TEMPE – Arizona State football has continued what it did best in the second half last Saturday at Mississippi State, running the ball. The Sun Devils have established themselves as a team that will pound the ball down opposing teams' throats.
Arizona State (1-1) leads over Texas State (2-0) by the score of 20-3 at the half. The offense is firing on all cylinders with 254 yards and only two drives where they did not score points.
Redshirt junior running back Raleek Brown leads on the ground with 66 yards on eight carries. Brown is followed by redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt, who has 36 yards on eight carries and a rushing touchdown. The offense is averaging five yards per rush.
Leavitt has been effective through the air as well. He has 139 yards with a 146.9 quarterback rating. He has found three different targets.
To no surprise, redshirt junior Jordyn Tyson is Leavitt’s favorite target. Tyson has 5 receptions for 100 yards, including this crazy touchdown.
The tight ends have had a breakout game. Redshirt senior Chamon Metayer looks good as well, as he has 4 catches for 35 yards. Junior Khamari Anderson had his first catch as a Sun Devil. Leavitt has yet to find a receiver not named Jordyn Tyson in this game.
Defensively, the Sun Devils have looked great as Texas State has had one scoring drive and 127 yards. The run defense looks great once again as the Bobcats are only averaging 2.7 yards per carry. Redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Jackson has 71 passing yards for the Bobcats.
Senior defensive back Myles "Ghost" Rowser has a fumble recovery that was forced by junior defensive back Keith Abney II. The defensive back unit is without Xavion Alford.
Redshirt senior kicker Jesus Gomez has made all of his kicks, two field goals, and two extra points.
The only negative in the first half is the third-down offense, as it is 2-7. The Sun Devils should cruise to an easy victory.