“It’s crazy, me and the quarterback made eye contact like right before that (interception),” Abney said anticipating the pass. “I kind of knew it was coming; it was such a great feeling.”

After a 14-day window between its last game, Nov. 1 at Iowa State, Arizona State football welcomed West Virginia to Tempe for a record-setting 11 a.m. kickoff at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15. The Sun Devils avoided a late Mountaineer comeback and won 25-23.

Despite the conference victory,  ASU experienced a terrifying moment when redshirt freshman defensive back Rodney Bimage Jr. went down motionless after a third-down stop in the third quarter. Fans gasped, and head coach Kenny Dillingham, along with his staff, frantically called for the medical cart.

After lying on the turf for minutes, Bimage Jr. rose to his feet and walked off with minimal support, as the crowd erupted. Sun Devil players described that moment as a boost to their aggressive defensive play.

“When I saw that (the injury), I was like ‘it’s time to play now,’” Senior linebacker Jordan Crook said. “That turned me up. It kind of gave us a little boost just seeing him down there like that and being able to get up.”

After that scary moment, besides a 90-yard touchdown, defensive coordinator Bryan Ward’s side surrendered 80 total yards, with only 77 yards passing.

That 90-yard touchdown came on third-and-27 as Fox Jr. found sophomore running back Cyncir Bowers through broken coverage, taking it to the house. 

Dillingham described the explosive play as “one of the worst” he has experienced during his tenure as a coach, yet the third-year coach was proud of the way his team responded to the electrifying Mountaineer score. 

“For our guys to bounce back and stop the two-point conversion, which allowed us to kick a field goal for the win instead of the tie, winning football,” Dillingham said. “It was really cool to see our guys respond in that setting, in the real-life moment.”

After a blocked kick earlier in the game, senior kicker Jesus Gomez continued his streak of clutch kicks. The lefty transfer from Eastern Michigan drilled the 49-yard field goal, giving ASU the lead with 02:44 left in the game. 

Although the Sun Devils prevailed, a sluggish first quarter, during which the offense gained only 29 yards and went 0-2 on third downs, the second quarter ignited a new spark. ASU had 218 total yards of offense and 22 of its 25 points in those 15 minutes. 

Experienced senior quarterback Jeff Sims debuted for the first time as a starter at home, hoping to extend his historic performance against Iowa State. Against the Cyclones, Sims torched the opposition with his legs. On Saturday, Sims threw for three passing touchdowns, with all of them finding a different receiver for six.

Without sophomore starting quarterback Sam Leavitt for the remainder of the season, Sims has led the Sun Devils to consecutive Big 12 victories.

“We don’t really worry about outside factors,” Sims said toward his critics. “I feel like we have a lot of trust in each other. That’s the thing about this team, we have a lot of belief in each other. Anything is possible for us.”

Sims’ influence has not just given the offense confidence to succeed during an injury bug, but also the defense.

While Sims has led the offense in the absence of Leavitt, the same applies to the defense. 

Crook and Abney both expressed confidence from their field general.

“We have the same confidence in Jeff to go out there and take us and lead us to a win as much as we did with Sam,” Crook said. “We trust everybody on this team. We know what type of players we have. We know what type of team we got … We know it’s next man up.”

Sophomore wide receiver Derek Eusebio also benefited from Sims’ leadership Saturday, as he reeled in a season-high six passes throughout the game, showcasing the theme of “next man up.” Eusebio was a walk-on when he first arrived at ASU and only practiced with the second-team rotations. 

Of those six catches, one of them, a designed bubble screen pass with an outside blocker in senior Chamon Metayer, opened up the outside corner as Eusebio found the open lane and waltzed into the end zone for the second ASU touchdown of the game – only the second of his young career.

“We work on that (outside blocking) every day,” Eusebio said. “We all go to practice like ‘oh, we got perimeter today.’” We talk about it. It’s a joke between all of the skill positions, but it pays off in the end.”

For the Mountaineers, Fox Jr. continued his recent streak of high-level production. In the past two games before traveling to the desert, the freshman had a 2-1 record with eight total touchdowns.

Fox Jr. continued leading his team, finishing Saturday with two passing touchdowns on 353 yards passing. The impressive yard total is nearly 130 more yards than quarterbacks have averaged against ASU this season, at 225.7 yards per game.

The Sun Devils dialed in when it mattered most, a common theme that defines the team during the 2025 season. All of ASU’s past five victories have been determined by five points or less.

“Some people find ways to win and some people find ways to lose,” Dillingham said. “Do you get it done or not? And our guys get it done. I think that’s what I told them: it's a great life lesson that nobody cares about the pain, show me the baby.”

The Sun Devils look to keep their hopes alive of returning to the Big 12 championship game for a second-straight year in Boulder, Colorado, as they take on the Buffaloes on Nov. 22. 

“There are a lot of guys on our team that have still been told no,” Dillingham said. “There’s a genuine brotherhood, and those guys want to win so badly. It’s the will to win and the will to compete. And, they find a way.”