The sea of maroon, composed of an estimated 54,005 fans, created the pressure necessary for redshirt sophomore Sam Leavitt and the offense to thrive in a much-needed bounce-back performance after week two’s loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs. 

The Leavitt-to-redshirt junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson connection continued to pay dividends, accounting for 105 of ASU’s 188 total yards passing. The turnaround for Leavitt, who worked diligently in practice this past week, was received well by head coach Kenny Dillingham.

“I thought he played well,” Dillingham said. “Looking at the stat sheet, passing, 188 [yards] on 15 [attempts], that’s pretty good.”

Both Leavitt’s and Tyson’s athleticism was on full display for the Sun Devils’ first touchdown of the game. Scrambling to avoid the Bobcats’ defensive line, Leavitt fired an off-balance completion to Tyson, who miraculously leaped over junior free safety Ryan Nolan and dove over the goal line to complete the 10-play, 75-yard touchdown. 

“It was kind of like, just a reaction,” Tyson said. “There was nowhere else to go but up.”

The pass game featured more diversity in the allocation of targets Saturday night. Redshirt senior tight end Chamon Metayer was a quality checkdown candidate for Leavitt, tallying 60 yards and his first touchdown of the year. Metayer’s 27-yard score was also the first passing touchdown by an ASU receiver not named “Tyson” this season. 

“Chamon’s been a soldier for us the first few games,” Dillingham said. “You’ve got to reward people that work like that. I’ve just been very pleased with how he’s been working.”

On the ground, redshirt junior Raleek Brown continued to build off his performance against Mississippi State with 155 all-purpose yards. Brown gained most of his yards in one play – a 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, the Sun Devils’ longest since Kalen Ballage’s identical feat against Texas Tech in 2016.

“It felt good,” Brown said. “As soon as I got the ball, I seen it. But it felt good to have a long run.”

Brown, who battled through injuries and setbacks since his transfer to ASU, has made an impact in the backfield and is thankful to have been able to do so.

“I’ve been working for a year and a half, been working a lot,” Brown said. “Just thanking my coaches and everybody that believed in me, that I could play running back and just keep going. It meant a lot.”

Although all eyes were on the Sun Devils offense, the defense stared with their supply of constant pressure on redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Jackson and Texas State’s offense. Together, the Sun Devils set team season highs for sacks (5), forced fumbles (3) and tackles for loss (10).

A key piece of the defense was redshirt sophomore defensive back Adrian “Boogie” Wilson, who brought his can-do attitude into the game with him and supplied the heavy hits when the ASU needed him to, accumulating seven total tackles and six solos.  

“Boogie brings good energy,” Dillingham said. “You have a lot of confidence in him because he’s confident in himself. I thought he played good football and I’m really glad we have him on our football team.” 

Even with the surplus of positives for the Sun Devils, bad habits still reared their ugly heads. ASU’s failure to convert on third downs loomed large in a slow first quarter. In total, the Sun Devils went 10-for-42 in such instances. 

But once ASU got its legs loose, the wheels were off the wagon. The Sun Devils finished the first half with four consecutive scoring drives, their longest streak all season.

“I think we left a lot out on the table early in the game,” Leavitt said. “But overall, I was just proud of the guys. I really felt like we were playing as a team again.”

The ability to move forward from Mississippi State and dominate in Week 3 was the intention for Dillingham, who believed the loss was a good wake-up call for his team. 

“You know, you have two choices,” Dillingham said. “You can run at it, or you can run away from it. And I think we’re a football team that runs into it.”

Running into the storm is the present reality for ASU. The Sun Devils face three ranked opponents (Utah, Texas Tech and Iowa State) in their next six games.

Nevertheless, ASU believes it's the “buffalo,” not the “cow,” and will trample through whatever lies ahead of them.

“On to the next,” Brown said. “On to the next!”

The Sun Devils hit the road this coming weekend, taking on Baylor in the challenging confines of McLane Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. MST, beginning Big 12 play.