After fans storm field early, No. 21 Arizona St stops Hail Mary try for 28-23 win over No. 14 BYU

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Cam Skattebo was the workhorse once again for Arizona State, carrying the Sun Devils on his back by rushing for 147 yards and three touchdowns. His reward was a well-earned celebration with fans.

Twice.

Skattebo had another big game, Sam Leavitt threw for 247 yards and No. 21 Arizona State held on in the final minutes to beat No. 14 BYU 28-23 on Saturday. The tight finish was capped by a bizarre final minute, including a premature field storming by Arizona State’s fans that took roughly 15 minutes to clear before BYU heaved a final Hail Mary that fell incomplete.

“We won the football game,” second-year coach Kenny Dillingham said. “We beat another ranked team at Mountain America Stadium. So this is all about the guys. These guys battled, these guys fought and found a way to win. Whatever happened at the end, it happened.

“You know what? We got to rush the field twice, how about that?”

Javan Robinson's interception with 1:04 left looked as if it would close it out for Arizona State, but the Sun Devils stalled on the ensuing offensive drive. Leavitt threw the ball out of bounds on fourth down and Arizona State's student section — believing the game was over — rushed the field.

But officials ruled there was 1 second left and BYU had a shot at the Hail Mary attempt from its own 49. BYU coach Kalani Sitake argued for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which would have moved the ball closer to the end zone, but didn't get it.

Thousands of fans had to be cleared from the field before Jake Retzlaff’s deep pass fell incomplete a few yards short of the end zone.

“This game didn't come down to that,” Sitake said. "That's just the game. This ref crew was awesome, they communicated well with me. We had a chance to snap the ball from the 49. We would have loved to have it closer, but that's just the game. The game wasn't won or lost in that moment.

“It was the 59 minutes and 59 seconds before.”

The surprising Sun Devils (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) have won four straight and now find themselves on the fringe of the College Football Playoff discussion. BYU (9-2, 6-2) has lost two in a row, all but dashing its CFP hopes.

Arizona State took a 28-9 lead when Leavitt hit a wide-open Xavier Guillory for a 61-yard touchdown with 2:06 left in the third quarter, but BYU rallied, cutting the margin to 28-17 less than 90 seconds later when Retzlaff hit Jojo Phillips for a 21-yard score.

After a defensive stop, BYU scored again on Keelan Marion's 1-yard touchdown run with 8:44 left. The Cougars' 2-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 28-23.

Retzlaff threw for 297 yards and a touchdown, but also had two costly interceptions. Darius Lassiter caught five passes for 103 yards.

Arizona State started the game with a defensive stop on fourth-and-5 at midfield and responded with a bruising 10-play, 54-yard drive, capped by Skattebo's 3-yard touchdown run. The 215-pound back had 44 yards on seven carries.

“The boys have fought every day,” Skattebo said. “We didn’t blink when they started scoring points.”

The Sun Devils and Skattebo were back at it in the second quarter, putting together a methodical 12-play, 95-yard march for the team's longest touchdown drive of the season.

Skattebo finished it off with a 4-yard run, slicing through the right side of the offensive line for a 14-0 lead.

Arizona State stayed aggressive with a perfectly executed onside kick that was recovered by Plas Johnson. Six plays later, Skattebo broke through the line again and sprinted 23 yards for his third touchdown of the first half.

BYU: It's been a deflating few weeks for the Cougars, who were in command of the Big 12 when the calendar turned to November.

Arizona State: The Sun Devils added to their unexpected rise with the win over the Cougars. Skattebo, Leavitt and receiver Jordyn Tyson continued their stellar seasons while the defense played extremely well for a second straight week. Arizona State was 6-0 at home this season.

Arizona State likely will jump ahead of BYU in the rankings, but the question is by how much. The Sun Devils are probably still a long shot to make the CFP but there's definitely hope.

BYU: Hosts Houston next Saturday.

Arizona State: On the road at Arizona next Saturday.

