TEMPE, AZ (AZFamily) -- Jordyn Tyson held up his forearm to the media. Above a bloody cut on his elbow, he pointed to a tattoo that said "Diamond in the Rough." He explained how he felt was a perfect way to describe the 2024 Sun Devils.
After Saturday's 28-23 win over No. 14 BYU, it's easy to see why. Tyson's team held on for a victory that has the Sun Devils -- famously ranked dead last in the Big 12 preseason poll -- just one win away from a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. Beyond that lies a potential berth in the College Football Playoff.
"Pressure builds diamonds," Tyson said.
After building a 21-3 halftime lead thanks to three Cam Skattebo touchdowns, the 21st-ranked Sun Devils felt plenty of pressure in the second half as BYU mounted a furious comeback. But a late interception by Javan Robinson ended the Cougar threat.
Or so most of the 55,400 people in attendance thought, as thousands of Sun Devil fans stormed the field in celebration.
Not so fast.
Officials deemed ASU's last pass out of bounds, intended to run off the remaining seconds, actually fell incomplete with one second left on the clock. After several minutes of getting fans off the field, BYU's Hail Mary attempt was knocked away, and the Sun Devils won the game.
For a second time.
"We got to rush the field twice," said ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham with a smirk. "How about that?"
"We win close games, and we like drama." - Kenny Dillingham
As has been the case in recent weeks, the game got off to a fast start for the Sun Devils. BYU managed to move the ball to midfield to open the day, but a pass breakup by linebacker Jordan Crook on fourth down gave the ball over the the Sun Devils.
Riding their star running back, ASU marched down the short field, with Skattebo getting seven carries over the drive's 10 plays, the final one a 3-yard touchdown.
The Cougars again showed some push on their next drive, moving into Sun Devil territory. But the defense had another answer, with Prince Dorbah tipping a Jake Retzlaff pass at the line and Crook making a diving interception to end the threat.
However, ASU gave it right back in a similar fashion, with a Sam Leavitt pass deflecting off a defender's helmet and being caught by BYU's Tanner Wall. The Sun Devil defense was able to force a punt, but good coverage pinned the ball deep at the Sun Devils' 5-yard line.
Undaunted, the Devils went to work. A dart from Leavitt was caught by Tyson, who then ran through multiple tackles for a 54-yard gain. Skattebo then powered his way forward, capping the drive with a 4-yard score.
With the 14-0 lead, Dillingham gambled by having his team try a squib kick that was aimed to have a chance to deflect off a return team member. It was executed perfectly, with the recovery made by ASU freshman Plas Johnson.
"It's a very low-risk onside kick," Dillingham said.
The Skattebo show continued. Facing a third-and-1, he ran through three tackle attempts on his way to a 23-yard touchdown to extend ASU's lead to 21-0. Adding style points to his afternoon, Skattebo signed an autograph for a fan after scoring, drawing a 15-yard penalty flag.
Along with the better field position from the penalty, the other upside for BYU with Skattebo's touchdown was it left the Cougars with 1:36 on the clock. Retzlaff was able to maneuver the Cougars into field goal range, where Will Ferrin connected from 49 yards to get BYU on the scoreboard just before the break.
The Sun Devils took possession to open the second half and methodically marched downfield, powered by Skattebo runs and a 25-yard reception by Melquan Stovall. However, they were stuffed deep in BYU territory, as Chamon Metayer dropped a pass in the endzone on third down, and Leavitt's pass to Tyson on fourth down was too high.
Retzlaff and the BYU passing attack went to work, and quickly had the Cougars in ASU territory. Keelan Marion would score on a 10-yard run late in the third quarter, but the two-point conversion failed, trimming ASU's lead to 21-9.
ASU wasted little time in dashing the BYU momentum. Skattebo ripped off a 14-yard run before Leavitt connected with a wide open Xavier Guillory for a 61-yard touchdown to make it 28-9.
"It just felt awesome that Sam trusted me on that play," Guillory said. "I was just trying to get going as soon as I caught it.
Retzlaff went to work, and connected on several sharp throws, including a 21-yard strike to JoJo Phillips for a touchdown. This time, the two-point conversion was good, closing the gap to 28-17.
ASU would be forced to punt on their next possession, with the ball fair caught at the BYU 12. The Cougar offense and Retzlaff continued to roll, as he shredded the Sun Devils' zone coverage. Marion would run it in from one yard out for a touchdown, but Retzlaff's throw on the two-point conversion was short, making it 28-25 with 8:44 left in the game.
