Arizona State 30-23 Mississippi State (September 7, 2024) Match Report

TEMPE, Ariz. – Cam Skattebo ran for a career-high 262 yards, quarterback Sam Leavitt scored two touchdowns and Arizona State held on in the final minutes to secure its first victory over a Southeastern Conference opponent, beating Mississippi State 30-23 on Saturday night.

Mississippi State nearly overcame a 30-3 deficit midway through the third quarter and narrowed the gap to 30-23 with 5:27 left in the fourth quarter. Arizona State was able to run down the clock on its ensuing offensive drive.

Skattebo sealed the win with a 39-yard run with less than two minutes left. His 262 yards on the ground were the second-best in school history.

“Today was fun,” Skattebo said. “I haven’t had this much fun at a football game in a long time. We had our ups and downs, but it was fun. You can ask those guys up there. Bullies, grown men who weigh 300 pounds, we enjoy it.”

It was the first meeting between the two teams and a tense early-season test. Arizona State (2-0) was ranked near the bottom of the Big 12 in preseason polls, while Mississippi State (1-1) is also undergoing restructuring in the SEC.

Skattebo and Leavitt took turns pressuring Mississippi State’s defense, leading them to a 27-3 halftime lead. They combined for 193 yards before halftime. The 215-pound Skattebo tormented the Bulldogs’ defense, averaging more than nine yards per carry in the first half and nearly eight yards for the game. He finished with 33 carries.

“Blocking for him gives us an advantage,” said Arizona State center Leif Fautanu. “All we have to do is get in his way and he’ll do the rest.”

Arizona State took a 30-3 lead midway through the third quarter after a 14-play drive that consumed about 8 1/2 minutes of time.

Mississippi State responded with two consecutive touchdown runs, narrowing the gap to 30-16 with 13:09 minutes left in the fourth quarter after Blake Shapen found Davon Booth for a 13-yard touchdown.

“We started to execute better, do our job, make the next play and find a way to string together some touchdowns,” Shapen said.

The Bulldogs got within 30-23 when Kevin Coleman Jr. caught a pass, broke a tackle and sprinted into the end zone for an 80-yard touchdown.

Shapen completed 18 of 28 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Coleman was the Bulldogs’ leading receiver with 103 yards receiving.

The Sun Devils scored a defensive touchdown for the second consecutive game when CJ Fite picked up a fumble from Shapen and ran 1 yard into the end zone – bring the ball over the pylon when he fell out of the field.

That made the score 20-3 and Mississippi State couldn’t recover until it was too late.

“I have to take care of football there,” said Shapen. “That’s entirely up to me.”

Arizona State took a 27-3 halftime lead on Leavitt’s 1-yard run with 34 seconds left in the second quarter.

Leavitt gave the Sun Devils a 7-0 lead on their first offensive play, running 17 yards and diving just inside the left pylon for the touchdown, capping an impressive offensive drive that included 79 yards on 10 plays, including 58 yards on the run.

The conclusion

Mississippi State: It was a sobering night for the Bulldogs, who still have a lot of work to do under new coach Jeff Lebby. Mississippi State was pushed around on both sides of the line of scrimmage, especially early on. The good news is that they showed some life in the second half with a fast-paced offense that gave Arizona State problems.

Arizona St: The Sun Devils have made a 180-degree turnaround this fall after back-to-back 3-9 seasons, but second-year coach Kenny Dillingham will still provide some teachable moments after the team nearly blew a 27-point lead.

Next

Mississippi St: Hosts Toledo on Saturday.

Arizona St: Plays its first away game of the season at Texas State on Thursday.

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