Arizona State Rallies Late, Avoids West Virginia Upset Bid
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TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils ( 7-3, 4-2 Big 12) secured another victory - this time against the West Virginia Mountaineers (4-7, 2-6) by a score of 25-23 on Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
Arizona State and West Virginia both went into the game fairly short-handed in what was a special occasion in the form of the homecoming game for the Sun Devils - the team started slow, took control of the game, and didn't look back after the lead was achieved.
Arizona State on SI covered major happenings of the game below.
First Quarter
The first quarter did not prove to be the cleanest start for the Sun Devils, as a pair of stagnant offensive drives and subpar punting resulted in West Virginia kicking a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Second Quarter
The second quarter was much more eventful, as the Sun Devils made a goal-to-go stand on the West Virginia offense.
The ensuing drive was a thing of beauty, as Sims drove the team down the field for a 94-yard string of plays that resulted in the go-ahead touchdown.
The Arizona State defense stood West Virginia up once again in the response drive, and got the ball back in opponent territory following a string of big plays.
The favorable field position was not taken for granted, as Sims orchestrated another touchdown drive - the series ended with Derek Eusebio's first touchdown catch of the season. Cameron Harpole converted on a two-point attempt off of a fake kick.
The Mounatineers responded nearly instantaneously - as Jeff Weimer caught a five-yard pass from Scotty Fox Jr. - breaking it for a 75-yard score on the first play of the drive to cut the Arizona State advantage to 15-10.
Raleek Brown exploded for a 33-yard touchdown reception to extend the Arizona State advantage to 22-10.
Third Quarter
The third quarter was one of several defensive stand-ups from each side, with a scary moment mixed in when CB Rodney Bimage Jr. hit the grass and remained down for several minutes before getting up on his own power.
Arizona State took a 22-10 lead going into the final 15 minutes of action.
Fourth Quarter
The fourth quarter is where things started to unravel for Arizona State. West Virginia capitalized on an extended drive to cut the deficit to five points early in the frame, only to score an improbable 90-yard touchdown just minutes later on a 3rd and 27 pass from Fox to Cyncir Bowers.
The Sun Devils regained possession of the ball and Sims drove the offense into field goal range before the Mountaineers stopped them on third down. Kicker Jesus Gomez knocked down a 48-yard field goal with 2:44 remaining in the game to take a 25-23 lead.
Keith Abney II came up with the biggest play of the game - intercepting Fox on 4th down to seal an Arizona State victory.
What's Next
Arizona State travels to face the Colorado Buffaloes next Saturday in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and three major takeaways following a gutsy win over Iowa State here
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.