Sam Leavitt Branded the Culprit After Kenny Dillingham’s Tough ASU Admission

Kenny Dillingham‘s Arizona State was predicted to carry on its momentum in Week 2. Just that no one told Mississippi State about those predictions. And the tables were turned in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter. With 30 seconds left, Bulldogs’ Blake Shapen threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Brenen Thompson, and Starkville erupted into cheers over a 24-20 victory. Meanwhile, the Devils’ fate could have been averted, but a late interception sealed Sam Leavitt’s Week 2 campaign in an upset. And now the QB1 is facing the heat. The way that the saga unfolded, David Pollack has some strong opinions.

Talking about Arizona State’s sluggish momentum, David Pollack took a biting take on Sam Leavitt. “I mean, that was just crazy because they (Mississippi State) kind of dominated the football game, you know,” David Pollack said on his show. The Bulldogs carried the momentum since the first drive, reaching the end zone 1:09 into the game. Next came a 37-yard field goal by Mississippi State. The first quarter concluded with 10-0. The Devils concluded a horrific first quarter, with Leavitt being 1-for-7 throwing the ball. Not just that, they were flagged four times for 29 yards.

What followed next were two back-to-back turnovers by the Bulldogs, one being a failure to convert on the fourth down and the other an interception. The Bulldogs increased the lead again with Brensen Thompson’s 47-yard receiving TD. Upping the score box to 17-0. The Devils were still waiting to disturb their side of the scoreboard. Pollack continued. “Down the stretch of that in the second half. 17 unanswered.”

Bleeding into the halftime, with 32 seconds remaining, the Devils got it going. A 51-yard kick on the final play of the first half contributed three points, bringing the tally to 17-3. Still loads of ground for Arizona State to cover. The analyst continued. “Listen, the Arizona State didn’t come ready to play. Like that’s their fault. The cowbells, by the way, on the broadcast were obnoxious; My son was like, “Are you kidding me?” Like, I’m so sick and tired of hearing that. I can’t imagine what they were. Starkville representing energy, making big plays. Arizona State looked flustered.”

Pollack went on. “They looked unorganized. Sam Leavitt looked like he was pressing to me. It looked like he was pressing, and at one point, he was like, “All right, scr-w this.” Like, just I’m going to do this.” After the half-time, Sam Leavitt took the lead. The Devils scored 20 unanswered points to erase the Bulldogs’ 17-0 lead. A six-yard TD run from Kanye Udoh and a two-yard TD pass from Sam Leavitt to Jordyn Tyson. Another 18-yard field goal by Jesus Gomez led the Devils to dominate the score box, 20-17.

“And then made some mistakes,” Pollack added. “They got bailed out right before the half with the penalty, and they got the long field goal just to get on the board. But they score 17 unanswered,” Pollack added. Going into the second quarter, an offensive pass interference penalty on the Devils wiped out a first down. Sam Leavitt was sacked for a 14-yard loss on the next play, forcing ASU to punt out of the back of its own end zone.

December 7 2024: Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham during the 1st half of the NCAA, College League, USA Football game between Iowa State Cyclones and the Arizona State Sun Devils at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. /CSM Arlington US – ZUMAc04_ 20241207_zma_c04_1046 Copyright: xMatthewxLynchx

What followed next was confused DB-duo Kyndrich Breedlove and Javan Robinson giving way to an agile Blake Shapen 58-yard TD throw to Brenen Thompson. The Bulldogs were in the lead again, but the Devils still had 30 seconds left on the clock to salvage it all; To flip the script. But Leavitt threw an interception, caught by Bulldogs safety Hunter Washington, sealing Arizona State’s fate.

And Sam Leavitt? He finished with 82 passing yards and two interceptions on 10-for-22 passing, with one touchdown. Previously, he had never dipped below 50% in the passing game in his career. On top of that, the Devils were penalized eight times for 49 yards. The Punting game saw its shortcomings as well. Kanyon Floyd’s first punt went out of bounds after 22 yards. The next one? Returned 20 yards the other way.

Meanwhile, Kenny Dillingham gets candid about the Devils’ week 2 performance.

Kenny Dillingham gets candid on the close defeat against Mississippi State

Kenny Dillingham’s response? It was an emotional roller coaster, affecting their win-lose column, but they still have the upcoming games to stage a comeback. The defeat does not define their future games. “We’re one play away from this press conference from being an unbelievable comeback; The goal is to be playing your best football towards the end of the season, not at the beginning of the season,” he added.

He further touched upon his roster’s comeback in the second half. “The big plays were the story of the game,” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said. “They made an explosive play. We had to take away their explosives in the second half, and we did it until the end there.”

On the other hand, the weekend saw Jeff Lebby and Starkville pour their hearts out. It was the first win since 1991 against a top-15 opponent in a non-conference game, as Lebby earned his first marquee game. Passionate Bulldogs fans spilled over to the stadium, tore down the goalpost, and carried it away out of the stadium.. The emotions rolling off the crowd thrummed throughout the station as the last campaign Bulldogs wrapped up a poor 2-10 record. And Jebb Lebby? oozing with pride. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit and Trae Young had picked Mississippi State as their “super dog” pick on College GameDay.

Coming up next, Arizona State will host Texas State next weekend.

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