During an appearance Friday morning on “Bickley & Marotta Mornings” on 98.7 FM radio in Phoenix, Arizona State (5-3 straight up, 4-4 against the spread) head football coach Kenny Dillingham announced that star quarterback Sam Leavitt needs season-ending surgery to repair a foot injury sustained in a Sept. 20 win at Baylor.
Leavitt will not travel with the team for Saturday’s game at Iowa St. As of early Friday afternoon, most betting shops had the Cyclones as eight or 8.5-point home favorites with the total in the 49.5 and 50.5 range. The Sun Devils were in the +250 to +275 neighborhood on the money line.
In seven games this year, Leavitt completed 145-of-239 passes (60.7%) for 1,628 yards with a 10/3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He had 306 rushing yards, five TDs and a 4.2 yards-per-carry average.
“It’s definitely something that’s been lingering all year,” Dillingham said earlier this week. “It’s definitely something that could definitely turn into that (long-term) for sure, just because it hasn’t progressed like we hoped. He’s been dealing with this for pretty much the whole year. He hasn’t been at full speed, so we’ll definitely reassess it during the bye and make a decision from there.”
Leavitt didn’t play in a 42-10 loss at Utah coming out of ASU’s open date on Oct. 11. However, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year returned on Oct. 18 and led the Sun Devils to a 26-22 win over previously-unbeaten Texas Tech.
Leavitt completed 28-of-47 throws for 319 yards and one TD without an interception against the Red Raiders. The win reinvigorated ASU’s hopes of returning to the College Football Playoff.
But those hopes were dashed in last week’s 24-16 home loss to Houston. Leavitt hit 18-of-35 passes for 270 yards and one TD without a pick, but he was replaced by backup Jeff Sims in the fourth quarter.
Sims completed 6-of-11 passes for 58 yards and one TD without an interception against the Cougars. He added 11 rushing yards on three attempts.
Sims, a sixth-year signal caller who in his second season at ASU after playing at Ga. Tech and Nebraska previously, made his 27th career start in the loss to the Utes earlier this month. He connected on 18-of-38 throws for 124 yards, but he was sacked five times. Despite the sacks, Sims ended up with 66 rushing yards on 21 attempts.
Sims has completed 56.9 percent of his career passes for 5,096 yards with a mediocre 32/29 TD-INT ratio. He also has 1,558 career rushing yards and 13 TDs, averaging 4.2 YPC.
Coming off a 3-9 season in Dillingham’s first year on the job, Leavitt led ASU to a 45-19 win over Iowa St. in the 2024 Big 12 Championship Game and the program’s first CFP appearance. The Sun Devils lost a 39-31 decision to Texas in a double-overtime thriller at the Peach Bowl in the quarterfinals. They easily covered the number as 13-point underdogs in Atlanta.
In his first year as a starter after transferring from Michigan St. last season, Leavitt completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 2,885 yards with a 24/6 TD-INT ratio. He added 443 rushing yards and five TDs, averaging 4.0 YPC.
As if the Leavitt news wasn’t bad enough for ASU, it will also be without starting center Ben Coleman and starting safety Xavion Alford at Iowa St. Coleman was a third-team All-Big 12 selection in 2024, while Alford was a first-team All-Big 12 choice last year.
Furthermore, ASU star WR Jordyn Tyson is listed as ‘doubtful’ after missing last week’s loss vs. Houston with a hamstring injury. Tyson was a first-team All-Big 12 pick and a third-team All-American in 2024 when he had 75 receptions for 1,101 yards and 10 TDs.
In seven games this year, Tyson has 57 catches for 628 yards and eight TDs.