Sun Devil Football Postgame Notes vs. Mississippi State

GOLD RUSH

• Arizona State has rushed for 587 yards in its first two games (241 vs. Wyoming, 346 tonight). It is the most since the first two games to open the 2016 season (577 yards).
• The 346 rushing yards by ASU are the eighth-most by the program since 1996.

TOP RUSHING GAMES (1996-PRESENT)
450 at Arizona, Nov. 23, 1996
423 at New Mexico, Sept. 6, 2014
405 vs. Oregon, Nov. 15, 1997
396 vs. Oregon State, Sept. 29, 2018
381 vs. Colorado, Nov. 4, 2017
381 vs. Navy (Hunger Bowl), Dec. 29, 2012
375 at Oregon State, Dec. 19, 2020
364 vs. Mississippi State, Sept. 7, 2024
344 vs. Oregon, Oct. 29, 2015
331 vs. Oregon, Sept. 28, 1996

• It is the most rushing yards Mississippi State has allowed since triple option Georgia Tech ran for 452 yards in the Orange Bowl 12/13/14. 

YES HE CAM

• Cam Skattebo put together a record setting performance, playing a critical role in the Sun Devils 30-23 win.
• Skattebo finished with 262 rushing yards, the second-most ever by a Sun Devil.

SUN DEVIL 232-YARD RUSHING GAMES
312-Eno Benjamin vs. Oregon State (Sept. 29, 2018/30 carries, 3 TDs)
262 - Cam Skattebo vs. Mississippi State (Sept. 7, 2024/32 carries, 0 TDs)
251-Ben Malone at Oregon State (Oct. 27, 1973/24 carries, 5 TDs)
243-Leon Burton vs. Hardin-Simmons (Oct. 10, 1955/5 carries)
239-Art Malone vs. New Mexico (Nov. 2, 1968/29 carries)
236-Wilford White at Brigham Young (Sept. 23, 1950/30 carries)
232-Wilford White at Northern Arizona (Oct. 7, 1950/18 carries)

• 93 of Skattebo’s yards came in the fourth quarter, including a game-best 39-yard run on the final drive to seal the victory.
• He becomes the first Sun Devil to go over 30 carries since Rachaad White had 32 carries against Washington on Nov. 13, 2021.
• It is the most rushing yards by one individual against Mississippi State since at least 2004.
• His 137 rushing yards at half was the most by a Sun Devil since Eno Benjamin had 185 against Oregon State on Sept. 29, 2018.
• He now has 14 total 100+ rushing yard performances in his career, with four coming at Arizona State.

CAM SKATTEBO SUN DEVIL 100-YARD RUSHING TILTS 
262 vs. Mississippi State, Sept. 7, 2024 (33 carries)
121 vs. Washington State, Oct. 28, 2023 (11 carries/1 TD)
111 vs. USC, Sept. 23, 2023 (20 carries/1 TD)
108 vs. Arizona, Nov. 25, 2023 (17 carries/1 TD)
 
QUICK HITS

• Opening the season with back-to-back turnover games is the first time ASU has had zero turnovers in back-to-back games since doing so in wins over Arizona and Oregon State in 2020 (12/11-12/19).
• Sam Leavitt ran for the first two touchdowns of his career. He now has 115 yards on 19 carries (6.1 yards per carry) so far this season.
• Mississippi State put up 56 points last week, but were held to 23 this week against the Sun Devils. Bulldogs' first-year head coach Jeff Lebby was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma where his unit averaged 41.4 points per game during the 2023-24 season. 
• Arizona State controlled the clock, possessing the ball an incredible 40:13 and holding the Bulldogs to under 20 minutes of possession. ASU has won the possession battle by at least 15 minutes in both games this season.
• The ASU defense finished with seven tackles for loss, with nine different Sun Devils accounting for at least 0.5 a TFL.
• Head Coach Kenny Dillingham's aggressiveness paid off as the Maroon & Gold were a perfect 3-for-3 on fourth downs tonight.

FAST STARTS

• The Sun Devils outscored Mississippi State 27-3 in the first half. They have now outscored their opponents 54-3 in the first half of the season so far.
• Arizona State scored on each of their first five offensive possessions (two touchdowns; three field goals). 

HERSHEY’S KISS

• Kicker Ian Hershey was a big factor in the win, coming through for the Sun Devil offense.
• He finished the night 3-for-3 on his kicks, a career-best for made field goals in a game.
• Hershey connected from 27, 46, and 47 yards, the last of which was a career-high.
• He is the first Sun Devil kicker to make two field goals of 45+ yards since Zane Gonzalez did it at Colorado on Oct. 15, 2016.
• Hershey accounted for 12 points for the Sun Devils. 

DOMINANT D

• Arizona State allowed 118 yards to Wyoming and 292 yards to Mississippi State. It is the first time they have held consecutive opponents to under 300 yards of offense since the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl against Wisconsin and the 2022 season opening win over NAU.
• ASU has allowed only 64 rushing yards combined in the two games. It is the fewest during a two-game span since they allowed -3 yards combined in wins over Washington (10/19/13) and Washington State (10/31/13).
• The Sun Devils have three defensive touchdowns through two games. It is the first time they’ve had two scores on defense in a two-game span since Notre Dame (2 INT TD) and Oregon State (1 FR TD) on Nov. 8, 2014 & Nov. 15, 2014.

THE ASU VICTORY...

• Is the first win over an SEC team in ASU’s program history. ASU adds this victory to their three wins over Missouri and one over Oklahoma, but neither school was in the SEC at the time of those victories.
• Gives ASU a 2-0 start to the season where BOTH victories were over FBS schools for the first time since 2018 (UTSA/Michigan St.).
• Gives ASU three wins over its last five games dating back to last season.
• Ends Mississippi State’ 10-game winning streak in non-conference games, dating back to Sept. 3, 2022.

MILESTONE WATCH

• Running back Cam Skattebo is 8 rushing yards away from reaching 3,000 rushing yards in his career (currently at 2,992). He is 45 all-purpose yards away from reaching 4,000 all-purpose yards in his career (currently at 3,955).
• He is also 167 receiving yards away from reaching 1,000 receiving yards in his career (currently at 833)
• Skattebo is 2 games played away from appearing in 40 games in his career (currently at 38)
• Wide receiver Xavier Guillory is 375 receiving yards away from reaching 2,000 receiving yards in his career (currently at 1,625)
• Wide receiver Melquan Stovall is 86 receiving yards away from reaching 1,500 receiving yards in his career (currently at 1,414). Stovall is 3 games played away from appearing in 50 games in his career (currently at 47)
• Linebacker Caleb McCullough is 7 games played away from appearing in 40 games in his career, all in an ASU uniform (currently at 33)
• Linebacker Keyshaun Elliott reached 150 tackles with his five tackle performance.
•  Defensive back Shamari Simmons is 12 tackles away from registering 200 tackles in his career (currently at 188).
• Simmons needs 2 more pass defenses to reach 30 passes defended in his career (currently at 28)

Connor Smith