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Arizona State pulled off a thrilling comeback under the desert lights Friday night, erasing a 17-point deficit to upset No. 24 TCU, 27-24, at Mountain America Stadium. Kicker Jesus Gomez delivered the game-winning 23-yard field goal with 1:14 left, capping a wild finish and giving the Sun Devils their second straight heart-stopping win.
The Sun Devils (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) looked dead in the water early, falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter. But freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt engineered a gritty rally, throwing for 278 yards and two touchdowns—both to Jordyn Tyson, who finished with eight catches for 126 yards.
Leavitt and Tyson connected on a 4-yard score with 1:50 remaining to tie the game at 24. Just moments later, defensive end Prince Dorbuh came up with a game-changing strip sack of TCU quarterback Josh Hoover, setting Arizona State up at the Horned Frogs’ 15-yard line. The Sun Devils flirted with going for it on fourth-and-inches, but ultimately sent out Gomez, who buried the short kick despite missing twice earlier in the game.
It’s the second week in a row Gomez has played the closer—he hit a 43-yard field goal as time expired in last week’s win over Baylor. This time, the defense iced it, as Martell Hughes intercepted Hoover in the final seconds to seal the win.
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Raleek Brown added a huge boost on the ground, rushing for 147 yards, as ASU extended its winning streak against Big 12 opponents to eight games.
For TCU (3-1, 0-1 Big 12), the night was a missed opportunity. The Horned Frogs dominated early and led 24-17 in the fourth quarter after Hoover’s 1-yard quarterback sneak. The defense made two critical stands inside the 5-yard line, but it couldn’t overcome six sacks, three turnovers, and a rushing attack that managed just 10 yards on 25 carries.
What looked like a statement road win for TCU turned into a statement of resilience from Arizona State, which now finds itself firmly in the Big 12 conversation—and with a flair for the dramatic.
TCU quarterback Josh Hoover was 20-32 for 242 yards, and the backfield pair of Trent Battle and Jeremy Payne each found the end zone. Defensively, Kaleb Elarms-Orr led the Horned Frogs with 13 tackles, a season high.
Despite the loss, the Horned Frogs found the end zone to push their scoring streak to 411 consecutive games, the second longest streak in NCAA history — trailing only Florida (465).
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