TEMPE — No. 24 Arizona State had wind in its sails after an upset win over then-No. 7 Texas Tech, but it immediately became entangled by its own making in a 24-16 loss to Houston. The Sun Devils were held scoreless in the first half at home for the first time since November 2023, when Oregon shut them out for the first two quarters in a 49-13 loss, as countless mental errors kept them from competing with the Cougars for the first 45 minutes of the game.

Two major lapses were especially problematic. As a sluggish first quarter entered its final minute of action, ASU looked to have built momentum by recovering a fumble with Houston on the 1-yard line, but senior safety Myles Rowser lined up offside, allowing Houston quarterback Connor Weigman to quarterback sneak in for a touchdown the very next play to go up 10-0.

Once Houston built a 17-0 lead midway through the third quarter, sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt delivered a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Chamon Metayer, but an illegal shift negated the score. Several plays later, senior Jesus Gomez missed a 42-yard field goal. Houston then drove down the field to score another touchdown and take a 24-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“We couldn’t stay in a good enough rhythm,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “Then we weren’t efficient when we were actually moving the ball. We didn’t get points, which is the goal of the game. There’s easily 10 points in that game just off that play alone (illegal motion call).”

After making nine of his first 10 field goals to begin the year, Gomez has missed five of his last 13 attempts, including two from inside 45 yards Saturday night. While his first attempt included a high snap from senior Cade Davis that was difficult to recover from, the snap and hold on his second attempt seemed accurate enough for a quality kick that was badly missed.

The Sun Devils also suffered three separate holding penalties on kick and punt returns, negating a trio of 29-yard returns. They lost 62 total yards of field position on three penalties, starting inside their own 20 instead of near midfield. Their 12 penalties tied the most under Dillingham, a record set against NAU this year. Their 64 penalties are the most by any Big 12 team this century, as they entered play on Saturday tied as the ninth-most penalized team in FBS.

On ASU’s side of kicks, sophomore punter Kanyon Floyd failed to effectively flip the field, averaging just 39.2 yards on four punts. Houston began just one drive inside its own 25-yard line as a result of Floyd’s punting, as its average starting position was on its own 36, doubling ASU’s average at its 18-yard line.

Redshirt freshman Zechariah Sample also fair caught a ball at ASU’s 5-yard line before its final drive of the game.

“All across the board, we gotta play better,” Dillingham said. “We didn’t play good enough as a football team tonight. That was one of the phases that didn’t play good enough, but all the phases have to play better. There are different mistakes happening on different things.”

The Sun Devils struggled early with Houston’s pass rush, as the Cougars sacked Leavitt four times while recording five total tackles for loss. ASU’s offensive line has been plagued with injuries in recent weeks, as Dillingham rotated players in and out in an attempt to find the best combination on his offensive line, but no five players could soundly keep Leavitt safe for long.

​Without his top target, junior receiver Jordyn Tyson, Leavitt was flushed out of the pocket early and often, with the run game providing fruitless support. The Sun Devils falling behind early also forced a more aggressive game plan, but minimal gains on early downs provided an uphill battle.

“They’re a big twist team,” Dillingham said. “I think the TFLs early were getting us behind the chains. Then they were doing a nice job on third down, because you’re not going to be productive with third and longs.”

TYSON ABSENCE COSTLY

With Tyson out, the rest of ASU’s receiver corps were tasked with the strenuous challenge of filling the gaping hole the projected first-round NFL draft pick left in his wake. Senior receiver Malik McClain was the only pass catcher to eclipse 100 yards, posting a career-high seven catches for 159 yards. In the three games McClain has played in without Tyson lining up across the field from him, he has caught nine catches for 244 yards, as the former four-star prospect has showcased his talent when the spotlight is on him.

Behind McClain, Metayer caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, serving as a reliable safety blanket for Leavitt and senior quarterback Jeff Sims, who delivered the 27-yard touchdown to him late in the fourth quarter.​

“It was awesome to see Malik flash tonight,” Dillingham said. “That showed up all spring ball and fall camp, so that could be big for us to kind of get that back as we progress toward the end of the season.”​

Even though Leavitt and Sims combined for 328 passing yards and Leavitt recorded his seventh-most passing yards in a game, the absence of Tyson on the field was evident for the first three quarters of the game. Time and time again, Tyson has been the playmaker that delivers in the clutch moments, and ASU missed that tremendously in its final drive, which resulted in a turnover on downs.​

Dillingham said that his status is still unclear for next week’s matchup against Iowa State, as ASU’s pass catchers may need to answer the call once again – this time, in a hostile and cold environment.​

“You’re losing the number pick at his position in college football,” Dillingham said. “That’s obviously pretty critical for your football team when you’re losing. Is that an excuse? Heck no. Maybe if he had played, we would have survived not playing good enough to win, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t play good enough to win.”

LEAVITT INJURIES STACKING UP​

Leavitt has played in the two games after missing ASU’s loss to Utah with a foot injury, but Dillingham said he “re-aggravated” an injury midway through the fourth quarter. After delivering a 3-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Cameron Harpole, Leavitt walked off the field with an apparent limp and did not return to the game. Sims came in for the final two drives, throwing the 27-yard touchdown pass to Metayer before turning the ball over on downs on his final drive.​

Leavitt also left the game earlier in the first half, as he entered the locker room for imaging on an undisclosed injury before returning to the game after tests cleared him to continue playing. The lack of protection from ASU’s offensive line has forced Leavitt to dash around the field more often than not, placing him in more dangerous situations.

“The first one was hopefully just a scare,” Dillingham said. “With the second one, we have to get more and look into it. Jeff did a really nice job moving the ball down the field to score a touchdown in the two-minute drill. Then, at the end, it was a great play by them to knock the ball out.”