EL PASO, TX – A short-handed Sun Devil Football gave an incredible effort but ultimately fell short to Duke, 42-39, at the 2025 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
Led by quarterback Jeff Sims and running back Jason Brown, the Arizona State offense exploded for 39 points and a Sun Bowl record 619 yards of offense. The defense earned several clutch fourth-down stops and frustrated Duke quarterback Darian Mensah. However, the ACC Champion Blue Devils were able to make one more play than the Sun Devils to secure the Sun Bowl victory.
Arizona State (8-5, 6-3 Big 12) forced a three-and-out to open the game, and then went on a 9-play, 83-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead less than five minutes in on a 2-yard keeper by quarterback Jeff Sims. A 51-yard bomb highlighted the drive to Jalen Moss, who entered the game with just 11 receptions on the season, on 3rd-and-13 to move the Sun Devils to the Duke 23-yard line.
"We had a lot of guys play a lot more snaps, noted head coach Kenny Dillingham, who has led ASU to 19 wins the past two seasons. "To get these guys on the field that haven't really played and not just play a team, play a team that just won a championship, and be in a position to win and make some plays. It almost hurts worse than if you lost by 40. To be there, be in it, and really feel like you could have won the football game."
Duke (9-5, 6-2 ACC) answered the ASU score at 8:53 of the first quarter on a third-down 69-yard toss from quarterback Darian Mensah to wide receiver Que’Sean Brown. The Blue Devils got a fourth-down stop moments later, before going up 14-7 at the 6:43 mark of the first quarter.
However, ASU bounced back on a Sims-to-Moss 44-yard dart over the middle to knot it at 14.
With 6:06 remaining in the first half, Duke marched 60 yards on 12 plays to make it 21-14 on a Mensah to Jeremiah Hasley 14-yard scoring play. ASU answered quickly with a 6-play, 75-yard drive in 2 minutes, 17 seconds that finished with Sims going 38 yards on the ground for the score.
After ASU’s ensuing onside kick attempt went out of bounds, Duke re-took a 7-point lead by going 44 yards in five plays to make it 28-21. ASU cut its deficit on a Jesus Gomez 54-yard field goal to make it 28-24 at recess, marking the highest-scoring halftime score in the 92 years of the Sun Bowl.
Longest field goals in ASU history
59--Zane Gonzalez (Oct. 15, 2016 at Colorado)
55--Luis Zendejas (Nov. 6, 1982 vs. Oregon State)
54--Jesus Gomez (Dec. 31, 2025 vs. Duke/Sun Bowl)
54--Luis Zendejas (Jan. 1, 1983 vs. Oklahoma/Fiesta Bowl)
54--Zane Gonzalez (Sept. 16, 2016 at UTSA)
54--Zane Gonzalez (Sept. 16, 2016 at UTSA)
Despite the first-half offensive outburst, the two teams combined for only 29 second-half points (ASU - 15, Duke - 14), but none were more important than Que’Sean Brown’s 17-yard touchdown score with 2:10 remaining in regulation. The play snapped a 15-point scoring run by the Sun Devils and pushed the Blue Devils ahead 42-39.
Arizona State’s first opportunity to re-take the lead was spoiled four plays into the drive when Duke linebacker Luke Mergott stepped in front of a Sims’ pass attempt that was intended for Derek Eusebio.
The Sun Devils did, however, have one last attempt to get the football back, but Mensah connected with Sahmir Hagans for an 8-yard reception on a fourth-down pass attempt with under 90 seconds remaining in the contest.
"Coming out of Nebraska, I just appreciate Dilly for taking a chance on me. I'm so grateful to have been here. When the time came for me to make a play, I didn't. That's probably going to be the only thing I'll think about." -- Jeff Sims
Quickies
- Jeff Sims threw for 375 yards, the fifth-most in Sun Bowl history and his 445 yards of total offense were the second-most.
- Sims became just the fifth FBS quarterback since 1996 to record 375+ passing yards and 70+ rushing yards in a game.
- Sims became just the second ASU quarterback to rush for two touchdowns in a Bowl Game, alongside Mark Malone at the 1978 Garden State Bowl against Rutgers (also two).
- Sims’ 375 passing yards against the Blue Devils were the most by any Sun Devil this season and most since Trenton Bourguet had 376 on 37-of-49 passing against Arizona on Nov. 25, 2022.
- Jalen Moss became the fourth Sun Devil with a 100-yard receiving game during the 2025 season. Moss, who entered Wednesday’s game with a single-game high of 52 receiving yards, joined Jordyn Tyson (4x), Jaren Hamilton (1x) and Malik McCain (1x) as ASU student-athletes to reach the 100-yard receiving plateau in a game this season.
- First-year Sun Devil place kicker Jesus Gomez connected on a career-long 54-yard field goal attempt with 32 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The kick was Gomez’s 22nd made field goal attempt of the season, which ties him with Zane Gonzalez (2014) for sixth place on the program’s single-season made field goal list. Gomez’s 22 field goal attempts in 2025 mark the most by an ASU place kicker since Gonzalez connected for 26 throughout the 2015 season.
- Jesus Gomez’s 54-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the second quarter marked the third-longest made field goal by a Sun Devil in program history. It was the longest made field goal by Arizona State since Oct. 15, 2016, when Zane Gonzalez made a program-best 59-yarder at Colorado. Gomez joins Gonzalez and Luis Zendejas (Nov. 6, 1982 vs. Oregon State) as the only place kickers in program history with a made field goal of 54 yards or longer.
- By surpassing the 100-yard rushing mark on the afternoon, Jason Brown, Jr., registered the seventh time this season that a Sun Devil rushed for 100 yards in a game. Brown, Jr., joins Raleek Brown (4x), Kayne Udoh (1x) and Jeff Sims (1x) as the Sun Devil student-athletes to run for 100-or-more yards in a game during the 2025 season.
- Jason Brown became the fourth Sun Devil to rush for over 100 yards in a game this season (Raleek Brown, Jeff Sims, Kanye Udoh). It is the first time that has happened since 1996 (Terry Battle, Jeff Paulk, Marlon Farlow, Michael Martin).
- Jalen Moss became the fourth Sun Devil to have over 100 receiving yards in a game this season (Jaren Hamilton, Malik McClain, Jordyn Tyson). It was the first time ASU had four or more players reach the 100+ receiving yard mark in a game in a season since 2017 (5)
- ASU’s 244 rushing yards were its fourth-most in a bowl game since 1996.
- Despite starting a patchwork offensive line that featured two first-time starters at tackle (Jalem Klemm and Champ Westbooks), a true freshman at right guard (Maki Stewart), a redshirt freshman at center (Wade Helton) and a true freshman coming into the game as a sixth man, ASU did not allow a sack in the contest. It was the third time in ASU’s final five games that the Sun Devils didn’t allow a sack, and the team allowed just two total sacks in that stretch. ASU’s two sacks in the final four games of the regular season were tied for the fourth-lowest total in the FBS in November. The five total sack yards allowed for the month were second-lowest in the country. ASU had allowed 25 sacks in the first eight games of the season (3.1 per game) before the 0.50 over the last four games.
- Arizona State and Duke combined to set a Sun Bowl single-game record for combined yards of total offense with 1,158.