Cardiac Devils? Arizona State’s close games are ‘rapidly’ aging Kenny Dillingham

TEMPE — Arizona State football and close games have become synonymous dating back to last season.

After a comeback 27-24 win over TCU on Friday, eight of the Sun Devils’ last 18 games have been decided by seven points or fewer. They’re 7-1 in those contests, the only loss coming at Mississippi State earlier this month.

ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said after the most recent nail-biter the close games are “rapidly” aging him.

the win over tcu showed the sun devils have truly high-ceiling play in their bag, but they’ve yet to put it together over four quarters.

35-year-old kenny dillingham said the close games asu keeps finding itself in are “rapidly” aging him. pic.twitter.com/Kx1rqVSujj

— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) September 27, 2025

“The guys find ways. I mean, it’s amazing,” the 35-year-old coach said postgame. “Never seen a strip fumble in a two-minute drill on our own three and then a quarterback sneak that works, that doesn’t work ’cause it’s a false start. And then there should be 30 seconds on the clock at the end of the game (but) because there’s a holding flag, it gives them a free timeout again like Mississippi State. So now there’s 1:10 left instead of 30 seconds on their final possession.

“It’s like holy cow. … It’s incredible that our team continues to find ways to get it done in in the big moments and testament to the the character of the guys we have in the team.

ASU (4-1, 2-0) had 229 more total yards of offense than TCU (3-1, 0-1) and won the turnover battle 3-1, but it still took huge plays late to swing the win after the Sun Devils went down 17-0 in the first half.

Jordyn Tyson jumpstarted the offense with a 57-yard bomb late in the first half to get ASU on the board and later scored the game-tying touchdown with 1:50 remaining. The Biletnikoff Award candidate finished with 126 yards on eight catches with the two scores.

“Winners win. … Some people in the biggest moments are their best,” Dillingham said. “Some people love the ball with the game on the line, some people don’t. And uh Sam’s somebody who loves the ball with the game on the line and uh so is JT and I think uh hopefully we can not have the game on the line as much, but if we do, I hope it’s in their hands.

Sam Leavitt put forth perhaps his best effort of the season, tallying a season-high 292 passing yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also tied a season high with 62 rushing yards while scoring once on the ground.

“Just our fight, man. … Things just weren’t going our way. We still played terrible in the red zone, a lot of that’s on me,” Leavitt said postgame. “We’re just a really tough team and we just compete, make adjustments. And I mean, we always play better in the second half because we do a great job just communicating and trusting each other.

“So working out some early jitters early in the game and then we just do a great job finishing.”

The defense was also massive, holding the Horned Frogs to just three total yards of offense in the fourth quarter. ASU’s unit racked up four sacks, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovered and the game-sealing interception in the final frame.

Dillingham said the part of ASU’s five-game start to the season that makes him feel best is the fact the Sun Devils are winning games against good teams without playing to their full capabilities.

Capitalizing on drives is one of the most important improvements they have to make, as ASU turned it over on downs after three straight incompletions near the goal line on one fourth-quarter drive and had to settle for field goal tries on two other late drives, one of which was missed.

Up next for Arizona State

The Sun Devils will get their first bye week, and a slightly longer one than usual because of the Friday game. Don’t get it twisted: Dillingham’s happy it’s here.

“I want to do absolutely nothing tomorrow,” the coach said. “Now, we have some recruits in town so I got to get up in the morning at 7 a.m. and start to do that but, uh, yeah. I am so fired up for this bye week. I couldn’t be more fired up for this bye week.”

This might be a good time for it too, as ASU was without five players from its regular rotation against TCU, and starting cornerback Javan Robinson tweaked his ankle during the game.

On the other side of the off week, the Sun Devils will head up to Salt Lake City for a matchup against Utah (3-1, 0-1), which plays at West Virginia on Saturday before taking a bye along with ASU.

The Big 12 has not yet announced the kickoff time for the game scheduled for Oct. 11.

Related

Prince Dorbah, Arizona State defense stand tall to pull out comeback vs. No. 24 TCUJordyn Tyson's 57-yard TD gives ASU a lifeline vs. TCU when it needed it mostDillingham wants ASU’s starting QB named by 9-10 days ahead of opener at the latestCan Kenny Dillingham overcome challenges to keep momentum going at Arizona State?LSU cancels home-and-home series with ASUCam Skattebo can’t quite stick landing on backflip during Fanatics Fest