For the first twenty minutes on Friday night, it looked like Arizona State was headed for a long evening. Down 17 to 0 before the crowd at Mountain America Stadium had even settled in, the Sun Devils could not move the ball, could not get stops, and seemed out of rhythm on both sides. Then something clicked.

Quarterback Sam Leavitt found his groove midway through the second quarter, hitting Jordyn Tyson deep down the sideline for a 57 yard touchdown that completely changed the tone of the game. The energy in Tempe shifted, and suddenly the Sun Devils looked alive. From there, the comeback was on.

By the time the second half rolled around, Arizona State was in full control of the tempo. Leavitt mixed quick passes with designed runs, and running back Raleek Brown began carving up TCU’s front with steady gains. The defense, which had been shredded early, started getting pressure and forcing mistakes. Leavitt tied the game himself with a short touchdown run late in the third quarter, and what once looked like a blowout had turned into a slugfest.

TCU briefly regained the lead early in the fourth, but the Sun Devils never blinked. Leavitt stayed poised and kept pushing the ball downfield, connecting again with Tyson for a clutch touchdown to even the score with under two minutes to play. On the next defensive series, linebacker Prince Dorbah came up huge, stripping the ball from TCU’s quarterback to give ASU a chance to finish it. That set the stage for kicker Jesús Gómez, who shook off earlier misses and drilled a 23 yard field goal to give Arizona State its first lead of the night. The defense shut the door from there, capping off a wild 27 to 24 comeback win.

Leavitt finished with 291 passing yards and accounted for three total touchdowns, his best game yet in maroon and gold. Tyson caught eight passes for 126 yards and two scores, hitting a career milestone in the process by surpassing 2,000 receiving yards. Brown added 134 yards on the ground, while Dorbah led a defensive unit that racked up six sacks and thirteen tackles for loss after halftime.

For TCU, the night unraveled almost as quickly as it started. The Horned Frogs managed just 269 total yards and a shocking ten rushing yards on 25 carries. They turned the ball over three times and gave up constant pressure in the second half. What began as a confident road start turned into a long, frustrating finish.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham called the win “a defining moment” for his team. And it felt like one. Arizona State did not just sneak out with a victory; it showed maturity, toughness, and belief that it can hang with anyone in the Big 12. The Sun Devils are now 4 and 1 overall and 2 and 0 in conference play, with momentum that could carry them into the heart of the season.

Friday’s comeback was not perfect, but it was gritty, emotional, and exactly the kind of performance that can spark a run. Arizona State proved that even when the start goes sideways, the finish is what counts, and on this night in Tempe, they finished strong.