Kenny Dillingham’s Sun Devils have not had the Big 12 title defense in 2025 they would’ve hoped for. Prior to losses against Utah and Houston, it looked as if Arizona State might just sneak up on Texas Tech and BYU in the conference standings. Fast forward a month, and that path does not seem likely. At 4-2 in conference, they have one loss too many with time running out.
This week the Sun Devils welcome in a very scrappy West Virginia team coming off two wins over Colorado and No. 22 Houston, breaking a five-game losing streak. This week likely provides a winnable game for Arizona State, before ending the season against No. 6 Texas Tech who is playing for a Big 12 championship game berth.
According to Sports Illustrated, both Arizona State and West Virginia have submitted their availability reports and a couple names jump off the page. Those names are receiver Jordyn Tyson and quarterback Christian Hunt.
Tyson has had a great year thus far despite less than an ideal situation in the win/loss column. With 57 receptions, 628 yards, and eight touchdowns, Tyson has twice the receiving production as the No. 2 guy on the team (tight end Chamon Metayer-349).
Tyson, who is believed to be a top end of the first round level NFL talent would be a significant loss on any team. For ASU, it means the loss of their second biggest yardage producer behind running back Raleek Brown.
Hunt is less likely to sound the alarms for Arizona State, but he provides a different concern. Starting quarterback Sam Leavitt is out for the season following a recent foot surgery. In his stead, quarterback Jeff Sims (former Nebraska starter-2023) has stepped in to start.
Sims presents a different expectation. In his first full time start with a starting sample size of throws, Sims was 13 of 24 with 177 yards passing. The story for Sims that day was his 29 rushing attempts for 228 yards.
If Sims can play the entire game, the loss of Hunt is not significant. However, with Leavitt done for the year and Hunt out of this game, the Sun Devils will need to reach deep into their depth chart for Sims’ backup. ASU also has freshmen Cameron Dyer and Michael Tollefson on the roster.
Without Leavitt at quarterback and Tyson at receiver, the Sun Devils are a very different team. While the Sun Devils are not yet mathematically eliminated from the Big 12 conference title contention, but it is highly unlikely. If they aim to finish in the top four of the Big 12 standings, they will need to play well without their starting quarterback and starting wide receiver.
Arizona State faces off against West Virginia at 1:00pm ET on TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max.
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