ASU needed a quality drive, and they appeared to put one together. Leavitt found Tyson for a 30-yard gain, and both Leavitt and Skattebo followed with runs for first downs. But facing a fourth-and-1 from the 11, Dillingham opted to go for it rather than kick a short field goal. Leavitt was stopped short of the sticks on the run.
The Sun Devils had burned six minutes off the clock, but now a red-hot Cougar offense had a chance to win with 2:34 left in regulation. Retzlaff guided the Cougars down the field, but a second-down pass from just inside the ASU 40 was off target and intercepted by Javan Robinson, who raced 64 yards before being tackled at the BYU 7-yard line.
"They counted us out," Tyson said. "We continue working and proving the haters wrong."
ASU appeared to then run the remaining seconds off the clock, but after a video review, officials deemed Leavitt's fourth-down pass out of bounds landed with one second left.
Retzlaff's last-ditch pass into the endzone was fittingly knocked away by Robinson to seal the win.
ASU was going to totally blow this, huh?
The Sun Devils had not registered a stop the entire second half. No way they could stop the Cougs here.
But Dillingham remained confident his team would rise up, as they have done all year.
"As it was getting tighter and tighter, I said, 'Guys, we're still winning. We're still winning. Relax. All we have to do is make one play.'"
Robinson made that play, hauling in the Retzlaff pass and racing deep into Cougar territory.
"Our team is resilient, no matter what situation," said Guillory. "We just go out there, put on our helmets, and do what we do."
After a quiet game, by his standards at least, Skattebo returned to form with a monstrous first half, with 96 yards and three scores in the first 30 minutes.
With his star returning to form in the backfield, Dillingham rode Skattebo's legs to power the Sun Devil offense.
"(Dillingham) didn't just challenge me during the offseason, he challenges me every day," Skattebo said. "It's all paying off."
Skattebo rushed for 147 of ASU's 154 yards, but things clamped up in the second half, with ASU rushing for just 42 yards. That put the pressure on Leavitt, who responded in key moments, including a touchdown. On the day, he completed 16 of 25 throws for 247 yards.
The receiving box score was again a copy of the last several weeks: Tyson getting the lion's share (nine catches for 125 yards), Skattebo (three for 12) and Metayer with a few (two for 24), and a couple of others with one each. Thankfully for the Sun Devils, Guillory's one was the 61-yard score.
"(Guillory) makes a play, last time ever in that stadium, that completely changes the game," Dillingham said. "Couldn't be prouder of him."
Overall, the offense mirrored the theme of the last two weeks, with a strong first half followed by an inconsistent second, with some key plays made to help seal the wins.
"Building from the ground up, it's just awesome to see that our work, the right work, is coming to fruition," Guillory said.
At this point in the season, the Sun Devils are who they are going to be in 2024. They have found a nice run-pass balance. Now, they just need to find the consistency to do it throughout the entire game.
For the second week in a row, ASU's defense was able to hold their opponent in check, only to allow a second-half rally.
Most concerning was the performance on third downs. BYU came in ranked 122nd in the nation, converting just 31 percent of their chances. Against ASU, they were successful on seven of 10 tries.
Another area of continued concern was the lack of a pass rush. Retzlaff was routinely able to have enough time to find holes in ASU's zone coverages. That allowed the Cougars to throw for 297 yards, a season-high for the Sun Devil defense.
That overshadowed a sturdy effort by ASU against the run, limiting BYU to just 94 yards on the ground, just over 70 under their season average.
ASU has had large-enough leads over the last two weeks to withstand the rallies by Kansas State and BYU. If the Sun Devils are indeed going to make a run at a conference title and potential playoff berth, they'll need to figure out a way to finish as strong as they have been starting.
It's right there.
A literal worst-to-first jump is one win away. How is this possible?
Sure, ASU is a more talented and deeper team than last year. They have found their quarterback of the present and future. But powering it all and providing the foundation for the turnaround is the program's culture.
"The culture has changed," Skattebo said. "Everybody loves each other. We've turned this thing around, but it's not finished yet because there is still work to do in the process."
Their playmaking and ability to overcome adversity has them one win away from something that would have been inconceivable just a few months ago.
"It feels awesome to be a part of a team where everybody is bought in and nobody's tripping over their own personal accolades," Guillory said. "We're all just playing for each other. This is something special we got here."
The battle for state supremacy and possession of the coveted Territorial Cup is upon us.
Next week, Arizona State heads down to Tucson for the annual battle against Arizona. The Wildcats have won the last two in the series to snap a five-year ASU winning streak.
Arizona opened the season ranked in the Top 25, but the season has been a large disappointment. UofA dropped to 4-7 on the season after a 49-28 blowout loss at TCU on Saturday.