Breaking down how Arizona State kept their Big 12 Championship hopes alive

It took until the final drive of the game, but the Sun Devils found a way to stay in the win column and inch one step closer to a return trip to the Big 12 Championship game in Dallas.

Jeff Sims continued his strong play in relief of Sam Leavitt, but it took an all around team effort to seal the deal.

The Good

Passing Game

It's been a "next man up" mentality all season long, and this week was no exception. This time, it was Derek Eusebio enjoying the breakout game that nobody saw coming. Tied for the most targets with Malik McClain with 7 on the game, Eusebio hauled in 6 of the passes thrown his way for 74 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Chamon Metayer enjoyed another efficient game with 4 catches for 21 yards and a touchdown, and Raleek Brown found the end zone on a 33 yard touchdown play. All told, six different Sun Devils recorded a catch in what hopes to be the last game without Jordyn Tyson.

Offensive Creativity

Throughout the season, there have been whispers of trick plays that Coach Dillingham has kept hidden up his sleeve. Saturday saw the first usage of the trickery in game action as after Eusebio's touchdown, a direct snap to Jesus Gomez resulted in a successful two-point conversion pass to Cameron Harpole that indicated this offense meant business and was going to pull out all the stops to keep the dream alive.

Down Goes Cincinnati

If you ask any Sun Devil fan, they would never willingly admit that they were rooting for the team down South to win. That being said, the loss by the Bearcats was one domino in the cascade of dominos that needed to fall to help the Sun Devils back to the Big 12 championship game. More on the standings later on, but there is still a chance of back-to-back trips.

The Bad

Defensive Mental Lapses

The late great John Madden once said it best: "All a prevent defense does is prevent you from winning." Those words were so close to being true after a 90 yard touchdown play to Cyncir Bowers. The middle level got caught playing back on their heels and the top level was never able to catch up to Bowers as he raced up the field after catching the ball in the flat on a 3rd-and-27 play deep in their own territory. Luckily Jesus (Gomez) saved the day once again to avoid a crushing defeat.

Big Play Weakness

Related to the above, the Sun Devils defense was not immune to giving up the chunk play. Of the 353 passing yards for Scotty Fox Jr., 207 of them came on three plays in the second half. Fox showed glimpses of what has set him apart since winning the starting job in Morgantown and why the Mountaineers have been able to fly under the radar and surprise teams down the stretch in conference play.

The Ugly

Big 12 Standings

I present a live look at every Arizona State fan trying to reconcile the current standings and unpacking every possible avenue to clinching a spot in the Big 12 Championship game. According to PlayoffStatus.com, there are 26 distinct scenarios in which the Sun Devils can clinch one of the two berths in the championship game. RedditCFB further dives in and shows the possibility for a six-way atop the standings at 7-2 and shows a favorable outcome for the Sun Devils if that situation comes to pass.

At the end of the day, the easiest solution for the Sun Devils is to simply take care of business the next two weeks on the road at Colorado and at home in the Territorial Cup, and let the rest of the magic work outside of their control. Not the most reassuring thought that the Sun Devils don't control their own destiny, but to be in a position to finish the season with just two conference losses after the injuries that have run rampant through the roster can't be appreciated enough.