No. 14 BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) at No. 21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2)
- Kickoff: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MST
- Venue: Mountain America Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
- TV: ESPN
- Livestream: https://www.espn.com/watch
- Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.
- Series: Arizona State leads, 20-8
- Weather: Sunny skies throughout the day, with temperatures approaching 80 degrees by kickoff. A slight breeze from the south, with gusts reaching 5 mph on some occasions. In other words, about 50 degrees warmer than last Saturday’s game in Provo.
The trends
For BYU: The Cougars are coming off their first loss of the 2024 season, a 17-13 setback in Provo to Kansas that saw BYU get only six points out of four red-zone possessions. A fluky bounce — a pooch punt clanked off the helmet of BYU’s Evan Johnson — led to KU’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.
BYU downed ASU 27-17 in Provo in the schools’ last meeting, which was also the last meeting in which the Cougars and Sun Devils were both ranked. BYU was No. 23 and Arizona State was No. 19, and featured now-NFL quarterback Jayden Daniels.
For Arizona State: The Sun Devils welcome BYU to Tempe for the first time since 1997, when BYU got a field goal from Owen Pochman with just over four minutes remaining to win 13-10 at Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona State was picked to finish dead last, 16th, in the Big 12 before the season started, but have flourished in 34-year-old coach Kenny Dillingham’s second season. Eleven BYU players hail from the state of Arizona, and nine are from the Phoenix-Gilbert-Chandler area, most notably receiver Darius Lassiter and safety Tommy Prassas.
What to watch for
The Cougars got banged up a bit in the 17-13 loss to Kansas, as safety Crew Wakley and linebacker Jack Kelly left the game with ailments. Kelly returned after sustaining a bruise to his knee, while Wakley stayed out and is questionable for Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury. Redshirt freshman Raider Damuni and true freshman Faletau Satuala played in Wakley’s place and performed well, as BYU held Kansas to season lows in almost every offensive category.
Colorado transfer Isaiah Jatta will make his second start at right tackle, after starter Brayden Keim was injured in the last possession against Utah.
The Sun Devils got out to a 24-0 lead before beating Kansas State 24-14 last weekend in Manhattan, Kansas, and are one of the hottest teams in college football. Junior running back Cam Skattebo is one of the top RBs in the country, and a Doak Walker award candidate. Arizona State has struggled at the quarterback position the past few years, but Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt — whose father, Jared, played linebacker for BYU — has rescued the program with outstanding play.
Arizona State is still alive for a berth in the Big 12 championship game with two league losses, but will be eliminated from that race if it loses to visiting BYU on Saturday.
Key player
Jake Retzlaff, junior, quarterback, BYU: The junior from Corona, California, has been BYU’s most valuable player in 2024 and a big reason why the Cougars climbed as high as No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings. But he struggled in the 17-13 loss to Kansas, throwing a devastating interception at the end of the first half and failing to deliver touchdowns in any of four trips inside the red zone.
If the game turns into a shootout, as it easily could, Retzlaff will need to return to his pre-Kansas form and put in one of his best performances as a Cougar for BYU to win. Avoiding turnovers will be huge, as well as building an early lead to keep ASU’s crowd from becoming a factor.
Quotable
“We have to be humble and be hungry and be able to move on to the next one and be ready for Super Bowl 11. Obviously, Super Bowl 10 didn’t go our way. … We gotta move on to the next one and find ways to get better. You just can’t let the sting of a game, or the excitement and energy of a win of a game, affect the next week. That is what we gotta get back to.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“The one thing I would say is if you have tickets and you are an ASU fan, make sure they go to ASU fans, right? There are a lot of BYU fans in the Valley, right? So let’s make sure if you are an ASU fan, and you own a ticket, and you are selling it or are giving it away, make (purchasers) show you an ASU hat, or an ASU shirt, show something ASU in order to get that ticket because I think it is one of the most expensive tickets in college football right now.” — ASU coach Kenny Dillingham
Next up
- BYU: vs. Houston on Saturday, Nov. 30
- Arizona State: at Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 30
BYU schedule
- Aug. 31 — Defeated Southern Illinois, 41-13
- Sept. 6 — Defeated SMU, 18-15
- Sept. 14 — Defeated Wyoming, 34-14
- Sept. 21 — Defeated Kansas State, 38-9
- Sept. 28 — Defeated Baylor, 34-28
- Oct. 5 — Bye
- Oct. 12 — Defeated Arizona, 41-19
- Oct. 18 — Defeated Oklahoma State, 38-35
- Oct. 26 — Defeated Central Florida, 37-24
- Nov. 2 — Bye
- Nov. 9 — Defeated Utah, 22-21
- Nov. 16 — Lost to Kansas, 17-13
- Nov. 23 — at Arizona State
- Nov. 30 — Houston