OSU falls to Arizona State 42-21 after weather delay at half

By TIM WILLERT The Associated Press

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Cam Skattebo rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 121 yards and two scores to help Arizona State rout Oklahoma State 42-21 on Saturday night.

Arizona State (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) outscored Oklahoma State 21-7 in the second half following a 2 1/2 hour weather delay.

Skattebo, the Big 12 leader in all-purpose yards (161.6), became the first Arizona State player since 2015 to have more than 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game. The Sun Devils converted 10 of 16 third downs and rolled up 529 yards of total offense.

Arizona State became bowl eligible for the first time since 2019 with the win. The Sun Devils finished 3-9 overall in 2023, their final season in the Pac 12.

Alan Bowman completed 17 of 30 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown with an interception for Oklahoma State (3-6, 0-6), which has now lost six straight. The Cowboys finished with 270 yards of offense.

“In the first half we couldn’t get off the field on defense,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “We gave them opportunity after opportunity … we were only down seven, then we come out in the second half and we couldn’t put anything together offensively and we couldn’t put anything together in the throwing game.”

Oklahoma State trailed 42-14 midway through the fourth quarter when Gundy replaced Bowman with freshman Maealiuaki Smith, who took the Cowboys 49 yards in seven plays for a touchdown.

Play was suspended at halftime because of thunderstorms and lightning. A message on the big screen told fans to evacuate the stadium.

Oklahoma State’s Kyler Pearson returned the second-half kickoff 63 yards for a touchdown but a holding penalty nullified the play.

Arizona State led 21-14 at halftime on the strength of 198 yards passing and two touchdowns from Sam Leavitt, who played for the first time since cracking a rib Oct. 11.

The Takeaway
Arizona State: The Sun Devils controlled the ball for nearly 39 minutes and limited Oklahoma State to 84 yards rushing.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys have to win their final three games to reach a bowl game for the 19th straight season.

Running on Empty
Oklahoma State rushed for just 16 yards in the first half. Ollie Gordon II, the 2023 Doak Walker Award winner as the nation’s top running back, was limited to 6 yards on six carries, including a 2-yard TD run. Gordon finished with 25 yards on 11 carries. His longest run went for nine yards.

Spitting Image
ASU defensive end Justin Wodtly was ejected from the game late in the first quarter for spitting on an OSU player following an interception by teammate Javan Robinson. It was college football’s second spitting incident in less than a month. On October 12th, Oregon wide receiver Traeshon Holden was ejected in the second quarter of the Ducks’ 32-31 win over Ohio State for spitting at Buckeyes cornerback Davison Igbinosun.

Up Next
Oklahoma State visits TCU on Saturday.