There was an opportunity for the Sun Devils to make history in Lubbock, Texas as they lined up against the Red Raiders. Clear skies, with some wind mixed in, made for a perfect day for the Sun Devils to attempt what would have been their first 4-0 season start since 2016.
ASU and Texas Tech have now met four times in the last 12 years, but the matchup meant a little bit more this time — ASU entered 3-0 and was looking to win its first-ever game in the Big 12 conference. However, the team fell 30-22, dropping the Sun Devils to 3-1, and improving the Red Raiders to 3-1.
Both teams combined for 17 penalties for 163 yards. The penalties started on the very first drive of the game as sophomore Keith Abney II was called for defensive pass interference on 2nd-and-goal, which gave Texas Tech a first down that it scored making the score 7-0 early on.
“Unacceptable for us," ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said per SunDevilSource. "That's my fault. That's all me, we got to get that stuff cleaned up. We can blame the players all we want ... at the end of the day, it's our job, it's our responsibility to get them to act, to get them to play, to get them to do their job."
Starting strong can sometimes be key to getting the job done, but the Sun Devils didn’t meet that mark. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt threw an interception on ASU’s first drive, and the Red Raiders didn't hesitate to take advantage of that scoring just a few plays later making it 14-0.
"We did come out slowly and credit to them," junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliott said per SunDevilSource. "They ran some good things, they executed, they made the big plays that they needed to. Defensively we gotta play together, trust each other."
In his second-ever road start for the Sun Devils, Leavitt finished the game completing 22 of his 38 passes for 282 yards with one interception.
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"First really loud game on the road for a freshman starter," Dillingham said per SunDevilSource. "He missed a couple throws that I know he can make and then he made a couple throws that we got to (catch) for him."
The Red Raiders entered the contest with a rushing defense that was giving up 181.7 yards a game, which was good for 106th nationally. The Sun Devils, who had a top-25 rushing offense entering the matchup, struggled to get any push-up front and were bottled up all night. The team finished with 30 carries for 94 yards on the ground.
With history on the line, one Sun Devil who wanted to make sure things came to fruition was senior running back Cam Skattebo. All game long, running hard, he did everything to try and impact the game leading the Sun Devils in receiving and rushing with six receptions for 117 yards and 18 carries for 60 yards.
Skattebo made his presence felt in the third quarter by catching a pass from Leavitt and running down the sideline for 66 yards. He would then follow it up with a three-yard score. His passion-fueled performance just wasn’t enough to get the win.
"We had a chance," Skattebo said per SunDevilSource. "We had some drops. We made mistakes, I made mistakes, other people made mistakes. It was a team effort, we lost that game as a team, not individually."
After a hard-fought first Big 12 game, ASU now heads into a week without a game at 3-1. ASU’s next game is Oct. 5 against the Kansas Jayhawks back home in Mountain America Stadium.
"Everybody should feel absolutely miserable, absolutely miserable, for two straight weeks," Dillingham said per SunDevilSource. "Then we line it back up, we have a home game, let's have a sellout crowd, let's get back on, and let's be 4-1."
Edited by Henry Smardo, Sophia Braccio and Natalia Jarrett.
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Daniel is a senior studying sports journalism. This is his first semester with The State Press. He has also worked at WCSN, OC Riptide, 1550 Sports and AZPreps365.
