TEMPE – In the midst of a rare weather delay at Mountain America Stadium, Kenny Dillingham and Sun Devil Football dusted the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, 24-21 victory at Mountain America Stadium Thursday night, finishing on Friday morning.
True freshman Jaden Rashada made his first start for the Sun Devils on his birthday and threw for 236 yards which ranks third most in Sun Devil history for an ASU quarterback in their first career start. He added two touchdowns in the second quarter alone to cap off the first half.
"I thought he did really well. Poise, collected, no turnovers. He hitched up and ran a few times. There were some pictures where the guys matched off, some different looks," said head coach Kenny Dillingham.
Cam Skattebo and DeCarlo's Brooks combined for 134 yards on the ground punishing the Southern Utah defense, with Skattebo getting the opening touchdown of the season. It marks the 45th time in the last 56 games for the Sun Devils to reach triple-digit rushing yards.
SUN DEVIL MOST PASSING YARDS IN FIRST CAREER GAME (1996-PRESENT)
292-Joey Yellen vs. USC/Nov. 9, 2019
284-Jayden Daniels vs. Kent State/Aug. 29, 2019
236-Jaden Rashada vs. Southern Utah/Aug. 31, 2023
The Sun Devils now move to 63-15-1 when they open the season at home and have won 25 straight home openers which is the third-longest streak in the nation.
Quickly following a Southern Utah punt to open the game, Rashada and the Sun Devils made quick work of their opening drive, marching 59 yards for Cam Skattebo to score the first touchdown of the season with a six-yard rush to put ASU ahead 7-0.
During the drive Rashada placed a perfectly thrown ball to Melquan Stovall for a 33-yard catch to set up Skattebo's touchdown, starting the game 4-of-4 for 49 yards in the opening period.
After trading punts, Southern Utah answered back early in the second quarter after a 15-yard targeting call aided the opposition into Sun Devil territory, where a mix of runs and passes moved the Thunderbirds inside the 20, with Targhee Lambson's 1-yard-rush leveling the game.
Halfway through the second quarter Rashada registered another scoring drive for the Sun Devils by throwing for 71 yards, going 4-for-5 that featured a 47-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Guillory on fourth-and-eight to give the Sun Devils a 14-7 lead.
Immediately after forcing another Thunderbird punt, the Sun Devils quickly matriculated down the field with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with two seconds remaining.
During the drive, Jaylin Conyers had a 43-yard catch and run as Rashada capped off the drive with memories of N'Keal Harry and Jaelen Strong with a perfectly executed three-yard fade to Tory Omeire to head into halftime ahead 21-7 in an Arizona haboob. Rashada ended the half with 182 yards and a methodical 12-of-16.
Returning from a 2-hour and 50-minute rain delay both teams traded possessions under a monsoon of rain. Southern Utah threatened with a 68-yard catch and run but the play was nullified by a targeting call by the Thunderbirds, prompting a punt. But on their next drive, they cut the lead to one possession with a 17-yard touchdown pass making it 21-14.
On the ensuing kickoff return, Elijhah Badger returned the kick for 81 yards down the sideline after the Thunderbirds assumed he was down, that put the Sun Devils inside the 10, but back-to-back holding penalties encouraged a 38-yard field goal by Dario Longhetto to give the maroon & gold a 24-14 lead with 13:41 remaining in the game.
The Thunderbirds cut into the Sun Devil lead with a 47-yard punt return with 7:50 remaining making it 24-21.
The Sun Devil defense managed to tidy up to force a Southern Utah three-and-out in their own territory after punting, then the offense sealed Coach Dillinghams' first win as head coach with a 10-play, 56-yard drive to consume the final five minutes of the game that included a 26-yard completion to Skattebo on a third-and-five and a 16-yard completion to Badger to run out the clock.
"He came out in the second half, and he just couldn't get in a rhythm. He was throwing the ball where it was supposed to be," Dillingham said. " But he just wasn't in a rhythm. I got to do a better job, and we have to do a better job on offense in keeping him in a rhythm."
The Sun Devils remain at home to welcome the Oklahoma State Cowboys to Mountain American Stadium. Kickoff is at 7:30 P.M. MST and can be seen on FS1 and heard on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Stay tuned for all the latest highlights and news on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook @ASUFootball.
True freshman Jaden Rashada made his first start for the Sun Devils on his birthday and threw for 236 yards which ranks third most in Sun Devil history for an ASU quarterback in their first career start. He added two touchdowns in the second quarter alone to cap off the first half.
