Cougars break up No. 24 Sun Devils’ come-from-behind effort
A Jeff Sims fourth-down pass to Derek Eusebio is broken up with 1:52 remaining in regulation
TEMPE – Playing without star receiver Jordyn Tyson - and quarterback Sam Leavitt for parts of the first and fourth quarter - No. 24 Arizona State fell behind early to Houston on Saturday and never caught up as its 10-game home winning streak - tied for the fifth longest in the nation -- came to a close in a 24-16 defeat.
Houston took control early with Connor Weigman leading the way, as he was 17-of-22 for 201 yards throwing and rushed 21 times for 134 net yards. The Cougars took at 10-0 lead early with two 10-play drives that covered 68 and 80 yards. The Cougars kept the Sun Devils behind the chains all night, as the average ASU starting field position was its own 18.
Keyshaun Elliott led the Sun Devils on defense with 13 tackles, including five solos, while Malik McClain turned 10 targets into seven catches for 159 yards.
Entering the fourth quarter trailing 24-0, Arizona State (5-3, 3-2) forced three consecutive Houston (7-1, 4-1) scoreless fourth-quarter drives to give itself an opportunity to complete the improbable comeback.
Following a 47-yard Liam Dougherty punt that was fair caught by Zechariah Sample at the ASU 5-yard line with 2:08 remaining in the contest, Sun Devil backup quarterback Jeff Sims had 95 yards lying between him and completing the 24-point, fourth quarter comeback.
We will be better Sun Devil Nation ❤️ Back to work . 🔱Forks Up
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Sims’ first-down pass attempt went incomplete as the redshirt senior signal caller felt pressure from the left end of the offensive line that forced a quick throw away out of bounds.
On second down, Sims rushed up the middle for a 6-yard gain to move the ball out to the ASU 11-yard line as the two-minute timeout came into effect.
Coming out of the timeout, a Sims’ third-down pass attempt to Jaren Hamilton at the first down mark fell incomplete as well.
With 1:52 remaining on the game clock, Arizona State had one last opportunity to pick up the first down. But a fourth-down pass attempt from Sims to Derek Eusebio at the ASU 15-yard line, which would’ve picked up the Sun Devils’ 20th first down of the evening, ultimately fell to the playing surface after Houston’s Kentrell Webb forced the incompletion.
Prior to the game’s fourth quarter, when Houston only managed 52 yards of total offense, the Cougars rolled up 332 yards of offense against the Arizona State defense. A majority of the damage was done by Weigman and Tanner Koziol, who finished with a team-high 100 receiving yards on seven receptions. On the ground, Weighman rushed two touchdowns and 312 yards of total offense.
Without Tyson as a primary passing target, Leavitt and Sims turned to Malik McCain, who turned in a career-high 156 receiving yards on a career-high seven receptions. His 156 receiving yards were the most by a Sun Devil this season.
Arizona State will look to bounce back on Saturday, Nov. 1, when the Sun Devils travel to Ames, Iowa to face off against Iowa State (5-3, 2-3) which is coming off a 41-27 loss to BYU Game time for the Sun Devils and Cyclones has yet to be announced by the Big 12 Conference Sunday.