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Arizona State fans run on the field following a 28-23 win over BYU in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Tempe, Ariz.

Arizona State defensive back Shamari Simmons, center, celebrates with fans following a 28-23 win over BYU in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Devin Neal ran for 207 yards and three touchdowns, caught four passes for 80 yards and another score, and led Kansas to a 37-21 victory over No. 16 Colorado on Saturday that dealt a big blow to the Buffaloes' hopes of playing for the Big 12 title.

Jalon Daniels threw for 189 yards and a touchdown, and the Jayhawks (5-6, 4-4) scored on every offensive possession but their last, keeping Colorado stars Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy candidate Travis Hunter standing on the sideline.

“We controlled our own destiny,” Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders said afterward, “and we fumbled it.”

Now, the Buffaloes (8-3, 6-2 Big 12, No. 16 CFP) need to beat Oklahoma State next week and get some help to play for a title in their return to the Big 12, and ultimately earn the league’s guaranteed spot in the College Football Playoff.

Shedeur Sanders finished with 266 yards passing and three TDs, setting the Colorado single-season record with 30 of them, and Hunter had eight catches for 125 yards and two scores as the two-way standout continued his Heisman campaign.

Problem is Hunter did little on defense, nor did anyone else in an all-white uniform. Kansas controlled the ball for more than 40 minutes, piled up 331 yards rushing and finished with 520 yards of total offense.

“There was a lot of negativity hanging around about what was wrong with this program and what should be done, and all of that,” said Kansas coach Lance Leipold, whose team became the first in FBS history with a losing record to beat three straight teams in the AP Top 25. “They owned it, they kept working, they stuck together and you can see the results of that.”

The Jayhawks, whose back-to-back wins over Iowa State and BYU had given them newfound confidence, suddenly resemble the team expected to challenge for a Big 12 title, before a series of late-game collapses resulted in a 1-5 start.

“We've just played with an extra edge, just in general these last three weeks. We have a different motivation,” said Neal, who also became the first player in Kansas history with three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. “Eventually we were just tired of losing — tired of losing the close ones. We knew what we had to do. It was a matter of doing it.”

The Jayhawks sure did it Saturday, opening the scoring with Neal's 51-yard touchdown catch. They forced a three-and-out and scored again for a 10-0 lead. And when they got the ball back yet again, taking advantage of a misfiring Colorado offense, Kansas churned down field and Neal scampered into the end zone for another score.

It was 17-0 before Hunter, who has emerged as the Heisman front-runner, took a short pass from Sanders and cut up field, deftly slipping between several Kansas defenders and going untouched 51 yards for a touchdown.

The teams traded scores into the break, the Jayhawks holding tight to a 23-14 advantage. The question became whether Leipold and the Jayhawks would rue kicking field goals of 24, 23 and 25 yards rather than going for those first-half touchdowns.

Nope.

After the Buffaloes closed within 23-21 on Hunter's second TD catch, the Jayhawks marched 80 yards with Neal answering the score. Kansas immediately forced a three-and-out, sacking Sanders on third down — he appeared to shove an official in the back after the play — and the Neal scored again to cap an 8-plus minute drive and give the Jayhawks a 37-21 lead.

Colorado's comeback chances ended when Cobee Bryant broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth down late in the game.

“It was fun in the locker room, man,” Bryant said, "just to see the whole team smiling, having fun, jumping around.”

Colorado will lament a defense that was simply incapable of stopping the Jayhawks. Defensive back Shilo Sanders was flagged twice and gave up several big plays, while the Buffaloes were bullied up front by the Kansas offensive line.

Kansas could improbably make a bowl game for a third straight season for the first time in school history. The Jayhawks merely need to beat Baylor in their regular-season finale to earn an invitation.

Colorado plays Oklahoma State on Friday.

Kansas visits Baylor on Saturday.

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Kansas linebacker Taiwan Berryhill Jr. (6) tries to tackle Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)