"I thought he did really well. Poise, collected, no turnovers. He hitched up and ran a few times. There were some pictures where the guys matched off, some different looks," said head coach Kenny Dillingham.
Cam Skattebo and DeCarlo's Brooks combined for 134 yards on the ground punishing the Southern Utah defense, with Skattebo getting the opening touchdown of the season. It marks the 45th time in the last 56 games for the Sun Devils to reach triple-digit rushing yards.
SUN DEVIL MOST PASSING YARDS IN FIRST CAREER GAME (1996-PRESENT)
292-Joey Yellen vs. USC/Nov. 9, 2019
284-Jayden Daniels vs. Kent State/Aug. 29, 2019
236-Jaden Rashada vs. Southern Utah/Aug. 31, 2023
The Sun Devils now move to 63-15-1 when they open the season at home and have won 25 straight home openers which is the third-longest streak in the nation.
Quickly following a Southern Utah punt to open the game, Rashada and the Sun Devils made quick work of their opening drive, marching 59 yards for Cam Skattebo to score the first touchdown of the season with a six-yard rush to put ASU ahead 7-0.
First TD of the season belongs to Skatt ????
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 1, 2023
?? Pac-12 Network
?? https://t.co/ehkubqnO3j#ForksUp /// #ActivateTheValley pic.twitter.com/LoD9GlAw7c
During the drive Rashada placed a perfectly thrown ball to Melquan Stovall for a 33-yard catch to set up Skattebo's touchdown, starting the game 4-of-4 for 49 yards in the opening period.
After trading punts, Southern Utah answered back early in the second quarter after a 15-yard targeting call aided the opposition into Sun Devil territory, where a mix of runs and passes moved the Thunderbirds inside the 20, with Targhee Lambson's 1-yard-rush leveling the game.
Halfway through the second quarter Rashada registered another scoring drive for the Sun Devils by throwing for 71 yards, going 4-for-5 that featured a 47-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Guillory on fourth-and-eight to give the Sun Devils a 14-7 lead.
ON FOURTH DOWN NO LESS ?? ?? @GuilloryXavier hauls in @jadenrashada first career TD pass to put us back on top.
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 1, 2023
ASU 14 | SUU 7
?? Pac-12 Network
?? https://t.co/ehkubqnO3j#ForksUp /// #ActivateTheValley pic.twitter.com/wmRQAncjGl
Immediately after forcing another Thunderbird punt, the Sun Devils quickly matriculated down the field with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with two seconds remaining.
During the drive, Jaylin Conyers had a 43-yard catch and run as Rashada capped off the drive with memories of N'Keal Harry and Jaelen Strong with a perfectly executed three-yard fade to Tory Omeire to head into halftime ahead 21-7 in an Arizona haboob. Rashada ended the half with 182 yards and a methodical 12-of-16.
Returning from a 2-hour and 50-minute rain delay both teams traded possessions under a monsoon of rain. Southern Utah threatened with a 68-yard catch and run but the play was nullified by a targeting call by the Thunderbirds, prompting a punt. But on their next drive, they cut the lead to one possession with a 17-yard touchdown pass making it 21-14.
On the ensuing kickoff return, Elijhah Badger returned the kick for 81 yards down the sideline after the Thunderbirds assumed he was down, that put the Sun Devils inside the 10, but back-to-back holding penalties encouraged a 38-yard field goal by Dario Longhetto to give the maroon & gold a 24-14 lead with 13:41 remaining in the game.
The Thunderbirds cut into the Sun Devil lead with a 47-yard punt return with 7:50 remaining making it 24-21.
The Sun Devil defense managed to tidy up to force a Southern Utah three-and-out in their own territory after punting, then the offense sealed Coach Dillinghams' first win as head coach with a 10-play, 56-yard drive to consume the final five minutes of the game that included a 26-yard completion to Skattebo on a third-and-five and a 16-yard completion to Badger to run out the clock.
"He came out in the second half, and he just couldn't get in a rhythm. He was throwing the ball where it was supposed to be," Dillingham said. " But he just wasn't in a rhythm. I got to do a better job, and we have to do a better job on offense in keeping him in a rhythm."
The Sun Devils remain at home to welcome the Oklahoma State Cowboys to Mountain American Stadium. Kickoff is at 7:30 P.M. MST and can be seen on FS1 and heard on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Stay tuned for all the latest highlights and news on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook @ASUFootball.