Arizona State Defeats Baylor Behind Defense, and Final-Second Heroics
In this story:
TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1) defeated the Baylor Bears (2-2) on Saturday night in Waco by a score of 27-24, in which Jesus Gomez Juarez knocked down a field goal as time expired for the win.
The Sun Devils were without three key players in safety Xavion Alford, wide receiver Jalen Moss, and nickelback Montana Warren in tonight's battle.
Arizona State on SI gathered a recap of the game below.
First Quarter
Arizona State's Kyndrich Breedlove made a massive play on the first drive of the game - forcing a Baylor fumble that was recovered by freshly minted starting safety Adrian "Boogie" Wilson.
Arizona State's opening offensive drive was catalyzed by RB Raleek Brown before Baylor stood strong in the red zone. The Sun Devils settled for a field goal roughly halfway into the quarter.
Baylor responded with a sustained drive that was eventually held up by the Sun Devil secondary. Baylor kicker Connow Hawkins eventually made a 53-yard field goal to tie the game at 3.
Second Quarter
Arizona State began the second frame with a major fourth-down stand - Javan Robinson broke up a pass inside of their own red zone.
Sam Leavitt orchestrated an 83-yard drive in over six minutes of game time, capping off the series of plays with a one-yard rushing score.
Baylor equalized the game late in the half, and the Sun Devils were unable to create any offense on the following drive before allowing the clock to run out after another defensive stop.
Third Quarter
Arizona State began the second half on a promising note before an arguably missed holding call that would have favored ASU WR Jaren Hamilton, gifted Baylor the ball back.
The Sun Devil defense continued to make plays, as Cameron was forced into a fumble for the second time on the night. ASU linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu recovered the fumble - a promising start to the drive that started inside of Baylor territory ended with another Gomez field goal.
The remainder of the quarter proved to be a roller-coaster ride - as the Sun Devils forced a three-and-out, turned the ball over on downs inside of the Baylor red zone, and received the ball back deep in Bears' territory off of an interception by Keith Abney II.
The Sun Devils exited the third quarter with a stable 13-10 lead.
Fourth Quarter
The Arizona State offense once again failed to reach the end zone at the beginning of quarter four. A short-range Gomez field goal extended the lead to 16-10.
A Baylor drive that was nearly cut short was given life by a 41-yard Bryson Washington run. Trigg scored a touchdown two plays later to gift the Bears their first lead of the game.
Leavitt connected with wide receiver Derek Eusebio for a 61-yard play on third down deep in their own territory - the drive was capped off with Jordyn Tyson securing a 19-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion haul.
Baylor responded in incredible fashion - tying the game at 24 with just under two minutes remaining. The drive was capped off by Trigg's second touchdown of the quarter.
Leavitt was able to put together a great final drive that was capped off by a game-winning 43-yard field goal by Gomez as time expired.
Read more on major takeaways from players discussing the victory over Texas State in the post-game press conference here, and on how Arizona State fans should be feeling about the team heading into Big 12 play here.
Please let us know your thoughts on the Sun Devil win when you like our Facebook page when you click right here.
Please follow us on X when you click right here!
Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.