Arizona State Beats Iowa State for Big 12 Championship
The 15th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff in dominating fashion with a 45-19 win over No. 16 Iowa State in the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship at AT&T Stadium.
Arizona St. won the title in its inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference. This was also their first ever win in the postseason title game in school history in any conference.
Cam Skattebo was named the Big 12 Most Outstanding Player with 170 yards on 16 carries and two rushing touchdowns. He also had a 33-yard touchdown reception as part of his 208 total yards.
He rushed for 140 yards in the first half, the first player with 100+ rushing yards in the first half since 2004’s Big 12 Championship when Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson with 100 yards against Colorado at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Skattebo is the fifth player with 150+ yards and two or more rushing touchdowns in the Big 12 Championship.
The Sun Devils lead 24-10 at halftime in the midst of a 35-0 run starting in the second quarter that tied for the second-most unanswered points in a Big 12 Championship all-time.
Redshirt freshman Sam Leavitt quarterback joins University of Texas’ Vince Young as the second player with three or more passing touchdowns and at least one rushing touchdown in a Big 12 Championship.
Following last year’s 3-9 campaign, Arizona State currently sits at 11-2. The only thing left for them is to see if this victory puts them ahead of Boise State in the CFP rankings into the semifinals and a first round bye.
“It just shows what we can be. With the right direction, with the right players who are committed to the program and committed to work, I think you can achieve anything here,” Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “People have always said this place is a sleeping giant. I think guys have bought into not just Arizona State, to the city, to the community, the weather. It’s like they’ve bought into everything that the Valley, Tempe, Arizona State has to offer. That’s what’s special is these guys are members of the people. Like they love it there, and I think that’s special.”
