After Sam Leavitt took a hard hit in the first quarter of the Sun Devils’ 24-16 loss to the Cougars last Saturday, we finally have an injury update on the ASU quarterback. While head coach Kenny Dillingham would want to see his signal-caller starting under center against Iowa State, he will not like what the latest reports are about his QB.

On October 29, Pete Thamel of ESPN dropped the most-dreaded update. He wrote, “Tough injury report for Arizona State against Iowa Stare this weekend. No Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson is doubtful.” Leavitt is among the ten players with whom Dillingham won’t be running the fight against Iowa State. But leaving Leavitt out hurts the most. 

The injury woes have followed him like a shadow. Dillingham had to do without Leavitt, who was sidelined for the Utah game due to a right foot injury. However, the one he suffered against Houston was not the old injury that came to pester him again. As Dillingham made himself clear in the post-game presser after losing 16-24 against the Cougars, “Well, Sam got retweaked there at the end. So he got tweaked at the beginning, we sent him in there, got some imaging, he wanted to go right back in, and I said, ‘No, you’re going to get imaging.’”

Meanwhile, the “doubtful” list comes with some hope still breathing. Dillingham’s luck with WR Jordyn Tyson and LB Tate Romney might still favor. If not, Iowa State might catch a massive break against Dillingham’s squad. This weekend’s face-off will be a rematch of the Big 12 title game from 2024. 

Last time, the Sun Devils crushed the Cyclones 45-19. Neither team is crashing the Big 12 title party this year, and both have had seasons to forget. The Cyclones’ tumble’s been the hardest, from 14th in the nation to three straight losses in the blink of an eye. But Matt Campbell’s boys will be seeking a win in this one to try to finish their seasons strong. In that case, Arizona State will be without Leavitt. How confident is Dillingham with Jeff Sims?

Kenny Dillingham remains positive with Sam Leavitt’s backup

The Arizona State head coach must have been hoping for Leavitt’s comeback. The quarterback rose like a phoenix after being sidelined for the Utah game. He made a heroic comeback, sealing a 26-22 win against Texas Tech. This made Dillingham emotional. “The dudes a battler he’s a competitor, he was ready to play this week, and I felt he was ready to play this week. He just does everything he can for this football team, and in this different moment, he makes a difference,” he talked highly of Leavitt.

Dillingham’s Sun Devils couldn’t finish drives early, settling for four Jesus Gomez field goals. But when it mattered most, everything clicked. Leavitt lit it up for 319 yards and capped it with a 2-yard strike to Tyson, a remarkable showing for a QB who was nursing an injury just a week ago. Now that Leavitt’s decision is final and Tyson’s fate hangs in the balance, how far can the Sun Devils sail without the power duo?

Against Houston State, when Sam Leavitt got ejected from the game, Jeff Sims took charge. And Kenny Dillingham seemed pleased with his game play, “Jeff did a really nice job moving the ball down the field. Moved it all the way down the field, scored a touchdown, two-minute drill, and then there at the end, you know, bang-bang play, great play by them to knock the ball out.” Against Houston, within the limited time, Leavitt’s backup racked up 6 of 11 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown. Can Sims defend his program’s pride against Iowa State?