A week after a 41-point win in the season opener, Sun Devil Football racked up 357 rushing yards against Mississippi State in a 30-23 win on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium.
The result moves ASU to 2-0 on the season and its the first time have won two straight over FBS opponents to begin a year since 2018.
Cam Skattebo led the way with a career-high 262 rushing yards, the second-most by a Sun Devil in a game in program history. Skattebo led all receivers with 35 yards receiving and finished with 297 all-purpose yards. Sam Leavitt was also effective on the ground, tallying a career-high 68 rushing yards and securing two rushing touchdowns in the win. C.J. Fite recorded his first career touchdown on a 1-yard fumble recovery.
"We had the ball consecutively for about 14 minutes in the middle of the game. And that's unbelievable management by our offensive coaches and our offensive staff to keep their offense off the field for that long and get 10 points." said head coach Kenny Dillingham.
"For us to get hit back in the mouth and then have to get up, that's what I was proud of. We got up with a vengeance and we needed that because we're not going to have 17, 24-point leads every halftime. We're going to be in some dog fights, and we have to be able to go back and forth with counter-punches."
Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward's defense picked up where they left off in week one by forcing a Mississippi State (1-1) three and out to start the game. Putting Leavitt and the offense in action, where the Sun Devil ground game dominated the line of scrimmage, ending with a Leavitt 17-yard rushing touchdown, his first of his career after faking out the Bulldog defense, giving the Sun Devils an early 7-0 lead.
Arizona State rushed for 58 of the team's 79 yards on the opening drive. The defense remained in control, forcing another Bulldog punt after sacking Mississippi State's quarterback for the first time in the game. On the ensuing possession, the Sun Devils ran for 51 of the team's 60-yard, 12-play drive, capping the drive with a 20-yard Ian Hershey field goal to put ASU ahead 10-0 after the first quarter.
Mississippi State responded with a 32-yard field goal, after the Arizona State defense kept the opposition out of the end-zone, maintaining a 10-3 lead. The Sun Devils then countered with a 47-yard field goal by Hershey, extending the lead back to 10.
The Sun Devil defense continued to put pressure on the Bulldog offense leading to a Clayton Smith forced fumble that was recovered by Fite recovered for an ASU touchdown. It was the second fumble recovery for a touchdown in consecutive weeks for the defense, putting the Sun Devils ahead 20-3.
