WACO, Texas – It came down to a last-second field goal attempt by Jesus Gomez, but Arizona State left the Lone Star State on Saturday night with a 27-24 win over Baylor at McLane Stadium. The win marks the first road conference-opening victory for the Sun Devils since the 2014 campaign.
After Baylor (2-2, 0-1) tied the game on a 33-yard scoring play with 1:52 remaining in the fourth quarter, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt had less than two minutes to orchestrate a game-winning drive for the Sun Devils. And he did just that.
Arizona State (3-1, 1-0), after starting the drive at their 25-yard line, moved the ball 13 yards and a first down after just two plays. The Sun Devils crossed midfield three plays later and were already at the Baylor 38-yard line following a personal foul penalty on the Bears following a third down pass attempt.
Three run plays not only burned two Baylor timeouts, but also moved the football down to the Bear 26-yard line with 39 seconds left in regulation. Raleek Brown, who finished with a team-high 80 rushing yards, and Leavitt, who had 62 yards and a touchdown on the ground throughout the contest, spent the next two plays positioning the football for Gomez.
Despite Baylor trying to ice Gomez by calling its final timeout with two seconds remaining prior to the fourth down field goal attempt, the first-year, left-footed Sun Devil kicker split the uprights as the game clock expired. Not only was it Gomez’ first game-winning field goal since arriving in Tempe during the offseason, the Puebla, Mexico native became the first ASU kicker to connect for four field goals in a single game since Carter Brown did so against Northern Arizona on Sept. 1, 2022.
Gomez’ game-winning field goal capped what was a back-and-forth fourth quarter between two offenses that combined for 246 total yards and 11 first downs during the game’s final 15-minute segment. The fourth quarter also featured three lead changes and one tie as well.
Less than two minutes into the game’s final quarter, Gomez extended Arizona State’s three-point lead from 13-10 to 16-10 following a 33-yard field goal. Baylor answered four minutes later with a 1-yard touchdown reception by Michael Trigg from quarterback Sawyer Robertson to take a 17-16 lead.
Leavitt and Sun Devil receiver Jordyn Tyson not only connected to help Arizona State re-take the lead on a 19-yard pitch-and-catch with 5:29 remaining in regulation, but the two hooked up for a two-point conversion to push the Sun Devil lead out to seven. The lead was erased four minutes later when Robertson found Trigg for a 33-yard score with 1:52 to play.
Gomez foreshadowed his clutch gene midway through the third quarter as well when the Eastern Michigan transfer broke a 10-10 tie with a 21-yard field goal. The field goal marked the only points by either team during the game’s third quarter. This came after both teams traded touchdowns - Leavitt with a 1-yard rushing touchdown to give ASU a 10-3 lead with 6:26 remaining before halftime and Robertson an 8-yard passing touchdown to Kole Wilson three minutes later to tie the game 10-10 - throughout the second quarter.
Despite Baylor, which entered the game on a six-game Big 12 winning streak, opening the game on offense, it took the Arizona State defense just three plays to force the first of three Bear turnovers on the night. Leavitt and the Sun Devil offense - like it did throughout the night - took this turnover and turned it into points when Gomez capped a 14-play opening drive for ASU with a 31-yard field goal.
Baylor answered back four-and-a-half minutes later with a field goal of its own when Connor Hawkins hit a career-long 53-yard field goal. Even with Hawkins’ field goal and Robertson’s pass to Wilson in the second quarter, the Bears did not take their first lead of the game until the first Robertson-to-Trigg touchdown with 9:02 remaining in the fourth quarter. It was a lead that lasted only three and a half minutes.
Arizona State returns to Tempe for its next conference matchup when TCU (3-0) comes to Mountain American Stadium for a Friday night showdown on Sept. 26 with the contest slated for a 6 p.m. MST kick.
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