The first half of the Sun Bowl has been explosive, to say the least.
With the Sun Devils trailing Duke 28-24, this is already the highest scoring first half of any bowl game this year, as well as the highest scoring first half in Sun Bowl history. It's also been a very chippy game, considering this is only the second meeting between these two teams all time.
Things got off to a fascinating start, as Arizona State sacked Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah on third down to force a punt on the opening drive. Then, the broadcast revealed that head coach Kenny Dillingham is taking a more active role in the offensive playcalling in this one:
On TV, it may appear that Kenny Dillingham is calling plays. Per ASU, Marcus Arroyo is calling plays over the headsets, with Dillingham communicating the plays to Jeff Sims on the headset.
— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) December 31, 2025
It worked, too, as the Sun Devils marched down the field and scored a touchdown on their opening drive. But the Blue Devils responded quickly, scoring a touchdown in just three plays. That kicked off an offensive extravaganza, with both teams adding another touchdown in the first quarter.
In addition to being heavily involved in calling the plays, Dillingham has been even more aggressive than he usually is. Arizona State has gone for it on fourth down four times already, turning it over on downs three times.
One of those was the source of much controversy. A Duke defender appeared to jump into the netral zone, causing Arizona State to snap the ball and Jeff Sims to take a deep shot, thinking he had a free play. No flag was thrown, resulting in a turnover on downs rather than a first and goal.
Outside of those missed opportunities on fourth down, Arizona State has moved the ball very well. Jalen Moss has had himself a day, already with 100 yards on three catches in the first half, including this touchdown bomb that was capped off with an iconic celebration.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) December 31, 2025
There have also been several scuffles during the game. Sun Devil defensive back Kyndrich Breedlove was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty earlier on for allegedly punching a player, and a second unsportsmanlike conduct flag right before halftime resulted in his ejection.
His was the second ejection, though, as Duke tight end Landon King was ejected for spitting on an Arizona State player following Duke's final touchdown of the half. It will be interesting to see how both teams respond in the second half of this already-historic bowl game.