Arizona State’s Long Drives Get Three Points; Baylor’s Long Runs Get Seven

At 4:44 of the third quarter, Carson Smith’s 36-yard field goal gave Arizona State a little more life at 38-16. Thirteen seconds later, Caden Knighten took Baylor’s next snap 75 yards for a touchdown. The scoreboard had barely processed three points before Baylor had answered with seven. That sequence captured the night better than any possession total could.

Arizona State lost 55-19 to Baylor on Saturday at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, with the Phoenix-area program showing enough offensive movement to make its lack of touchdowns especially costly. ASU produced 409 yards. Baylor produced 564. The difference was how much damage each team created when a drive reached a critical stretch.

Baylor’s two long rushing touchdowns were the loudest examples. Ryelan Morris broke a 63-yard run for a first-quarter score at 9:13, and Knighten’s 75-yarder came immediately after Arizona State’s third field goal. Those plays alone covered 138 yards and supplied 14 points. Baylor finished with 244 rushing yards at 6.8 yards per carry, while ASU managed 99 yards on the ground at 3.3 per attempt.

That does not mean every Baylor handoff found daylight. Michael Turner accumulated 51 yards across 10 carries, while Dawson Pendergrass added 29. Knighten’s six carries totaled 84 yards largely because one run did nearly all the work.

Still, two breakdowns that become touchdowns from beyond midfield are more than statistical decoration. They change field position, score, and the opponent’s next decision all at once. Arizona State’s defense allowed Baylor’s most dangerous answers to be instant ones.

DJ Lagway supplied the steadier portion of Baylor’s offense. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. His touchdown passes went to Tony Livingston, Louis Brown IV, Hawkins Polley and Jadon Porter, giving Baylor several ways to finish rather than asking one receiver to carry the evening.

Baylor’s third-quarter opening drive illustrated that efficiency. Starting at its own 23, the Bears covered 77 yards in nine plays. Lagway connected with Gavin Freeman for 31 yards, then found Porter for 22 more before Polley finished the possession from three yards out at 11:38.

After Arizona State’s interception later in the quarter, Baylor needed only five plays to travel 40 yards for Porter’s eight-yard touchdown. Short fields helped on that second sequence, but Baylor still had to convert the opportunity. It did.

Arizona State’s offense offered legitimate counterevidence to the ugly score. Cutter Boley threw for 304 yards and a touchdown. Reed Harris caught seven passes for 125 yards, and Omarion Miller added 85 receiving yards and the Sun Devils’ lone touchdown, a 30-yard catch with 1:51 remaining before halftime.

ASU also mounted a 61-yard second-quarter drive and a 64-yard third-quarter march. Both possessions ended with field goals rather than punts, which is progress in the narrow sense and insufficient against an opponent scoring touchdowns.

The finishing gap was especially plain near the goal line. Smith made all four of his attempts—46, 32, 36 and 40 yards—but Arizona State converted only 4 of 15 third downs and went 0-for-2 on fourth down. The 13-play drive that reached the Baylor 19 ended with the 36-yarder.

In the fourth quarter, an eight-play possession reached the Baylor 23 before producing the 40-yard kick. Those drives showed movement without enough payoff. A long possession is not automatically a successful possession when the other sideline keeps turning similar territory into six points.

The three turnovers widened the gap, though blaming the entire loss on them would be too convenient. Arizona State lost two fumbles and threw one interception; Baylor finished with none. The opening-quarter fumble ended a promising march at the Baylor 28.

Boley’s interception came at the ASU 34 with 10:28 left in the third, and Baylor converted that field position into Porter’s touchdown. Those errors mattered because Baylor punished them, but ASU had already surrendered Morris’ 63-yard score and trailed 21-3 before halftime.

The sharper accounting is broader: Arizona State moved the ball, failed to finish enough drives, and gave Baylor too many chances to turn one play into a major event. Baylor’s 9-of-15 performance on third down kept its offense on schedule, while its clean turnover sheet removed the escape routes ASU might have needed.

For the Sun Devils, 409 yards became a footnote because the explosive plays and the finishing plays belonged almost entirely to Baylor.

Sources

Baylor: game report

ESPN: game statistics and play-by-play