WACO, Texas (AP) — Jesus Gomez kicked a 43-yard field goal on the game’s final play to give defending Big 12 champion Arizona State a 27-24 win over Baylor on Saturday night in the conference opener for both teams.
It was the fourth field goal of the game for Gomez, a left-footed senior transfer from Eastern Michigan. He also made kicks of 31, 21 and 33 yards, and is 9-of-10 for the Sun Devils (3-1, 1-0 Big 12).
Sam Leavitt completed 22 of 32 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a score for Arizona State.
Baylor (2-2, 0-1) tied the game 24-24 with 1:52 left on Sawyer Robertson’s 33-yard TD strike to Ole Miss transfer Michael Trigg, whose 1-yard catch and stretch for a touchdown had put the Bears up 17-16 with 9:02 left.
The Sun Devils responded to Trigg’s second TD with an 11-play scoring drive, and Gomez booted the go-ahead kick right down the middle as time expired.
Arizona State moved the ball into Baylor territory on its game-winning drive after a personal foul penalty followed a 3-yard completion from Leavitt to preseason All-America receiver Jordyn Tyson. Tyson caught the third-down pass in stride and slid to the ground just before Bears defensive back DJ Coleman ran into him.
Robertson was 25 of 39 passing for 251 yards and three TDs. Bryson Washington ran 17 times for 111 yards for Baylor.
The Takeaway
Arizona State: While it wasn’t pretty, the Sun Devils heated up when it mattered most, scoring points on four of their final five drives.
Baylor: The Bears’ defense, which gives up 30 points a game, held a potent Arizona State offense to two touchdowns on six red zone trips.
Up next
Arizona State is home Friday night against TCU (3-0), which is coming off a 35-24 win over SMU.
Baylor plays at Oklahoma State (1-2) next Saturday.
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