{"id":22053,"date":"2025-10-26T18:13:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T18:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/22053\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T18:13:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T18:13:19","slug":"arizona-states-loss-to-houston-shows-how-vulnerable-mistake-prone-sun-devils-have-become","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/22053\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona State\u2019s loss to Houston shows how vulnerable mistake-prone Sun Devils have become"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEMPE, Ariz. \u2014 Kenny Dillingham entered the media room Saturday night just as two Arizona State players answered their final questions. The third-year head coach set his stat sheet on the table, removed his cap and sat down. He wiped his brow and exhaled.<\/p>\n

Life in the Big 12 is a walk on the tight rope, leaning this way and that, trying to maintain balance, one small step at a time. On Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium, the No. 24 Sun Devils slipped, losing their first home game since the end of the 2023 season, a streak of 10 reset back to zero.<\/p>\n

Houston\u2019s impressive 24-16 win<\/a> might have cemented its status as a legit conference contender, which, having traveled this journey a year ago, even Arizona State fans had to appreciate. Last season, no one expected much of the Sun Devils, and they finished as Big 12 champs. This season, no one expected much of the Cougars. Yet they keep winning.<\/p>\n

Truth is, Arizona State (5-3, 3-2 in the Big 12) has wobbled for much of this season. Despite returning four starters on the offensive line, the Sun Devils have struggled with protection. Despite having an elite quarterback in Sam Leavitt, they are terrible in the red zone. Making matters worse: Another hurdle \u2014 or injury \u2014 seems to surface every week.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the Sun Devils played without standout wide receiver Jordyn Tyson because of a hamstring injury. They also twice lost Leavitt to health mishaps. The quarterback returned after the first following a brief trip to the locker room. He did not return after the second. Leavitt and Tyson\u2019s status for next week\u2019s trip to Iowa State remains unclear.<\/p>\n

\"Conner<\/p>\n

\n Houston quarterback Conner Weigman rushed for 111 yards, to go with 201 through the air, and accounted for all three Cougars touchdowns in the win. (Christian Petersen \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

At the postgame news conference, Dillingham did not shortchange Tyson\u2019s absence. Had the Sun Devils had Tyson, he said, they might have survived their mistakes. Without him, they had little chance. \u201cYou got to look at the facts,\u201d Dillingham said before rattling off a laundry list of miscues against Houston.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost the turnover battle,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had too many penalties. We lost field position and couldn\u2019t stop the plus-one run game. Those have nothing to do with Jordyn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dillingham feared this. He had talked this week about the challenges of playing after an emotional win. On Oct. 18, the Sun Devils, coming off a blowout loss at Utah, regrouped and defeated then-No. 7 Texas Tech. Fans rushed the field, which earned Arizona State a $50,000 fine from the conference. Sign of the times: Athletic director Graham Rossini suggested during a recent radio interview that Arizona State, a repeat field-storm offender last season, had budgeted for such a thing.<\/p>\n

But Houston was not to be overlooked, Dillingham kept saying. Good football teams win games. The Cougars (7-1, 4-1 in the Big 12) had lost only to Texas Tech, a game in which three turnovers contributed significantly to the 35-11 result. Saturday\u2019s game in the desert proved as much. And it showcased just how vulnerable Arizona State has become.<\/p>\n

The Sun Devils missed two field goals, from 31 and 42 yards, one the result of a bad snap. They had a touchdown nullified because of an illegal shift penalty. They failed to slow Houston quarterback Conner Weigman, who rushed for 111 yards. They trailed 24-0 after three quarters.<\/p>\n

Leavitt (18 of 35 for 270 yards and a touchdown) rallied Arizona State briefly in the fourth quarter. He threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cameron Harpole to pull the Sun Devils within 24-6. After a Houston punt, Leavitt engineered a 50-yard drive that led to a Jesus Gomez 47-yard field goal. But during that possession, Leavitt hurt himself. He did not return for the game\u2019s final seven minutes. Overall, Arizona State produced 426 yards but had little to show for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny loss sucks, especially at home,\u201d Arizona State linebacker Keyshaun Elliott said.<\/p>\n

Dillingham called Leavitt\u2019s first injury a \u201cscare,\u201d but said the second would require additional examination. He declined to discuss the nature of the injuries. Backup Jeff Sims finished Saturday\u2019s game and threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chamon Metayer. With two minutes left, Arizona State took possession with a chance to tie but could not secure a first down.<\/p>\n

Recently, Dillingham had discussed how quickly perception changes in this sport. How a team can go from the castle to the outhouse overnight. \u201cThere\u2019s no middle ground,\u201d Dillingham said. \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as average or good. You\u2019re either great or you\u2019re horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not wrong, but that\u2019s the price of expectations. It\u2019s what he and the Sun Devils have created. The positive view: Dillingham reminded his players that they had the same 3-2 conference record last season at this time. From there, they won six in a row to advance to the College Football Playoff<\/a>.\u00a0 The negative: A streak like that would require balance, health and consistency. Arizona State may not be capable.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny how you can get lost in this whole thing,\u201d Dillingham said. \u201cWe just got to go get better. Everybody\u2019s got to look themselves in the mirror \u2014 coaches, players, everybody \u2014 and we got to go improve. That\u2019s all you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEMPE, Ariz. \u2014 Kenny Dillingham entered the media room Saturday night just as two Arizona State players answered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[414,261,56,2742,58,57],"class_list":{"0":"post-22053","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-arizona-state-sun-devils","9":"tag-college-football","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-cougars","12":"tag-houston-headlines","13":"tag-houston-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}