Jesus Gomez atoned for two earlier missed field goal attempts with a 23-yard kick with 1:14 left to play, and Arizona State’s defense delivered in a 27-24 upset of No. 24 TCU on Friday night in Tempe, Ariz.
After trailing by 17 in the first half, the Sun Devils (4-1, 2-0 in Big 12) sealed the win with Martell Hughes’ interception of Josh Hoover with 44 seconds left.
Arizona State tied the game with a Sam Leavitt-to-Jordyn Tyson 4-yard touchdown pass with 1:50 to go. Then defensive lineman Prince Dorbah sacked Hoover and recovered the quarterback’s fumble.
That set up Gomez for the go-ahead kick, even though two penalties on Arizona State stopped the clock and gave TCU another chance to get the ball back.
Two turnovers on downs, including one in the red zone early in the fourth quarter, hurt Arizona State, which outgained TCU 498-269.
TCU (3-1, 0-1) was held to 10 rushing yards, but came up big when the Sun Devils gambled on fourth down. The Horned Frogs started fast, scoring on three consecutive possessions in the first half to take a 17-0 lead.
Running backs Trent Battle and Jeremy Payne scored rushing touchdowns for a 14-0 second quarter lead, and after the Horned Frogs made their first fourth-down stop, Nate McCashland kicked a 27-yard field for a 17-point lead midway the first half.
The Sun Devils rallied quickly. Leavitt found Tyson, his favorite target this season, for a 57-yard touchdown pass. Leavitt ran 8 yards for a touchdown before halftime to make it 17-14.
Down seven, Arizona State staged a late fourth-quarter drive, helped by a pass interference call on fourth down and a roughing-the-passer call inside the Horned Frogs’ 20-yard line. The Sun Devils went for it again on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line with under two minutes to play, and Leavitt found Tyson again for the game-tying score.
