With 39 seconds left, and trailing 20-17 in the game, MSU graduate quarterback Blake Shapen laced a 50-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to senior receiver Brenan Thompson that sent the Bulldog faithful into a frenzy, winning the game 24-20. 

After going down 17-3 in a sluggish first half that saw redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt complete less than 50% of his passes, ASU found life in the second half on the ground. 

The running back tandem of redshirt junior Raleek Brown and junior Kanye Udoh saw bountiful success in the second half. The duo finished the game with 110 yards rushing on 18 attempts, including 105 yards alone from Udoh.

Udoh felt satisfied with the Sun Devils’ second-half response on offense. When it was time to scratch and crawl, that’s exactly what the unit did.

“I really love how we all banded together and fought back,” Udoh said. “To a lot of teams down 17-3 on the road, that’s it… I love how we were able to battle back.”

The Bulldogs got off to a blazing start on their home grass. On just the fourth offensive play, Shapen threw a dart down the field for a 48-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Anthony Evans III, catching ASU off-guard. 

The quick pace of the MSU’s offense exhausted the Sun Devils with each snap. The Hail State faithful saw their team have four plays of 15-plus yards, with two being in the very first quarter.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham was not pleased with his team’s lack of success Saturday night.

“We had our defense on the field too much in the first half,” Dillingham said. “The big plays were kind of the nature of the game.”

The second half was a completely different story for the defensive unit as well. The Sun Devils only allowed one touchdown in the second half, albeit a big one. 

Senior linebacker Keyshaun Elliott was all over the field, registering eight total tackles with a sack to add to his impressive afternoon. Elliott explained how the speed of the home team offense affected his defensive teammates. 

“They play with a fast tempo, so our communication was kind of slow at the start. That’s why the defense started slow,” Elliott said. “As we got comfortable, things started rolling.”

For the preseason Heisman hopeful, Leavitt, it was a disappointing performance. The ASU quarterback struggled to get in rhythm and finished the game going 10-22 with only 82 yards and two interceptions. 

Dillingham took accountability for his role in not getting Leavitt in rhythm early in the game. 

“I gotta do a better job getting him [Leavitt] in a rhythm because you can’t play quarterback if you’re not in rhythm,” Dillingham said. “It’s really hard to say save us on third down.”

The receiving core for the Sun Devils struggled to create separation against the Bulldog secondary. The only listed wide receiver who caught a pass was redshirt junior Jordyn Tyson. The other listed starters, redshirt senior Malik McClain and redshirt sophomore Jaren Hamilton, did not register a caught pass.

Despite winning a mere two games a season ago, the MSU faithful of “Starkvegas” got the last laugh. The field was a dark maroon monsoon, and the goal posts were nowhere to be found as students stormed the field, celebrating the program’s first non-conference home win over a top-15 opponent since 1991. 

The Sun Devils now aim to bounce back at home Saturday, Sept. 13, against the Texas State Bobcats.

“Hopefully, we learn from this and get better and better and better. The goal is to be playing your best football towards the end of the season,” Dillingham said. “Hopefully, we can kind of get in a rhythm moving forward.”