gained 2.8 yards per play. Former Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen, at times, looked hurried and lost.
As much as one might want to look awestruck at the offensive numbers, the Sun Devil defense held the Bulldogs to three first-half points. So then the question — could Arizona State finish the job? Here’s a team that didn’t win much last year. Have the Sun Devils developed that instinct to put a game away?
Well … Dillingham told ESPN after the end of the third quarter that he needed his team to “finish.” He repeated that worked multiple times.
The Sun Devils gave up 20 second-half points and an 80-yard touchdown pass from Shapen to Kevin Coleman Jr. cut the lead to seven points with five minutes remaining.
Arizona State finally got its running game going again and salted the contest away.
The defense went from dominant to a bit shaky. But, Arizona State held Mississippi State under 300 total yards, including just 24 rushing yards. Do that every week and the Sun Devils will take it.
Recalibrating ASU’s Future
Remember the Big 12 media poll in July? The Sun Devils were dead last. So … were we wrong? Maybe. I mean, after all, the media picked West Virginia last in 2023 and look what the Mountaineers did — 9-4 and a Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory.
With a 2-0 start — and after trucking an SEC team at home — you have to re-examine where ASU is heading. On Thursday they’re at Texas State for a dangerous road game against a quality Group of 5 program. But, win that game and the Sun Devils would be halfway home for a bowl game.
Texas State is a key game. The Bobcats beat Baylor last year and that set off an 8-5 season. Texas State is already 2-0.
The Bobcats are dangerous and the Sun Devils can undo all of these good vibes with a bad performance in San Marcos.
